Related papers: Demystifying the Emergence Proposal
Exploiting the gauge/gravity correspondence we find the spectrum of hadronic-like bound states of adjoint particles with a large global charge in several confining theories. In particular, we consider an embedding of four-dimensional N=1…
In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not…
We construct compactifications of type IIB string theory that yield, at leading order in the $\alpha^\prime$ and $g_s$ expansions, de Sitter vacua of the form envisioned by Kachru, Kallosh, Linde, and Trivedi. We specify explicit Calabi-Yau…
We consider a statistical model of interacting 4-simplices fluctuating in an N-dimensional target space. We argue that a gravitational theory may arise as a low energy effective theory in a strongly interacting phase where the simplices…
We analize instanton generated superpotentials for three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories obtained by compactifying on S^1 N=1 four dimensional theories. In the N_f=1 case, we find that the vacua in the decompactification limit…
We consider massive type IIA compactifications down to 4 dimensions in presence of O6 planes and D6 branes parallel to them, in order to preserve half-maximal supersymmetry in 4D. The dynamics of open strings living on the spacetime filling…
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…
A discussion of the number of degrees of freedom, and their dynamical properties, in higher derivative gravitational theories is presented. The complete non-linear sigma model for these degrees of freedom is exhibited using the method of…
It is widely believed that consistent theories of quantum gravity satisfy two basic kinematic constraints: they are free from any global symmetry, and they contain a complete spectrum of gauge charges. For compact, abelian gauge groups,…
These lectures aim to provide a global picture of the spaces of consistent quantum supergravity theories and string vacua in higher dimensions. The lectures focus on theories in the even dimensions 10, 8, and 6. Supersymmetry, along with…
We consider compactifications of M-theory and type IIA string theory to four dimensions. For Minkowski space-time, a supergravity no-go theorem forbids flux supported in the internal space. We show how to evade this no-go theorem by…
We apply the techniques of the ``universal string theory'' to the ``manifold'' paradigm for superstring/M-theory and come up with a candidate manifold: the manifold of F-theory vacua, defined in conformal field theoretical terms. It…
Recently, many works have tried to realize cosmological accelerated expansion in string theory models in the asymptotic regions of field space, with a typical scalar potential $V(\varphi)$ having an exponential fall-off $e^{-\gamma\,…
We propose correspondences between 4d quantum field theories with N=2,1,0 (super)conformal invariance and Type IIB string theory on various orbifolds. We argue using the spacetime string theory, and check using the beta functions (exactly…
In these lectures, we review the main properties of the topological theory obtained by twisting the N=2 two-dimensional superconformal algebra, associated to supersymmetric string compactifications. In particular, we describe a set of…
We study the structure of the moduli spaces of vacua and superpotentials of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions. By analyzing the instanton corrections, we compute the exact superpotentials and determine the quantum…
We show that, in the presence of a string gas, simple higher-derivative modifications to the effective action for gravity can lead to bouncing and cyclic cosmological models. The modifications bound the expansion rate and avoid…
The mathematical idea of resurgence allows one to obtain nonperturbative information from the large-order behavior of perturbative expansions. This idea can be very fruitful in physics applications, in particular if one does not have access…
We investigate in detail solutions of supergravity that involve warped products of flat geometries of the type M(p+1) x R x T(D-p-2) depending on a single coordinate. In the absence of fluxes, the solutions include flat space and…
We continue our study of symmetries of a class of little string theories of A-type, which are engineered by $N$ parallel M5-branes probing a flat transverse space. Extending the analysis of the companion paper, we discuss the part of the…