Amplitude recursions with an extra marked point

Abstract

The recursive calculation of Selberg integrals by Aomoto and Terasoma using the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation and the Drinfeld associator makes use of an auxiliary point and facilitates the recursive evaluation of string amplitudes at genus zero: open-string N-point amplitudes can be obtained from those at N-1 points.

We establish a similar formalism at genus one, which allows the recursive calculation of genus-one Selberg integrals using an extra marked point in a differential equation of Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard type. Hereby genus-one Selberg integrals are related to genus-zero Selberg integrals. Accordingly, N-point open-string amplitudes at one loop can be obtained from (N+2)-point open-string amplitudes at tree level. The construction is related to and in accordance with various recent results in intersection theory and string theory.