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We examine the thermodynamics of a near-extremal Kerr black hole, and demonstrate that the geometry behaves as an ordinary quantum system with a vanishingly small degeneracy at low temperatures. This is in contrast with the classical analysis, which instead predicts a macroscopic entropy for the extremal Kerr black hole. Our results follow from a careful analysis of the gravitational path integral. Specifically, the low temperature canonical partition function behaves as Z ∼ T 3 2 e S 0 + c log S 0 , with S0 the classical degeneracy and c a numerical coefficient we compute. This is in line with the general expectations for non-supersymmetric near-extremal black hole thermodynamics, as has been clarified in the recent past, although cases without spherical symmetry have not yet been fully analyzed until now. We also point out some curious features relating to the rotational zero modes of the near-extremal Kerr black hole background that affects the coefficient c. This raises a puzzle when considering similar black holes in string theory. Our results generalize to other rotating black holes, as we briefly exemplify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landscape of six-dimensional supergravities is dramatically constrained by the cancellation of gauge and gravitational anomalies, but the full extent of its implications has not been uncovered. We explore the cancellation of global anomalies of the Dai-Freed type in this setting with abelian and simply laced gauge groups, finding novel constraints. In particular, we exclude arbitrarily large abelian charges in an infinite family of theories for certain types of quadratic refinements, including a specific one defined in the literature. We also show that the Gepner orientifold with no tensor multiplets is anomaly-free for a different choice, as well as a number of heterotic models with and without spacetime supersymmetry in six dimensions. The latter analysis extends previous results in ten dimensions to some lower-dimensional settings in the heterotic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a recently-proposed string theory on AdS3 × S3 × T4 with one unit of NS-NS flux (k = 1). We discuss interpretations of the target space, including connections to twistor geometry and a more conventional spacetime interpretation via the Wakimoto representation. We propose an alternative perspective on the role of the Wakimoto formalism in the k = 1 string, for which no large radius limit is required by the inclusion of extra operator insertions in the path integral. This provides an exact Wakimoto description of the worldsheet CFT. We also discuss an additional local worldsheet symmetry, Q(z), that emerges when k = 1 and show that this symmetry plays an important role in the localisation of the path integral to a sum over covering maps. We demonstrate the emergence of a rigid worldsheet translation symmetry in the radial direction of the AdS3, for which again the presence of Q(z) is crucial. We conjecture that this radial symmetry plays a key role in understanding, in the case of the k = 1 string, the encoding of the bulk physics on the two-dimensional boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a recently-proposed string theory on AdS3 × S3 × T4 with one unit of NS-NS flux (k = 1). We discuss interpretations of the target space, including connections to twistor geometry and a more conventional spacetime interpretation via the Wakimoto representation. We propose an alternative perspective on the role of the Wakimoto formalism in the k = 1 string, for which no large radius limit is required by the inclusion of extra operator insertions in the path integral. This provides an exact Wakimoto description of the worldsheet CFT. We also discuss an additional local worldsheet symmetry, Q(z), that emerges when k = 1 and show that this symmetry plays an important role in the localisation of the path integral to a sum over covering maps. We demonstrate the emergence of a rigid worldsheet translation symmetry in the radial direction of the AdS3, for which again the presence of Q(z) is crucial. We conjecture that this radial symmetry plays a key role in understanding, in the case of the k = 1 string, the encoding of the bulk physics on the two-dimensional boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In perturbative string theory, one is generally interested in asymptotic observables, such as the S-matrix in flat spacetime, and boundary correlation functions in anti-de Sitter spacetime. However, there are backgrounds in which such observables do not exist. We study examples of such backgrounds in 1 + 1 dimensional string theory. In these examples, the Liouville wall accelerates and can become spacelike in the past and/or future. When that happens, the corresponding null infinity, at which the standard scattering states are defined, is shielded by the Liouville wall. We compute scattering and particle production amplitudes in these backgrounds in the region in parameter space where the wall remains timelike, and discuss the continuation of this picture to the spacelike regime. We also discuss the physics from the point of view of the dynamics of free fermions in backgrounds with a time-dependent Fermi surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, building on our recent investigations and motivated by the fuzzball-paradigm, we explore normal modes of a probe massless scalar field in the rotating BTZ-geometry in an asymptotically AdS spacetime and correspondingly obtain the Spectral Form Factor (SFF) of the scalar field. In particular, we analyze the SFF obtained from the single-particle partition function. We observe that, a non-trivial Dip-Ramp-Plateau (DRP) structure, with a Ramp of slope one (within numerical precision) exists in the SFF which is obtained from the grand-canonical partition function. This behaviour is observed to remain stable close to extremality as well. However, at exact extremality, we observe a loss of the DRP-structure in the corresponding SFF. Technically, we have used two methods to obtain our results: (i) An explicit and direct numerical solution of the boundary conditions to obtain the normal modes, (ii) A WKB-approximation, which yields analytic, semi-analytic and efficient numerical solutions for the modes in various regimes. We further re-visit the non-rotating case and elucidate the effectiveness of the WKB-approximation in this case, which allows for an analytic expression of the normal modes in the regime where a level-repulsion exists. This regime corresponds to the lower end of the spectrum as a function of the scalar angular momentum, while the higher end of this spectrum tends