The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 3: Mathematical structures in Feynman integrals

Abstract

Dimensionally-regulated Feynman integrals are a cornerstone of all perturbative computations in quantum field theory. They are known to exhibit a rich mathematical structure, which has led to the development of powerful new techniques for their computation. We review some of the most recent advances in our understanding of the analytic structure of multiloop Feynman integrals in dimensional regularisation. In particular, we give an overview of modern approaches to computing Feynman integrals using differential equations, and we discuss some of the properties of the functions that appear in the solutions. We then review how dimensional regularisation has a natural mathematical interpretation in terms of the theory of twisted cohomology groups, and how many of the well-known ideas about Feynman integrals arise naturally in this context. This is Chapter 3 of a series of review articles on scattering amplitudes, of which Chapter 0 [arXiv:2203.13011] presents an overview and Chapter 4 [arXiv:2203.13015] contains closely related topics.