Related papers: A Stringy Test of the Scalar Weak Gravity Conjectu…
We pioneer the black hole mass gap as a powerful new tool for constraining modified gravity theories. These theories predict fifth forces that alter the structure and evolution of population-III stars, exacerbating the pair-instability.…
We study compactifications of F-theory on certain Calabi--Yau threefolds. We find that $N=2$ dualities of type II/heterotic strings in 4 dimensions get promoted to $N=1$ dualities between heterotic string and F-theory in 6 dimensions. The…
The Emergent String Conjecture of Lee, Lerche, and Weigand holds that every infinite-distance limit in the moduli space of a quantum gravity represents either a decompactification limit or an emergent string limit in some duality frame.…
The light scalar field with a coupling to standard model particles provide a possible source of the dark matter, long-range Yukawa forces or violation of the weak equivalence principle, which can be potentially explored by precision gravity…
We continue our study of compactifications of F-theory on Calabi--Yau threefolds. We gain more insight into F-theory duals of heterotic strings and provide a recipe for building F-theory duals for arbitrary heterotic compactifications on…
We extend the formulation of gauged supergravity in five dimensions, as obtained by compactification of $M$~theory on a deformed Calabi-Yau manifold, to include non-universal matter hypermultiplets. Even in the presence of this gauging,…
We study duality-invariant higher-derivative corrections to the charged black hole geometry in two-dimensional heterotic string theory. We illustrate how the conventional perturbative approach to determine the corrected geometry breaks…
The Sharpened Distance Conjecture and Tower Scalar Weak Gravity Conjecture are closely related but distinct conjectures, neither one implying the other. Motivated by examples, I propose that both are consequences of two new conjectures: 1.…
A realistic SU(3)_C x SU(3)_W unified theory is constructed with a TeV sized extra dimension compactified on the orbifold S_1/Z_2, leaving only the standard model gauge group SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y unbroken in the low energy 4D theory.…
Under spherical symmetry, we show that the weak cosmic censorship holds for the gravitational collapse of the Einstein-Maxwell-charged scalar field system. Namely, for this system, with generic initial data, the formed spacetime…
On compactification to six spacetime dimensions, the fundamental heterotic string admits as a soliton a dual string whose effective worldsheet action couples to the background fields of the dual formulation of six-dimensional supergravity.…
We study the weak gravity conjecture in non-supersymmetric string theory setups. Precisely, those are type I string theory with supersymmetry broken \`a la Scherk-Schwarz and open strings on D branes wrapped around magnetized tori in type…
Does gravity care about electric charge? Precision tests of the weak equivalence principle achieve remarkable sensitivity but deliberately minimize electric charge on test masses, leaving this fundamental question experimentally open. We…
We use heterotic/type-II prepotentials to study quantum/classical black holes with half the $N=2, D=4$ supersymmetries unbroken. We show that, in the case of heterotic string compactifications, the perturbatively corrected entropy formula…
In theories with a perturbatively massless 2-form (dual to an axion), a paradox may arise in the process of black hole evaporation. Schwarzschild black holes can support a non-trivial Wilson-line-type field, the integral of the 2-form…
Swampland criteria like the Weak Gravity Conjecture should not only apply to particles, but also to other lower-codimension charged objects in 4d EFTs like strings and membranes. However, the description of the latter is in general subtle…
F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fivefolds give rise to two-dimensional N=(0,2) supersymmetric field theories coupled to gravity. We explore the dilaton supergravity defined by the moduli sector of such compactifications. The…
We investigate several phenomenological implications of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC). We find that the WGC implies that the SM neutrinos must be electrically neutral, that the electric charge in the SM must be quantized, and that the…
The weakly coupled vacuum of E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory remains a promising candidate for the underlying theory of the Standard Model. The particle spectrum and the issue of dilaton stabilization are reviewed. Specific models for…
We explore BPS strings in supergravity theories in six-dimensions and related Swampland Conjectures. We first propose a general modular ansatz for bootstrapping elliptic genera of 2d worldvolume theories on strings in the 6d theories. By…