to become flat. By analyzing the classical stress-tensor of the probe sector, we further demonstrate that the back-reaction of the scalar field grows fast as the angular momenta of the scalar modes increase in the large angular momenta regime, while the back-reaction remains controllably small in the regime where the spectrum has non-trivial level correlations. This further justifies cutting the spectrum off at a suitable value of the scalar angular momenta, beyond which the scalar back-reaction significantly modifies the background geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been proposed that flux compactifications of supercritical string theories (i.e., with spacetime dimension D > 10) have dS vacua, with large D acting as a control parameter for corrections to the classical spacetime effective action. In this paper, we provide a detailed analysis of the self-consistency of such models, focussing on α′ and backreaction corrections. We first show that all supercritical AdS, Minkowski and dS vacua in this setting have ≳ O 1 curvature and/or field strengths in the string frame. This may be in tension with suppressing α′ corrections unless the coefficients of the higher-derivative terms have a sufficiently strong large-D suppression. We then argue that an additional and more severe problem arises in the dS case due to the backreaction of O-planes. In particular, we argue using a combination of geometric bounds and string-theory constraints that the O-plane backreaction is large in supercritical dS models. This implies that a large part of the naive classical geometry is eaten up by singular holes and thus indicates a breakdown of the classical description. Our finding resonates with several other recent results suggesting that string theory does not admit dS vacua in regimes where string and backreaction corrections are under control. As byproducts of our analysis, we derive a number of technical results that are useful beyond the specific applications in this paper. In particular, we compute the leading backreaction corrections to the smeared solution in a general flux compactification from D to d dimensions for an arbitrary distribution of O-planes and D-branes. We further argue for a general estimate for Green's functions on compact manifolds (and therefore for the backreaction corrections) in terms of their diameter, volume and dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the natural norm on the space of solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in an asymptotically de Sitter spacetime. We propose that the norm is obtained by integrating the squared wavefunctional over field configurations and dividing by the volume of the diff-and-Weyl group. We impose appropriate gauge conditions to fix the diff- and-Weyl redundancy and obtain a finite expression for the norm using the Faddeev-Popov procedure. This leads to a ghost action that has zero modes corresponding to a residual conformal subgroup of the diff-and-Weyl group. By keeping track of these zero modes, we show that Higuchi's norm for group-averaged states emerges from our prescription in the nongravitational limit. We apply our formalism to cosmological correlators and propose that they should be understood as gauge-fixed observables. We identify the symmetries of these observables. In a nongravitational theory, it is necessary to specify such correlators everywhere on a Cauchy slice to identify a state in the Hilbert space. In a theory of quantum gravity, we demonstrate a version of the principle of holography of information: cosmological correlators in an arbitrarily small region suffice to completely specify the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum complexity has already shed light on CFT states dual to bulk geometries containing spacelike singularities [1–3]. In this work, we turn our attention to the quantum complexity of CFT/quantum gravity states which are dual to bulk geometries containing a naked timelike singularity. The appearance of naked timelike singularities in semiclassical gravity is allowed in string theory, particularly in the context of holography, so long as they satisfy the Gubser criterion [4-5] — those naked timelike singularities which arise as the extremal limits of geometries containing cloaked singularities are admissible. In this work, we use holographic complexity as a probe on geometries containing naked timelike singularities and explore potential relation to the Gubser criterion for detecting allowable naked timelike singularities. We study three specific cases of naked timelike singularities, namely the negative mass Schwarzschild-AdS spacetime, the timelike Kasner-AdS [6] and Einstein-dilaton system [7]. The first two cases are outright ruled out by the Gubser criterion while the third case is more subtle — according to the Gubser criterion the singularity switches from forbidden to admissible as the parameter α is dialed in the range [0, 1] across the transition point at α = 1 / 3 . We probe all three geometries using two holographic complexity prescriptions, namely CA and CV. For the case of the negative mass SAdS and timelike Kasner-AdS4 the complexities display no sign of pathology (both receive finite contribution from the naked singularity). For the Einstein-Dilaton case, action-complexity does display a sharp transition from physical positive values to patholgical negative divergent values (arising from the singularity) as one transcends the Gubser bound. Our study suggests that neither action-complexity (CA) nor volume-complexity (CV) can serve as a sensitive tool to investigate (naked) timelike singularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a decoupling limit of M-theory where the three-form gauge potential becomes critical. This limit leads to nonrelativistic M-theory coupled to a non-Lorentzian spacetime geometry. Nonrelativistic M-theory is U-dual to M-theory in the discrete light cone quantization, a non-perturbative approach related to the Matrix theory description of M-theory. We focus on the compactification of nonrelativistic M-theory over a two-torus that exhibits anisotropic behaviors due to the foliation structure of the spacetime geometry. We develop a frame covariant formalism of the toroidal geometry, which provides a geometrical interpretation of the recently discovered polynomial realization of SL(2 , ℤ) duality in nonrelativistic type IIB superstring theory. We will show that the nonrelativistic IIB string background fields transform as polynomials of an effective Galilean "boost velocity" on the two-torus. As an application, we construct an action principle describing a single M5-brane in nonrelativistic M-theory and study its compactification over the