Related papers: Cobordism Classes and the Swampland
We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…
General relativity is a background-independent theory of a dynamical classical spacetime geometry. Quantum theory is formulated in a classical spacetime, as an intrinsically probabilistic, contextual theory of non-classical, interfering…
The representations of the observable algebra of a low dimensional quantum field theory form the objects of a braided tensor category. The search for gauge symmetry in the theory amounts to finding an algebra which has the same…
We argue that the finiteness of quantum gravity amplitudes in fully compactified theories (at least in supersymmetric cases) leads to a bottom-up prediction for the existence of non-trivial dualities. In particular, finiteness requires the…
In this paper, we introduce a category of graded commutative rings with certain algebraic morphisms, to investigate the cobordism category of plumbed 3-manifolds. In particular, we define a non-associative distributive algebra that gives…
Amidst all candidates of physics beyond the Standard Model, string theory provides a unique proposal for incorporating gauge and gravitational interactions. In string theory, a four-dimensional theory that unifies quantum mechanics and…
We construct a generalized class of quantum gravity condensate states, that allows the description of continuum homogeneous quantum geometries within the full theory. They are based on similar ideas already applied to extract effective…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
By developing a generalized cobordism theory, we explore the higher global symmetries and higher anomalies of quantum field theories and interacting fermionic/bosonic systems in condensed matter. Our essential math input is a generalization…
We consider the possibility that the basic space of physics is not spacetime, but configuration space. We illustrate this on the example with a system of gravitationally interacting point particles. It turns out that such system can be…
Any four-dimensional Supersymmetric Quantum Field Theory with eight supercharges can be associated to a monoidal category of BPS line defects. Any Coulomb vacuum of such a theory can be conjecturally associated to an ``algebra of BPS…
Dynamical cobordisms implement the swampland cobordism conjecture in the framework of effective field theory, realizing codimension 1 end of the world (ETW) branes as singularities at finite spacetime distance at which scalars diverge to…
A large number of particle species allows to formulate quantum gravity in a special double-scaling limit, the species limit. In this regime, quantum gravitational amplitudes simplify substantially. An infinite set of perturbative…
A generalized-homology bordism-theory is constructed, such that for certain manifold homotopy stratified sets (MHSS; Quinn-spaces) homeomorphism-invariant geometric fundamental-classes exist. The construction combines three ideas: Firstly,…
On the basis of recently discovered connections between D-branes and black holes, I show how the information puzzle is solved by superstring theory as the fundamental theory of quantum gravity. The picture that emerges is that a…
A version of the cosmological perturbation theory in general relativity (GR) is developed, where the cosmological scale factor is identified with spatial averaging of the metric determinant logarithm and the cosmic evolution acquires the…
We prove a generalization of the cobordism hypothesis of Baez--Dolan and Hopkins--Lurie for bordisms with arbitrary geometric structures, such as Riemannian metrics, complex and symplectic structures, principal bundles with connections, or…
We analyze AdS and dS swampland conjectures in a three-dimensional higher spin theory with self-interacting matter, which contains conformal gravity and is almost topological. A theory of a similar type was proposed as the effective theory…
Based on the principle of relativity, we find that the sufficient and necessary condition for the general covariance of a field theory actually requires more than the invariance of its local Langrangian density. If the spacetime is not a…
In discussing the construction of a consistent theory of quantum gravity unified with the gauge interactions we are naturally led to a string theory. We review its properties and the five consistent supersymmetric string theories in ten…