Stratifying On-Shell Cluster Varieties: the Geometry of Non-Planar On-Shell Diagrams

Abstract

The correspondence between on-shell diagrams in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and cluster varieties in the Grassmannian remains largely unexplored beyond the planar limit. In this article, we describe a systematic program to survey such 'on-shell varieties', and use this to provide a complete classification in the case of $G(3,6)$. In particular, we find exactly 24 top-dimensional varieties and 10 co-dimension one varieties in $G(3,6)$---up to parity and relabeling of the external legs. We use this case to illustrate some of the novelties found for non-planar varieties relative to the case of positroids, and describe some of the features that we expect to hold more generally.

35 pages, 70 figures, and 1 table; also included is a file with explicit details for our classification. Signs corrected in two residue theorems, and a new interpretation (and formula) given for the last