Poincaré series for modular graph forms at depth two. Part I. Seeds and Laplace systems

Abstract

We derive new Poincaré-series representations for infinite families of non-holomorphic modular invariant functions that include modular graph forms as they appear in the low-energy expansion of closed-string scattering amplitudes at genus one. The Poincaré series are constructed from iterated integrals over single holomorphic Eisenstein series and their complex conjugates, decorated by suitable combinations of zeta values. We evaluate the Poincaré sums over these iterated Eisenstein integrals of depth one and deduce new representations for all modular graph forms built from iterated Eisenstein integrals at depth two. In a companion paper, some of the Poincaré sums over depth-one integrals going beyond modular graph forms will be described in terms of iterated integrals over holomorphic cusp forms and their L-values.