Related papers: Distance Conjecture and De-Sitter Quantum Gravity
Superstring theories are very promising theoretically, but the enormous landscape of string vacua and the (likely) very large underlying string scale imply that they may never be tested directly. Nevertheless, concrete constructions…
We examine the Swampland conjectures in the context of generic slow-roll thawing quintessence models. Defining $\lambda \equiv |V^{\prime}(\phi_i)/V(\phi_i)|$ and $K \equiv \sqrt{1 - 4V^{\prime \prime}(\phi_i)/3V(\phi_i)}$, where $\phi_i$…
Several lines of evidence suggest that quantum gravity at very short distances may behave effectively as a two-dimensional theory. I summarize these hints, and offer an additional argument based on the strong-coupling limit of the…
We test various conjectures about quantum gravity for six-dimensional string compactifications in the framework of F-theory. Starting with a gauge theory coupled to gravity, we analyze the limit in K\"ahler moduli space where the gauge…
The cosmological constant problem can be understood as the failure of the decoupling principle behind effective field theory, so that some quantities in the low-energy theory are extremely sensitive to the high-energy properties. While this…
String theory is a quantum theory that reproduces the results of General Relativity at long distances but is completely different at short distances. Mathematically, string theory is based on a very new -- and little understood -- framework…
We study late-time acceleration scenarios using a quintessence field initially trapped in a metastable false vacuum state. The false vacuum has non-zero vacuum energy and could drive exponential expansion if not coupled with gravity. Upon…
These lecture notes provide a pedagogical introduction, with exercises, to the techniques used in attempts to construct vacua with stabilised moduli in string theory. The reader is only assumed to have a basic knowledge of general…
We start from a quantum computational principle suggested for string theory in a previous paper and discuss how it might lead to a dynamical principle implying the correct classical gravitational limit. Besides this, we briefly look at some…
We consider a linearized, effective quantum theory of gravitation in which gravity weakens at energies higher than ~10^-3 eV in order to accommodate the apparent smallness of the cosmological constant. Such a theory predicts departures from…
We give a brief overview of the string landscape and techniques used to construct string compactifications. We then explain how this motivates the notion of the swampland and review a number of conjectures that attempt to characterize…
A consistency condition of general relativity as an effective field theory in Minkowskian background uniquely fixes the value of the cosmological constant. In two-loop calculations, including the interaction of gravitons with matter fields,…
Recently, two simple criteria were proposed to assess if vacua emerging from an effective scalar field theory are part of the string "landscape" or "swampland". The former are the vacua that emerge from string compactifications; the latter…
We study a Type IIB isotropic toroidal compactification with non-geometric fluxes. Under the assumption of a hierarchy on the moduli, an effective scalar potential is constructed showing a runaway direction on the real part of the K\"ahler…
This text is a review of aspects of supergravity theories that are relevant in superstring cosmology. In particular, it considers the possibilities and restrictions for `uplifting terms', i.e. methods to produce de Sitter vacua. We…
We study a class of infinite-distance loci, referred to as K-points, in one-parameter complex-structure moduli spaces of type IIB string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau manifolds. We show that around K-points the effective…
It is challenging to construct explicit and controllable models that realize de Sitter solutions in string compactifications. This difficulty is the main motivation for the Refined de Sitter Conjecture and the Trans-Planckian Censorship…
We provide a conceptual assessment of some aspects of fundamental quantum field theories of gravity in light of foundational aspects of the swampland program. On the one hand, asymptotically safe quantum gravity may provide a simple and…
In any consistent effective field theory of quantum gravity limits of infinite field distance are expected to lead to the EFT breakdown due to the appearance of an infinite tower of light states, as predicted by the Distance Conjecture. We…
Field space geometry plays a central role within the Swampland Programme, most notably in the various Distance Conjectures. However, for gravitational EFTs, this geometry is not uniquely defined: one can cast the action in many synonymous…