anisotropic two-torus. This procedure leads to a D3-brane action in nonrelativistic IIB string theory that makes the SL(2 , ℤ) invariance manifest in the polynomial realization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive an effective action for charged plasmas with an anomalous (abelian) global current charge current using holography. The holographic description is captured by the dynamics of an Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in an asymptotically AdS spacetime. The 't Hooft anomaly contribution, which is encoded in the Chern-Simons term, contributes at the Gaussian order in the effective action only in the momentum diffusion sector, where it leads to chiral shear waves. However, as we demonstrate, beyond the Gaussian order, there is non-trivial imprint of the parity-violating anomaly term in sound and charge diffusion dynamics as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find, in the AdS/CFT, a source on the boundary which generates one wave packet drawing a null geodesic inside the bulk. Once such a wave packet dives into the bulk, it comes back to the boundary after a specific time, at which the expectation value of the corresponding boundary operator finally stands up. Since this behavior strongly reflects the existence of the holographic spacetime, our technique will be helpful in identifying holographic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive a massive double copy construction within string theory. To this end, we use massive vectors of the open string spectrum that appear in compactifications to four dimensions and construct massive spin-2 tensors as closed string states, thereby mimicking the structure of the massless graviton. We then compute three-point amplitudes for the scattering of massless and massive spin-2 closed string states and reveal the double copy structure of the latter. With these results being finite in the string scale, we are further able to reproduce the cubic Lagrangian of ghost-free bimetric theory around flat spacetime for bulk massive spin-2 states originating in products of vectors of extended brane supersymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the impact of metric fluctuations on the higher-dimensional black hole geometry. We generalized the four-dimensional model to higher dimensions to treat quantum vacuum fluctuations by the classical approach. A fluctuating black hole is portrayed by a higher-dimensional Vaidya metric with a spherically oscillating mass. Assuming a small fluctuation amplitude, we employed a perturbation method to obtain a radially outgoing null geodesic equation up to the second order in the fluctuation. Furthermore, the fluctuation of the event horizon up to the second order depends on the number of spacetime dimensions. Therefore, the time-averaged values of the thermodynamic variables defined at the horizon also feature dimension-dependent correction terms. A general solution was obtained for rays propagating near the horizon within a fluctuating geometry. Upon examining this in a large D limit, we found that a complete solution can be obtained in a compact form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct large families of supergravity solutions that are asymptotic to AdS2 and terminate with a cap that is singular in two dimensions but smooth in higher dimensions. These solutions break supersymmetry and conformal invariance. We list arguments suggesting that they correspond to finite-energy excitations in empty AdS2 that back-react on the geometry by inducing non-trivial bubbling topology. They are constructed from the novel technique associated with the Ernst formalism for AdSD × 풞 solitons in supergravity [1]. The technique is applied to D = 2 in M-theory with 풞 = S3 × T6. The directions of 풞 degenerate smoothly as a chain of bolts which ends the spacetime in the IR and generates non-supersymmetric bubbles supported by M2-brane flux. Some specific solutions have "flat" directions where the sizes of their bubbles are totally unconstrained and can be arbitrarily tuned while the asymptotics remains fixed. The solitons should correspond to regular non-supersymmetric states of a holographically dual CFT1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct large families of supergravity solutions that are asymptotic to AdS2 and terminate with a cap that is singular in two dimensions but smooth in higher dimensions. These solutions break supersymmetry and conformal invariance. We list arguments suggesting that they correspond to finite-energy excitations in empty AdS2 that back-react on the geometry by inducing non-trivial bubbling topology. They are constructed from the novel technique associated with the Ernst formalism for AdSD × 풞 solitons in supergravity [1]. The technique is applied to D = 2 in M-theory with 풞 = S3 × T6. The directions of 풞 degenerate smoothly as a chain of bolts which ends the spacetime in the IR and generates non-supersymmetric bubbles supported by M2-brane flux. Some specific solutions have "flat" directions where the sizes of their bubbles are totally unconstrained and can be arbitrarily tuned while the asymptotics remains fixed. The solitons should correspond to regular non-supersymmetric states of a holographically dual CFT1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Emergence Proposal in Quantum Gravity it is conjectured that all light-particle kinetic terms are absent in the fundamental ultraviolet theory and are generated by quantum corrections in the infrared. It has been argued that this may provide for some microscopic understanding of the Weak Gravity and Distance conjectures. In the present paper we take the first steps towards a systematic study of Emergence in the context of string theory. We emphasize the crucial role of the species scale in any effective field theory coupled to gravity, and discuss its computation in string theory and general systems with light towers of states. We then introduce the notion of Emergence and show how kinetic terms for moduli, gauge bosons and fermions may be generated. One-loop computations play an important role in Emergence, so we present detailed calculations in d spacetime dimensions for the wave-function renormalization of scalars, vectors and fermions. We extend and check the Emergence Proposal in a number string vacua, including 4d N = 2 theories arising from type IIA on a CY3, where the towers at strong coupling are comprised by D0 and (wrapped) D2-branes, and also elaborate on how instanton corrections would fit within the emergence picture. Higher dimensional examples are also discussed, including 6d and 7d models arising from F-/M-theory on an elliptic CY3 or a K3 surface. We also consider 10d string theories