We find the complete set of conditions satisfied by the forward 2 → 2 scattering amplitude in unitary and causal theories. These are based on an infinite set of energy dependent quantities (the arcs) which are dispersively expressed as moments of a positive measure defined at (arbitrarily) higher energies. We identify optimal finite subsets of constraints, suitable to bound effective field theories (EFTs), at any finite order in the energy expansion. At tree level arcs are in a one to one correspondence with Wilson coefficients. We establish under which conditions this approximation applies, identifying seemingly viable EFTs where it never does. In all cases, we discuss the range of validity in both energy and couplings, where the latter has to satisfy two-sided bounds. We also extend our results to the case of small but finite t . A consequence of our study is that EFTs in which the scattering amplitude in some regime grows in energy faster than E 6 cannot be UV completed.
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