Related papers: Classical and Quantum Stability in Putative Landsc…
String theory is the prime candidate for the theory of everything. However, it must be defined in ten dimensions to be consistent. To get 4D physics, the 6 other dimensions should be curled up in a small compact manifold, this procedure is…
For compactifications of heterotic string theory, we elucidate simple cohomological conditions that lead to the vanishing of superpotential n-point couplings for all n. These results generalize some vanishing theorems for Yukawa couplings…
String-local fields constitute a relatively new tool for solving quantum field theory, stressing and embodying locality and positivity. We examine here their usefulness -- as well as some drawbacks. Starting from just the physical masses…
Compactified string theories give rise to discrete symmetries which are essential if they are to provide a realistic low energy theory. We find that in a class of four dimensional string theories these symmetries are constrained by similar…
The unitarity condition for scattering amplitudes in a non-anticommutative quantum field theory is investigated. The Cutkosky rules are shown to hold for Feynman diagrams in Euclidean momentum space and unitarity of amplitudes can be…
We argue that the study of the statistics of the landscape of string vacua provides the first potentially predictive -- and also falsifiable -- framework for string theory. The question of whether the theory does or does not predict low…
In a generic Grand Unified Theory with a relatively small dispersion of the spectrum around the $Z$-boson and the unification masses, a connection is established, exact at one loop level, between $M_Z$, $G_{\rm F}$, $\alpha(M_Z)$ and the…
Low-energy effective field theories arising from Calabi-Yau string compactifications are generically inconsistent or ill-defined at the classical level because of conifold singularities in the moduli space. It is shown, given a plausible…
We consider the coupling of quantum fields to classical gravity in the formalism of ensembles on configuration space, a model that allows a consistent formulation of interacting classical and quantum systems. Explicit calculations show that…
It is suggested that the Minkowski vacuum of quantum field theories of a large number of fields N would be gravitationally unstable due to strong vacuum energy fluctuations unless an N dependent sub-Planckian ultraviolet momentum cutoff is…
We investigate the classical stability of two coupled scalar fields with opposite-sign kinetic terms evolving in 1+1 dimensional Minkowski spacetime. In the first part, we characterise unquenched ghostly interactions and present numerical…
We provide a thorough exposition of recent results on the quantum stabilization of cosmic strings. Stabilization occurs through the coupling to a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. The study combines the…
We establish a connection between the ultra-Planckian scattering amplitudes in field and string theory and unitarization by black hole formation in these scattering processes. Using as a guideline an explicit microscopic theory in which the…
The suggestion that there exist causally disconnected universes or sub-universes to explain the values of physical parameters such as the cosmological constant is discussed. A statistical model of the string landscape/topography is…
Small corrections to the uncertainty relations, with effects in the ultraviolet and/or infrared, have been discussed in the context of string theory and quantum gravity. Such corrections lead to small but finite minimal uncertainties in…
Solutions to scalar theories with derivative self-couplings often have regions where non-linearities are important. Given a classical source, there is usually a region, demarcated by the Vainshtein radius, inside of which the classical…
We discuss the effect of perturbations on the ground rings of $c=1$ string theory at the various compactification radii defining the $A_N$ points of the moduli space. We argue that perturbations by plus-type moduli define ground varieties…
The unification of gauge couplings suggests that there is an underlying (supersymmetric) unification of the strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions. The prediction of the unification scale may be the first quantitative indication that…
An extensive study of the compact $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory with a higher derivative gauge-fixing term and a suitable counter-term has been undertaken to determine the nature of the possible continuum limits for a wide range of the…
We revisit the stability of the complex structure moduli in the large volume regime of type-IIB flux compactifications. We argue that when the volume is not exponentially large, such as in K\"ahler uplifted dS vacua, the quantum corrections…