and study in some detail the emergence mechanism in type IIA. We show as well how the flux potential in 4d may be obtained from the emergence prescription, by analyzing the corresponding decompactification limits to M-theory. We find that the required kinetic terms for the dual 3-form fields can arise upon integrating out towers of massive gravitini (and bosonic superpartners). Our analysis renders support to the Emergence Proposal, and to the idea that infinite distance singularities may arise in Quantum Gravity as an intrinsic infrared phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effect of D-instantons on closed string scattering amplitudes in the two-dimensional type 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective. We find that the contribution from a pair of D-instanton and anti-D-instanton to the closed string reflection amplitude, with a suitable contour prescription for the integration over the D-instanton moduli space, agrees with the corresponding leading non-perturbative corrections in the proposed dual matrix quantum mechanics. This analysis is further extended to thermal observables defined at finite temperature. The infrared divergence in charged processes is understood through the measure factor for charged D-instantons, and can be treated with spacetime dimensional regularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of a four-dimensional de Sitter (dS4) universe on an expanding bubble in the five-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS5) background has been suggested as a possible cosmological scenario. It is motivated by the difficulties in the realization of a stable de Sitter vacua in string theory. The bubble can be nucleated in a meta-stable pure AdS5 spacetime, but it is known that a pure AdS spacetime is non-perturbatively unstable. It means that the pure AdS5 background is an idealized situation, and in realistic situations, non-linear perturbations in AdS may lead to the formation of black holes due to the gravitational turbulent instability. To investigate how the proposed scenario works in a more realistic situation, we here study the nucleation process of a vacuum bubble in the Kerr-AdS5 spacetime. Especially we investigate conditions sufficient to ensure the nucleation of a vacuum bubble with a rotating black hole and how the black hole affects the transition rate. We find that even in the Kerr-AdS5 spacetime, a quasi-dS4 expansion can be realized on the nucleated vacuum bubble without contradicting the de Sitter swampland conjectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an Einstein-scalar field model which is a consistent truncation of N = 8 D = 4 gauged supergravity, the scalar field possessing a potential which is unbounded from below and a tachyonic mass above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. We investigate the spherically symmetric asymptotically anti-de Sitter soliton and black hole solutions, with the aim of clarifying the asymptotics and the possible boundary conditions at infinity. The emerging picture is contrasted with that found for an Einstein-scalar field model with the same scalar mass and a quartic selfinteraction term. We also provide arguments for the existence of solitonic solutions which can be viewed as non-linear continuation of the (probe) scalar multipolar clouds, with emphasis on the dipole case. Apart from numerical results, exact solutions are found for solitons with a monopole and dipole scalar field, as perturbations around the AdS background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that some spacetime singularities of low energy effective action can be resolved by the effective loop corrections. However, the known potentials for the loop corrections fail to regulate the singularity of three dimensional black string. An alternative method is to introduce an extra flat spatial direction and boost away the singularity by using the O(d, d) rotation with the special Kalb-Ramond field. In this paper, we investigate a new set of non-local dilaton potentials for the effective loop corrections. The result shows that the singularity of three dimensional black string can be consistently resolved by the loop corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simplest black string in higher-dimensional general relativity (GR) is perhaps the direct product of a Schwarzschild spacetime and a flat spatial direction. However, it is known that the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory does not allow such a trivial and simple solution. We propose a novel analytic technique, which assumes that the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term becomes dominant over the Einstein-Hilbert (EH) term. Assuming the dimensionless coupling constant α normalized by the horizon scale is large enough, we find that the spacetime is separated into the GB region and GR region, which are matched via the transition region where the GB and EH terms are comparable. Using this large α approximation, we indeed construct new analytic solutions of black strings, from which we analytically compute various physical quantities of black strings at large α. Moreover, we confirm that all these analytic results are consistent with the numerical calculation. We also discuss the possible extension to general Einstein-Lovelock black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lense-Thirring spacetime describes a 4-dimensional slowly rotating approximate solution of vacuum Einstein equations valid to a linear order in rotation parameter. It is fully characterized by a single metric function of the corresponding static (Schwarzschild) solution. In this paper, we introduce a generalization of the Lense-Thirring spacetimes to the higher-dimensional multiply-spinning case, with an ansatz that is not necessarily fully characterized by a single (static) metric function. This generalization lets us study slowly rotating spacetimes in various higher curvature gravities as well as in the presence of non-trivial matter. Moreover, the ansatz can be recast in Painlevé-Gullstrand form (and thence is manifestly regular on the horizon) and admits a tower of exact rank-2 and higher rank Killing tensors that rapidly grows with the number of dimensions. In particular, we construct slowly multiply-spinning solutions in Lovelock gravity and notably show that in four dimensions Einstein gravity is the only non-trivial theory amongst all up to quartic curvature gravities that admits a Lense-Thirring solution characterized by a single metric function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by a possibility of solving non-supersymmetric type 0 string theory in AdS5× S5 background using integrability, we revisit the