Related papers: 4D dS vacua from AdS vacua of type IIB string theo…
We discuss quotients of Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime by a discrete group in light of the AdS-CFT correspondence. Some quotients describe closed universes which expand from zero volume to a maximum size and then contract. Maldacena's…
The Positive Binding Conjecture is a proposed formulation of the Weak Gravity Conjecture appropriate to Anti de-Sitter (AdS) space. It proposes that in a consistent gravitational theory, with a $U(1)$ gauge symmetry, there must exist a…
Within the ongoing debate about de Sitter (dS) vacua in string theory, different aspects of explicit dS proposals have come under intense scrutiny. One key ingredient is D7-brane gaugino condensation, which is usually treated using…
We give evidence that supersymmetric anti-de Sitter vacua of five-dimensional supergravity cannot be scale separated as a consequence of quantum gravity constraints, such as the weak gravity conjecture or the species scale. We show this in…
In the five-dimensional Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant in the presence/absence of a {\it non-fine-tuned} 3-brane, we have investigated the classical stability of black string solutions which are foliations of…
We show that, in the framework of Einstein-scalar gravity, the gravitational coupling can drive the nucleation of the de Sitter (dS) spacetime from an anti de Sitter (AdS) one. This is done using a static and spherically-symmetric…
We perform a thorough analysis of de Sitter vacua in O(d,d) invariant cosmologies. Starting with a homogeneous and isotropic framework we examine conditions for the existence of such vacua, non-perturbative in \alpha' in both the string…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
The AdS/CFT correspondence between string theory in AdS space and conformal field theories in physical space-time leads to an analytic, semi-classical model for strongly-coupled QCD which has scale invariance and dimensional counting at…
Recently, various swampland conjectures have been proposed that every UV complete effective field theory should satisfy. In particular, these deal with the properties of AdS and dS solutions arising in theories of quantum gravity. Mainly…
It has been shown that non-Abelian solitonic vortex string supported in four-dimensional (4D) N=2 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) with the U(2) gauge group and $N_f=4$ quark flavors becomes a critical superstring. This string propagates in the…
Input from QCD and string theory is used in order to elucidate basic features of the string theory dual of QCD, It is argued that the relevant string theory is a five-dimensional version of the type-0 superstring. The vacuum solution is…
This paper reexamines the question of vacuum decay in theories of quantum gravity. In particular it suggests that decay into stable flat or AdS vacua, never occurs. Instead, vacuum decay occurs, if at all, into a cosmological spacetime. If…
We argue that vacua of string theory which asymptote at weak coupling to linear dilaton backgrounds are holographic. The full string theory in such vacua is ``dual'' to a theory without gravity in fewer dimensions. The dual theory is…
We consider worldsheet string theory on $Z_N$ orbifolds of $AdS_3$ associated with conical singularities. If the orbifold action includes a similar twist of $S^3$, supersymmetry is preserved, and there is a moduli space of vacua arising…
In a generic setting of Wess-Zumino models, we prove that the existence of a supersymmetric vacuum with a vanishing superpotential can be a consequence of a continuous or discrete R-symmetry when invariant fields are not less than fields…
I briefly summarize a recent research program aiming to probe the landscape of low-energy phases of string theory from a global perspective. Borrowing conceptual lessons from the swampland program, I will discuss how the effective theories…
AdS/CFT is a conjectured equivalence between a field theory without gravity (conformal field theory) and a string theory in a special curved background (anti de-Sitter space), where theories on both sides of the equivalence is…
We present technical results which extend previous work and show that the cosmological constant of general relativity is an artefact of the reduction to 4D of 5D Kaluza-Klein theory (or 10D superstrings and 11D supergravity). We argue that…
The energy density of the vacuum, Lambda, is at least 60 orders of magnitude smaller than several known contributions to it. Approaches to this problem are tightly constrained by data ranging from elementary observations to precision…