Related papers: On Isolated Vacua and Background Independence
Quantum physics at scales large compared to the Planck scale is described in the framework of classical space-time geometries. A criterion for selecting these backgrounds out of quantized gravity is proposed. It leads to an instability of…
In supersymmetric models with the run-away vacua or with the stable but non-supersymmetric ground state there exist stable field configurations (vacua) which restore one half of supersymmetry and are characterized by constant positive…
The Swampland Distance Conjecture states that at infinite distance in the scalar moduli space an infinite tower of particles become exponentially massless. We study this issue in the context of 4d type IIA and type IIB Calabi-Yau…
Geometric modularity has recently been conjectured to be a characteristic feature for flux vacua with $W=0$. This paper provides support for the conjecture by computing motivic modular forms in a direct way for several string…
These proceedings start with a discussion of my recent experiences with large language models and potential implications for their usage in our field. This is followed by an AI generated summary of my talk at the workshop ``Recent Progress…
Banks has argued that the moduli of string theory are not vacuum expectation values but parameters. We offer a different perspective on this question. Given two different points P and Q in the moduli space, we shall regard them as different…
The moduli space of flat connections for maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories, in a space-time of the form T^3xR, contains isolated points, corresponding to normalizable zero energy states, for certain simple gauge groups G. We…
The evaporation of a large mass black hole can be described throughout most of its lifetime by a low-energy effective theory defined on a suitably chosen set of smooth spacelike hypersurfaces. The conventional argument for information loss…
At the leading order, M-theory admits minimal supersymmetric compactifications if the internal manifold has exceptional holonomy. Once we take into account higher order quantum correction terms in the low energy effective action, the…
We revisit the stability of the complex structure moduli in the large volume regime of type-IIB flux compactifications. We argue that when the volume is not exponentially large, such as in K\"ahler uplifted dS vacua, the quantum corrections…
We conjecture that all vacua in string theory decay. More precisely, non-supersymmetric vacua in string theory are at most metastable and eventually decay, while supersymmetric vacua are only marginally stable. All de Sitter vacua with…
We review recent work in which compactifications of string and M theory are constructed in which all scalar fields (moduli) are massive, and supersymmetry is broken with a small positive cosmological constant, features needed to reproduce…
Black holes in string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau varieties a priori might be expected to have moduli dependent features. For example the entropy of the black hole might be expected to depend on the complex structure of the manifold.…
We study the problem of existence of static spherically symmetric wormholes supported by the kink-like configuration of a scalar field. With this aim we consider a self-consistent, real, nonlinear, nonminimally coupled scalar field $\phi$…
In analyzing maximally symmetric Lovelock black holes with non-planar horizon topologies, many novel features have been observed. The existence of finite radius singularities, a mass gap in the black hole spectrum and solutions displaying…
It is suggested that the true ground state of the world has exactly vanishing vacuum energy and that the cosmological constant that seems to have been observed is due to our region of the universe being stuck in a false vacuum, whose energy…
We study string compactifications with sixteen supersymmetries. The moduli space for these compactifications becomes quite intricate in lower dimensions, partly because there are many different irreducible components. We focus primarily,…
We argue that the following three statements cannot all be true: (i) our vacuum is a type IIB / F-theory vacuum at moderate-to-large $h^{1,1}$, (ii) the $\alpha'$-expansion is controlled via the supergravity approximation, \`a la the KKLT…
We show that two stationary, asymptotically flat vacuum black holes in 5 dimensions with two commuting axial symmetries are identical if and only if their masses, angular momenta, and their ``rod structures'' coincide. We also show that the…
We consider noncommutative theory of a compact scalar field. The recently discovered projector solitons are interpreted as classical vacua in the model considered. Localized solutions to the projector equation are pointed out and their…