Related papers: Closed Strings and Weak Gravity from Higher-Spin C…
In the AdS/CFT correspondence, single trace operators of large-$N$ gauge theories at large spin $J$ can be described by classical spinning strings, giving a geometric and classical description of their spectrum at strong coupling. We…
We examine the causality and degrees of freedom (DoF) problems encountered by charged, gravitating, massive higher spin fields. For spin s=3/2, making the metric dynamical yields improved causality bounds. These involve only the mass, the…
We propose a generalisation of the Weak Gravity Conjecture in the presence of scalar fields. The proposal is guided by properties of extremal black holes in ${\cal N}=2$ supergravity, but can be understood more generally in terms of…
The Axion Weak Gravity Conjecture provides one of the most effective quantum gravity tools for constraining particle physics and cosmology, but it has long been thought of as a slightly fuzzy statement: given an axion with decay constant…
We show that the coupling of a massive spin-2 field to undeformed N=1 supergravity in four dimensions is unique, leading to a specific non-minimal coupling to the Riemann tensor. The massive spin-2 coupling reproduces the one of an…
We consider four-dimensional massive gravity with the Fierz-Pauli mass term. The analysis of the scalar sector has revealed recently that this theory becomes strongly coupled above the energy scale \Lambda = (M_{Pl}^2 m^4)^{1/5} where m is…
New physics beyond the Standard Model can give rise to stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds, for example through cosmic strings. In this way, gravitational-wave searches with pulsar-timing arrays as well as existing and future laser…
Just like the vector bosons in Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories, gravitons can attain mass by spontaneous local symmetry breaking. The question is whether this can happen in a Lorentz-invariant way. We consider the use of four scalar…
String theory has no parameter except the string scale $M_S$, so the Planck scale $M_\text{Pl}$, the supersymmetry-breaking scale, the EW scale $m_\text{EW}$ as well as the vacuum energy density (cosmological constant) $\Lambda$ are to be…
String theory contains sources like orientifold planes that support higher derivative interactions. These interactions make possible static flux compactifications which are forbidden in supergravity. They can also lead to violations of the…
We consider quintessence models within 4D effective descriptions of gravity coupled to two scalar fields. These theories are known to give rise to viable models of late-time cosmic acceleration without any need for flat potentials, and so…
It is shown the antisymmetric part of the metric tensor is the potential for the spin field. Various metricity conditions are discussed and comparisons are made to other theories, including Einstein's. It is shown in the weak field limit…
The gravitational field of a stationary circular cosmic string loop ,externally supported against collapse, is investigated in the context of Brans-Dicke theory in the weak field approximation of the field equations. The solution is…
Four-dimensional (4D) simplicial quantum gravity coupled to U(1) gauge fields has been studied using Monte-Carlo simulations. A negative string susceptibility exponent is observed beyond the phase-transition point, even if the number of…
Asymptotic (late-time) cosmology depends on the asymptotic (infinite-distance) limits of scalar field space in string theory. Such limits feature an exponentially decaying potential $V \sim \exp(- c \phi)$ with corresponding Hubble scale $H…
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…
We present a model-independent argument showing that massless particles interacting with gravity in a Minkowski background space can have at most spin two. This result is proven by extending a famous theorem due to Weinberg and Witten to…
Assuming that the early universe had (i) a description using perturbative string theory and its field theory limit (ii) an epoch of slow-roll inflation within a four-dimensional effective field theory and a hierarchy of scales $M_{inf} <…
We show that in 6d models localizing gravity on stringlike defects and satisfying the dominant energy condition, the metric exterior to the string inevitably depends on the string's thickness. As a consequence, in the limit of thin string…
Through their respective sigma models, a bosonic string and a superstring can be coupled to (super)gravity fields. These are subsequently forced to satisfy their right classical equation of motions, as a consequence of quantization of the…