IPhT-t14/231 Prepared for submission to JHEP String Bits and the Spin Vertex

Abstract: We initiate a novel formalism for computing correlation functions of trace operators in the planar N = 4 SYM theory. The central object in our formalism is the spin vertex which is the weak coupling analogy of the string vertex in string field theory. We construct the spin vertex explicitly for all sectors at the leading order using a set of bosonic and fermionic oscillators. We prove that the vertex has trivial monodromy, or put in other words, it is a Yangian invariant. Since the monodromy of the vertex is the product of the monodromies of the three states, the Yangian invariance of the vertex implies an infinite exact symmetry for the three-point function. We conjecture that this infinite symmetry can be lifted to any loop order. ar X i