construction of type 0 string spectrum in some solvable examples of backgrounds with RR fluxes that are common to type IIB and type 0B theories. The presence of RR fluxes requires the use of a Green-Schwarz description for type 0 string theory. Like in flat space, the spectrum of type 0 theory can be derived from the type II theory spectrum by a (−1)F orbifolding, i.e. combining the untwisted sector where GS fermions are periodic with the twisted sector where GS fermions are antiperiodic (and projecting out all spacetime fermionic states). This construction of the type 0 spectrum may also be implemented using Melvin background that allows to continuously interpolate between the type II and type 0 theories. As an illustration, we discuss the type 0B spectrum in the pp-wave background which is the Penrose limit of AdS5× S5 with RR 5-form flux and also in the pp-wave background which is the Penrose limit of AdS3× S3× T4 supported by mixed RR and NSNS 3-form fluxes. We show that increasing the strength of the RR flux increases the value of the effective normal ordering constant (which determines the mass of the type 0 tachyon in flat space) and thus effectively decreases the momentum-space domain of instability of the ground state. We also comment on the semiclassical sector of states of type 0B theory in AdS5× S5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-particle tree-level scattering amplitudes in string theory are magically consistent with unitarity, reflected in the non-trivial fact that beneath the critical dimension, the residues of the amplitudes on massive poles can be expanded in partial waves with all positive coefficients. While this follows (rather indirectly) from the no-ghost theorem, the simplicity of the statement and its fundamental importance for the physical consistency of string theory begs for a more direct and elementary understanding. In this note we take a step in this direction by presenting a new expression for the partial wave coefficients of string amplitudes, given by surprisingly simple double/triple contour integrals for open/closed strings. This representation allows us to directly prove unitarity of all superstring theories in D ≤ 6 spacetime dimensions, and can also be used to determine various asymptotics of the partial waves at large mass levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We obtain the bosonic Lagrangians of vector and hypermultiplets coupled to four-dimensional N = 2 supergravity in signatures (0, 4), (1, 3) and (2,2) by compactification of type-II string theories in signatures (0,10), (1,9) and (2,8) on a Calabi-Yau threefold. Depending on the signature and the distinctions between type-IIA/IIA*/IIB/IIB*/IIB' the resulting scalar geometries are special Kähler or special para-Kähler for vector multiplets and quaternion-Kähler or para-quaternion Kähler for hypermultiplets. By spacelike and timelike reductions we obtain three-dimensional N = 4 supergravity theories coupled to two sets of hypermultiplets. We determine the c-maps relating vector to hypermultiplets, and show how the four-dimensional theories are related by spacelike, timelike and mixed, signature-changing T-dualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin of the graviton from string theory is well understood: it corresponds to a massless state in closed string spectra, whose low-energy effective action, as extracted from string scattering amplitudes, is that of Einstein-Hilbert. In this work, we explore the possibility of such a string-theoretic emergence of ghost-free bimetric theory, a recently proposed theory that involves two dynamical metrics, that around particular backgrounds propagates the graviton and a massive spin-2 field, which has been argued to be a viable dark matter candidate. By choosing to identify the latter with a massive spin-2 state of open string spectra, we compute tree-level three-point string scattering amplitudes that describe interactions of the massive spin-2 with itself and with the graviton. With the mass of the external legs depending on the string scale, we discover that extracting the corresponding low-energy effective actions in four spacetime dimensions is a subtle but consistent process and proceed to appropriately compare them with bimetric theory. Our findings consist in establishing that string and bimetric theory provide to lowest order the same set of two-derivative terms describing the interactions of the massive spin-2 with itself and with the graviton, albeit up to numerical coefficient discrepancies, a fact that we analyze and interpret. We conclude with a mention of future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider spacetime-dependent solutions to string theory models with tadpoles for dynamical fields, arising from non-trivial scalar potentials. The solutions have necessarily finite extent in spacetime, and are capped off by boundaries at a finite distance, in a dynamical realization of the Cobordism Conjecture. We show that as the configuration approaches these cobordism walls of nothing, the scalar fields run off to infinite distance in moduli space, allowing to explore the implications of the Swampland Distance Conjecture. We uncover new interesting scaling relations linking the moduli space distance and the SDC tower scale to spacetime geometric quantities, such as the distance to the wall and the scalar curvature. We show that walls at which scalars remain at finite distance in moduli space correspond to domain walls separating different (but cobordant) theories/vacua; this still applies even if the scalars reach finite distance singularities in moduli space, such as conifold points. We illustrate our ideas with explicit examples in massive IIA theory, M-theory on CY threefolds, and 10d non-supersymmetric strings. In 4d N = 1 theories, our framework reproduces a recent proposal to explore the SDC using 4d string-like solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In flux compactifications of type IIB string theory with D3 and seven-branes, the negative induced D3 charge localized on seven-branes leads to an apparently pathological profile of the metric sufficiently close to the source. With the volume modulus stabilized in a KKLT de Sitter vacuum this pathological region takes over a significant part of the entire compactification, threatening to spoil the KKLT effective field theory. In this paper we employ the Seiberg-Witten solution of pure SU(N) super Yang-Mills theory to argue that wrapped seven-branes can be thought of as bound states of more microscopic exotic branes. We argue that the low-energy worldvolume dynamics of a stack of n such exotic branes is given by the (A1, An−1) Argyres-Douglas theory. Moreover, the splitting