Related papers: The Swampland Conjectures: A bridge from Quantum G…
Phase spaces with nontrivial geometry appear in different approaches to quantum gravity and can also play a role in e.g. condensed matter physics. However, so far such phase spaces have only been considered for particles or strings. We…
Some of the simplest wormhole solutions involve massless scalar fields that take imaginary values. Massless fields can be interpreted as coupling constants in asymptotically flat or asymptotically AdS gravity theories. We argue that…
Inflation is the currently accepted paradigm for the beginnings of the Universe. To explain the observed almost scale invariant spectrum of density perturbations with only a slight spectral tilt, inflation must have been "slow roll", that…
Most of the approaches to the construction of a theory of quantum gravity share some principles which do not have specific experimental support up to date. Two of these principles are relevant for our discussion: (i) the gravitational field…
The Weak Gravity Conjecture is a nontrivial conjecture about quantum gravity that makes sharp, falsifiable predictions which can be checked in a broad range of string theory examples. However, in the presence of massless scalar fields…
Fundamental principles of local quantum field theory or of quantum gravity can enforce consistency requirements on the space of consistent low-energy effective field theories. We survey the various techniques that have been used to put UV…
We consider the swampland distance and de Sitter conjectures, of respective order one parameters $\lambda$ and $c$. Inspired by the recent Trans-Planckian Censorship conjecture (TCC), we propose a generalization of the distance conjecture,…
We provide a short overview of recent progress made in our understanding of the dark sector based on the Swampland program which in turn is rooted in lessons from string theory. We explain how the existence of one extra mesoscopic dimension…
We propose quantum gravitational constraints on effective four-dimensional theories with N=1 supersymmetry. These Swampland constraints arise by demanding consistency of the worldsheet theory of a class of axionic, or EFT, strings whose…
A general, incomplete and partisan overview of various areas of the theoretical investigation is presented. Most of this activity stems from the search for physics beyond quantum field theory and general relativity, a titanic struggle that,…
We review the advanced version of the KKLT construction and pure $d=4$ de Sitter supergravity, involving a nilpotent multiplet, with regard to various conjectures that de Sitter state cannot exist in string theory. We explain why we…
Ideas from quantum field theory and topology have proved remarkably fertile in suggesting new phenomena in the quantum physics of condensed matter. Here I'll supply some broad, unifying context, both conceptual and historical, for the…
It was recently pointed out that the existence of dark energy imposes highly restrictive constraints on effective field theories that satisfy the Swampland conjectures. We provide a critical confrontation of these constraints with the…
The weak gravity conjecture suggests that, in a self-consistent theory of quantum gravity, the strength of gravity is bounded from above by the strengths of the various gauge forces in the theory. In particular, this intriguing conjecture…
A new swampland criterion has recently been proposed. As a consequence, it forbids the existence of de Sitter solutions in a low energy effective theory of a quantum gravity. However, there exist classical de Sitter solutions of…
The Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) is a proposed constraint on theories with gauge fields and gravity, requiring the existence of light charged particles and/or imposing an upper bound on the field theory cutoff $\Lambda$. If taken as a…
The Swampland cobordism conjecture predicts various new objects in a theory with dynamical gravity. Applying this idea to the Standard Model of particle physics, a string object is predicted. We numerically constructed such an object as a…
Quantum Field Theory (QFT) forms the bedrock of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, a powerful framework that delineates the fundamental constituents and interactions of the universe. However, the SM's narrative is incomplete, as…
In this essay we will take a wonderful ride on a dark bubble with strings attached, which carries our universe out of the swampland and makes it realizable in the landscape of string theory. To find the way to the landscape, we make use of…
We propose to sharpen the weak gravity conjecture by the statement that, except for BPS states in a supersymmetric theory, the gravitational force is strictly weaker than any electric force and provide a number of evidences for this…