scholarly journals Weak Gravity Conjecture From Low Energy Observers' Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 1800016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuyuki Furuuchi
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Craig ◽  
Isabel Garcia Garcia ◽  
Graham D. Kribs

Abstract Massive U(1) gauge theories featuring parametrically light vectors are suspected to belong in the Swampland of consistent EFTs that cannot be embedded into a theory of quantum gravity. We study four-dimensional, chiral U(1) gauge theories that appear anomalous over a range of energies up to the scale of anomaly-cancelling massive chiral fermions. We show that such theories must be UV-completed at a finite cutoff below which a radial mode must appear, and cannot be decoupled — a Stückelberg limit does not exist. When the infrared fermion spectrum contains a mixed U(1)-gravitational anomaly, this class of theories provides a toy model of a boundary into the Swampland, for sufficiently small values of the vector mass. In this context, we show that the limit of a parametrically light vector comes at the cost of a quantum gravity scale that lies parametrically below MP1, and our result provides field theoretic evidence for the existence of a Swampland of EFTs that is disconnected from the subset of theories compatible with a gravitational UV-completion. Moreover, when the low energy theory also contains a U(1)3 anomaly, the Weak Gravity Conjecture scale makes an appearance in the form of a quantum gravity cutoff for values of the gauge coupling above a certain critical size.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Heidenreich ◽  
Cody Long ◽  
Liam McAllister ◽  
Tom Rudelius ◽  
John Stout

Abstract We develop methods for resummation of instanton lattice series. Using these tools, we investigate the consequences of the Weak Gravity Conjecture for large-field axion inflation. We find that the Sublattice Weak Gravity Conjecture implies a constraint on the volume of the axion fundamental domain. However, we also identify conditions under which alignment and clockwork constructions, and a new variant of N -flation that we devise, can evade this constraint. We conclude that some classes of low-energy effective theories of large-field axion inflation are consistent with the strongest proposed form of the Weak Gravity Conjecture, while others are not.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Castellano ◽  
Anamaría Font ◽  
Alvaro Herráez ◽  
Luis E. Ibáñez

Abstract We conjecture that in a consistent supergravity theory with non-vanishing gravitino mass, the limit m3/2 → 0 is at infinite distance. In particular one can write Mtower ~ $$ {m}_{3/2}^{\delta } $$ m 3 / 2 δ so that as the gravitino mass goes to zero, a tower of KK states as well as emergent strings becomes tensionless. This conjecture may be motivated from the Weak Gravity Conjecture as applied to strings and membranes and implies in turn the AdS Distance Conjecture. We test this proposal in classical 4d type IIA orientifold vacua in which one obtains a range of values $$ \frac{1}{3} $$ 1 3 ≤ δ ≤ 1. The parameter δ is related to the scale decoupling exponent in AdS vacua and to the α exponent in the Swampland Distance Conjecture for the type IIA complex structure. We present a general analysis of the gravitino mass in the limits of moduli space in terms of limiting Mixed Hodge Structures and study in some detail the case of two-moduli F-theory settings. Moreover, we obtain general lower bounds δ ≥$$ \frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{4} $$ 1 3 , 1 4 for Calabi-Yau threefolds and fourfolds, respectively. The conjecture has important phenomenological implications. In particular we argue that low-energy supersymmetry of order 1 TeV is only obtained if there is a tower of KK states at an intermediate scale, of order 108 GeV. One also has an upper bound for the Hubble constant upon inflation H ≲ $$ {m}_{3/2}^{\delta }{M}_{\mathrm{P}}^{\left(1-\delta \right)} $$ m 3 / 2 δ M P 1 − δ .


Author(s):  
A. Garg ◽  
W.A.T. Clark ◽  
J.P. Hirth

In the last twenty years, a significant amount of work has been done in the theoretical understanding of grain boundaries. The various proposed grain boundary models suggest the existence of coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries at specific misorientations where a periodic structure representing a local minimum of energy exists between the two crystals. In general, the boundary energy depends not only upon the density of CSL sites but also upon the boundary plane, so that different facets of the same boundary have different energy. Here we describe TEM observations of the dissociation of a Σ=27 boundary in silicon in order to reduce its surface energy and attain a low energy configuration.The boundary was identified as near CSL Σ=27 {255} having a misorientation of (38.7±0.2)°/[011] by standard Kikuchi pattern, electron diffraction and trace analysis techniques. Although the boundary appeared planar, in the TEM it was found to be dissociated in some regions into a Σ=3 {111} and a Σ=9 {122} boundary, as shown in Fig. 1.


Author(s):  
G. G. Hembree ◽  
Luo Chuan Hong ◽  
P.A. Bennett ◽  
J.A. Venables

A new field emission scanning transmission electron microscope has been constructed for the NSF HREM facility at Arizona State University. The microscope is to be used for studies of surfaces, and incorporates several surface-related features, including provision for analysis of secondary and Auger electrons; these electrons are collected through the objective lens from either side of the sample, using the parallelizing action of the magnetic field. This collimates all the low energy electrons, which spiral in the high magnetic field. Given an initial field Bi∼1T, and a final (parallelizing) field Bf∼0.01T, all electrons emerge into a cone of semi-angle θf≤6°. The main practical problem in the way of using this well collimated beam of low energy (0-2keV) electrons is that it is travelling along the path of the (100keV) probing electron beam. To collect and analyze them, they must be deflected off the beam path with minimal effect on the probe position.


Author(s):  
Bertholdand Senftinger ◽  
Helmut Liebl

During the last few years the investigation of clean and adsorbate-covered solid surfaces as well as thin-film growth and molecular dynamics have given rise to a constant demand for high-resolution imaging microscopy with reflected and diffracted low energy electrons as well as photo-electrons. A recent successful implementation of a UHV low-energy electron microscope by Bauer and Telieps encouraged us to construct such a low energy electron microscope (LEEM) for high-resolution imaging incorporating several novel design features, which is described more detailed elsewhere.The constraint of high field strength at the surface required to keep the aberrations caused by the accelerating field small and high UV photon intensity to get an improved signal-to-noise ratio for photoemission led to the design of a tetrode emission lens system capable of also focusing the UV light at the surface through an integrated Schwarzschild-type objective. Fig. 1 shows an axial section of the emission lens in the LEEM with sample (28) and part of the sample holder (29). The integrated mirror objective (50a, 50b) is used for visual in situ microscopic observation of the sample as well as for UV illumination. The electron optical components and the sample with accelerating field followed by an einzel lens form a tetrode system. In order to keep the field strength high, the sample is separated from the first element of the einzel lens by only 1.6 mm. With a numerical aperture of 0.5 for the Schwarzschild objective the orifice in the first element of the einzel lens has to be about 3.0 mm in diameter. Considering the much smaller distance to the sample one can expect intense distortions of the accelerating field in front of the sample. Because the achievable lateral resolution depends mainly on the quality of the first imaging step, careful investigation of the aberrations caused by the emission lens system had to be done in order to avoid sacrificing high lateral resolution for larger numerical aperture.


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