Double-soft limits of gluons and gravitons

Abstract

The double-soft limit of gluon and graviton amplitudes is studied in four dimensions at tree level. In general this limit is ambiguous and we introduce two natural ways of taking it: a consecutive double-soft limit where one particle is taken soft before the other and a simultaneous limit where both particles are taken soft uniformly. All limits yield universal factorisation formulae which we establish by BCFW recursion relations down to the subleading order in the soft momentum expansion. These formulae generalise the recently discussed subleading single-soft theorems. While both types of limits yield identical results at the leading order, differences appear at the subleading order. Finally, we discuss double-scalar emission in $$ \mathcal{N}=4 $$ super Yang-Mills theory. These results should be of use in establishing the algebraic structure of potential hidden symmetries in the quantum gravity and Yang-Mills S-matrix.