Two-loop QCD amplitudes for $t\bar{t}\gamma$ production at hadron colliders

Abstract

The associated production of a photon and a top-antitop quark pair ($t\bar{t}\gamma$) is important for measuring the top-quark charge and probing the top-photon interaction, and it requires improved theoretical predictions. We focus on the calculation of two-loop amplitudes for $t\bar{t}\gamma$ production at hadron colliders. The infrared singularities with full top-quark mass dependence are derived from universal anomalous dimensions combined with one-loop massive amplitudes expanded to higher orders in the dimensional regulator $\epsilon$. The finite remainders are approximated in the high-energy boosted limit using the mass-factorization formula. To validate our approach, we compare approximate one-loop amplitudes up to $\mathcal{O}\left(\epsilon^2\right)$, as well as the two-loop infrared poles, against our exact results. The results in this paper serve as an important step toward next-to-next-to-leading order predictions for $t\bar{t}\gamma$ production.