of the perturbative (in α′) seven-brane into its constituent branes at the non-perturbative level resolves the apparently pathological region close to the seven-brane and replaces it with a region of O (1) Einstein frame volume. While this region generically takes up an O (1) fraction of the compactification in a KKLT de Sitter vacuum we argue that a small flux superpotential dynamically ensures that the 4d effective field theory of KKLT remains valid nevertheless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider different (supersymmetric) brane intersections in type IIB string theory that preserve (1 + 1)D Lorentz symmetry. We provide the full supergravity solutions in their analytic form and discuss their physical properties. The Ansatz for the spacetime dependence of the different brane warp factors goes beyond the harmonic superposition principle. By studying the associated near-horizon geometry, we construct interesting classes of AdS3 vacua in type IIB and highlight their relation to the existing classifications in the literature. Finally, we discuss their holographic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss some aspects of swampland constraints — especially the swamp-land distance conjecture — in a large number of space-time dimensions D. We analyze Kaluza-Klein (KK) states at large D and find that some KK spectra possess an interesting dependence on D. On the basis of these observations we propose a new large dimension conjecture. We apply it to KK states of compactifications to anti-de Sitter backgrounds where it predicts an upper bound on the dimension of space-time as a function of its characteristic radius. We also apply our conjecture to black hole spacetimes, whose entropies have a D-dependence very similar to that of the KK spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solvable current-current deformation of the worldsheet theory of strings on AdS3 has been recently conjectured to be dual to an irrelevant deformation of the spacetime orbifold CFT, commonly referred to as single-trace T T ¯ . These deformations give rise to a family of bulk geometries which realize a non-trivial flow towards the UV. For a particular sign of this deformation, the corresponding three-dimensional geometry approaches AdS3 in the interior, but has a curvature singularity at finite radius, beyond which there are closed timelike curves. It has been suggested that this singularity is due to the presence of "negative branes," which are exotic objects that generically change the metric signature. We propose an alternative UV-completion for geometries displaying a similar singular behavior by cutting and gluing to a regular background which approaches a linear dilaton vacuum in the UV. In the S-dual picture, a singularity resolution mechanism known as the enhançon induces this transition by the formation of a shell of D5-branes at a fixed radial position near the singularity. The solutions involving negative branes gain a new interpretation in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study finite temperature string scale AdS3 backgrounds. One background is AdS3× S1× T2 in which the anti-de Sitter space-time and the circle are at the radius α ′ . Using path integral techniques, we show that the bulk spectrum includes a continuum of states as well as Ramond-Ramond ground states that agree with those of the symmetric orbifold of the two-torus after second quantization. We also examine the one-loop free energy of the background AdS3× S1 at curvature radius 2 α ′ / 3 . In the space-time NSNS sector, the string theory spontaneously breaks conformal symmetry as well as R-charge conjugation symmetry. We prove that the minimum in the boundary energy is reached for a singly wound string. In the RR sector, we classify the infinite set of ground states with fractional R-charges. Moreover, we remark on the behaviour of critical temperatures as the curvature scale becomes smaller than the string scale. In an appendix, we derive the Hawking-Page transition in string theory by integrating a world sheet one-point function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the open string amplitude's dual role as a space-time S-matrix and a 2D holomorphic CFT correlation function. We pursue this correspondence in two directions. First, beginning with a general disk integrand dressed with a Koba-Nielsen factor, we demonstrate that exchange symmetry for the factorization residue of the amplitude forces the integrand to be expandable on SL(2,R) conformal blocks. Furthermore, positivity constraints associated with unitarity imply the SL(2,R) blocks must come in linear combinations for which the Virasoro block emerges at the "kink" in the space of solutions. In other words, Virasoro symmetry arises at the boundary of consistent factorization. Next, we consider the low energy EFT description, where unitarity manifests as the EFThedron in which the couplings must live. The existence of a worldsheet description implies, through the Koba-Nielsen factor, monodromy relations which impose algebraic identities amongst the EFT couplings. We demonstrate at finite derivative order that the intersection of the "monodromy plane" and the four-dimensional EFThedron carves out a tiny island for the couplings, which continues to shrink as the derivative order is increased. At the eighth derivative order, on a three-dimensional monodromy plane, the intersection fixes the width of this island to around 1.5% (of ζ(3)) and 0.2% (of ζ(5)) with respect to the toroidally compactified Type-I super string answer. This leads us to conjecture that the four-point open superstring amplitude can be completely determined by the geometry of the intersection of the monodromy plane and the EFThedron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical motion of a Nambu-Goto string in AdS3 spacetime is governed by the generalized sinh-Gordon equation. It can locally be reduced to the sinh-Gordon (shG), cosh-Gordon (chG), or Liouville equation, depending on the value of the scalar curvature of the induced metric. In this paper, I examine solutions that contain both shG-type and chG-type regions. The boundary between these regions moves with the speed of light. I show that near such boundaries (generalized) solitons can be classically pair-produced. The solitons move subluminally (superluminally) in the shG (chG) region on the worldsheet, and they correspond to cusps on the string. A direct energy cascade is observed at the moment of pair-creation. For the calculations, I use an exact discretization of the equation of motion. The solutions are segmented strings. In this discrete system, pair-production leads to a complete evaporation of the shG region. The final state is a gas of cusps in a chG environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the worldvolume for the bosonic sector of the lower-dimensional F-theory that embeds 4D, N=1 M-theory and the 3D Type II superstring. The worldvolume (5-brane) theory is that of a single 6D gauge 2-form XMN(σP) whose field strength is selfdual. Thus unlike string theory, the spacetime indices are tied to the worldsheet ones: in the Hamiltonian formalism, the spacetime coordinates are a 10 of the GL(5) of the 5 σ's (neglecting τ). The current algebra gives a rederivation of the F-bracket. The background-independent subalgebra of the Virasoro algebra gives the usual section condition, while a new type of section condition follows from Gauß's law, tying the worldvolume to spacetime: solving just the old condition yields M-theory, while solving only the new one gives the manifestly T-dual version of the string, and the combination produces the usual string. We also find a covariant form of the condition that dimensionally reduces the string coordinates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a string theory in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time that is independent of the boundary metric. It is a topologically twisted theory of quantum gravity. We study string theories with an asymptotic N = 2 superconformal symmetry and demonstrate that, when the world sheet coupling to the space-time boundary metric undergoes a U(1) R-symmetry twist, the space-time boundary energy-momentum tensor becomes topological. As a by-product of our analysis, we obtain the world sheet vertex operator that codes the space-time energy-momentum for conformally flat boundary metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reexamine a family of models with a 3+1-dimensional de Sitter spacetime obtained in the standard tree-level low-energy limit of string theory with a non-trivial anisotropic axion-dilaton background. While such limiting approximations are encouraging but incomplete, our analysis reveals a host of novel features, and shows these models to relate standard and well understood supersymmetric string theory solutions. Finally, we conjecture that this de Sitter spacetime naturally arises by including more of the stringy degrees of freedom, such as a recently advanced variant of the non-commutative phase-space formalism, as well as the analytic continuation of a complex two-dimensional Fano variety arising as a small resolution in a Calabi-Yau 5-fold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider in any dimension the supersymmetric Z2 truncations of the maximal supergravity theories. In each dimension and for each truncation we determine all the sets of 1/2-BPS space-filling branes, i.e. branes whose world-volume invades the whole of space-time, that preserve the supersymmetry of the truncated theory and the representations of the symmetry of such theory to which they belong. We show that in any dimension below eight these sets always contain exotic branes, that are objects that do not have a ten-dimensional origin. We repeat the same analysis for half-maximal theories and for the quarter-maximal theories in four and three dimensions. We then discuss all the possible gaugings of these theories as described in terms of the embedding tensor. In general, the truncation acts on the quadratic constraints of the embedding tensor in such a way that some representations survive the truncation although they are not required by the supersymmetry of the truncated theory. We show that for any theory, among these representations, the highest-dimensional ones are precisely those of the 1/2-BPS space-filling branes that preserve the same supersymmetry of the truncated theory, and we interpret this result as the fact that these quadratic constraints after the truncation become tadpole conditions for such branes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the 1/2-BPS D-branes on the AdS×S background. Based only on the classification of 1/2-BPS D-branes obtained by the covariant open string description, we consider various purely static configurations of D-branes without any worldvolume flux on the AdS×S background. Under the covariant κ symmetry fixing condition, we investigate which part the spacetime supersymmetries is preserved on the D-brane worldvolume and obtain the associated worldvolume supersymmetry transformation rules to leading order in the worldvolume fluctuating fields. It is shown that, for purely static configurations without any worldvolume flux, only the AdS type D-branes, in which the AdS radial direction is one of worldvolume coordinates, are 1/2-BPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In five-dimensional minimal supergravity, there are spherical black holes with nontrivial topology outside the horizon which have the same conserved charges at infinity as the BMPV solution. We show that some of these black holes have greater entropy than the BMPV solution. These spacetimes are all asymptotically flat, stationary, and supersymmetric. We also show that there is a limit in which the black hole shrinks to zero size and the solution becomes a nonsingular 'bubbling' geometry. Thus, these solutions provide explicit analytic examples of placing black holes inside solitons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate time-dependent spherically symmetric solutions of the four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-axion-dilaton system, with the dilaton coupling that occurs in low-energy effective heterotic string theory. A class of dilaton-electrovacuum radiating solutions with a trivial axion, previously found by Güven and Yörük, is re-derived in a simpler manner and its causal structure is clarified. It is shown that such dynamical spacetimes featuring apparent horizons do not possess a regular light-like past null infinity or future null infinity, depending on whether they are radiating or accreting. These solutions are then extended in two ways. First we consider a Vaidya-like generalisation, which introduces a null dust source. Such spacetimes are used to test the status of cosmic censorship in the context of low-energy string theory. We prove that - within this family of solutions - regular black holes cannot evolve into naked singularities by accreting null dust, unless standard energy conditions are violated. Secondly, we employ S-duality to derive new time-dependent dyon solutions with a nontrivial axion turned on. Although they share the same causal structure as their Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton counterparts, these solutions possess both electric and magnetic charges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently we have shown [1] how to formulate a thermodynamic first law for a single (charged) accelerated black hole in AdS space by fixing the conical deficit angles present in the spacetime. Here we show how to generalise this result, formulating thermodynamics for black holes with varying conical deficits. We derive a new potential for the varying tension defects: the thermodynamic length, both for accelerating and static black holes. We discuss possible physical processes in which the tension of a string ending on a black hole might vary, and also map out the thermodynamic phase space of accelerating black holes and explore their critical phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study non-perturbative instabilities of AdS spacetime in General Relativity with a cosmological constant in arbitrary dimensions. In this simple setup we explicitly construct a class of gravitational instantons generalizing Witten's bubble of nothing. We calculate the corresponding Euclidean action and show that its change is finite. The expansion of these bubbles is described by a lower-dimensional de Sitter geometry within a non- compact foliation of the background spacetime. Moreover we discuss the existence of covariantly constant spinors as a possible topological obstruction for such decays to occur. This mechanism is further connected to the stability of supersymmetric vacua in string theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In string theory, an important challenge is to show if the big-bang singularity could be resolved by the higher derivative α′ corrections. In this work, based on the Hohm-Zwiebach action, we construct a series of non-singular non-perturbative cosmological solutions with the complete α′ corrections, for the bosonic gravi-dilaton system. In the perturbative regime, these solutions exactly match the perturbative results given in literature. Our results show that the big-bang singularity indeed could be smoothed out by the higher derivative α′ corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

String theory has no parameter except the string scale, so a dynamically compactified solution to 4 dimensional spacetime should determine both the Planck scale and the cosmological constant Λ. In the racetrack Kähler uplift flux compactification model in Type IIB theory, where the string theory landscape is generated by scanning over discrete values of all the flux parameters, a statistical preference for an exponentially small Λ is found to be natural [1]. Within this framework and matching the median Λ value to the observed Λ, a mass scale m ≃ 100 GeV naturally appears. We explain how the electroweak scale can be identified with this mass scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the 6d Little String Theory (LST) (the decoupled theory on the worldvolume of N NS5-branes) on curved manifolds, by using its holographic duality to Type II string theory in asymptotically linear dilaton backgrounds. We focus on backgrounds with a large number of Killing vectors (namely, products of maximally symmetric spaces), without requiring supersymmetry (we do not turn on any background fields except the metric). LST is non-local so it is not obvious which spaces it can be defined on; we show that holography implies that the theory cannot be put on negatively curved spaces, but only on spaces with zero or positive curvature. For example, one cannot put LST on a product of an anti-de Sitter space times another space, without turning on extra background fields. On spaces with positive curvature, such as S6, ℝ2× S4, S3× S3, etc., we typically find (for large N) dual holographic backgrounds which are weakly coupled and weakly curved everywhere, so that they can be well-described by Type II supergravity. In some cases more than one smooth solution exists for LST on the same space, and they all contribute to the partition function. We also study the thermodynamical properties of LST compactified on spheres, finding the leading correction to the Hagedorn behavior of the spectrum, which is different on curved space than on flat space. We discuss the holographic renormalization procedure, which must be implemented in order to get a finite free energy for the LST; we do not know how to implement it for general spaces, but we can (and we do) implement it for the theory compactified on S4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to AdS/CFT duality semi-classical strings in the Schrodinger space- time is conjectured to be a holographic dual to dipole CFT. In this paper we consider pulsating strings in five-dimensional Schrodinger space times five-sphere. We have found classical string solutions pulsating entirely in the Schrodinger part of the background. We quantize the theory semi-classically and obtain the wave function of the problem. We have found the corrections to the energy, which by duality are supposed to give anomalous dimensions of certain operators in the dipole CFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonrelativistic string theory in flat spacetime is described by a two-dimensional quantum field theory with a nonrelativistic global symmetry acting on the worldsheet fields. Nonrelativistic string theory is unitary, ultraviolet complete and has a string spectrum and spacetime S-matrix enjoying nonrelativistic symmetry. The worldsheet theory of nonrelativistic string theory is coupled to a curved spacetime background and to a Kalb-Ramond two-form and dilaton field. The appropriate spacetime geometry for nonrelativistic string theory is dubbed string Newton-Cartan geometry, which is distinct from Riemannian geometry. This defines the sigma model of nonrelativistic string theory describing strings propagating and interacting in curved background fields. We also implement T-duality transformations in the path integral of this sigma model and uncover the spacetime interpretation of T-duality. We show that T-duality along the longitudinal direction of the string Newton-Cartan geometry describes relativistic string theory on a Lorentzian geometry with a compact lightlike isometry, which is otherwise only defined by a subtle infinite boost limit. This relation provides a first principles definition of string theory in the discrete light cone quantization (DLCQ) in an arbitrary background, a quantization that appears in nonperturbative approaches to quantum field theory and string/M-theory, such as in Matrix theory. T-duality along a transverse direction of the string Newton-Cartan geometry equates nonrelativistic string theory in two distinct, T-dual backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a toy model of the Kerr/CFT correspondence using string theory on AdS3 × S3. We propose a single trace irrelevant deformation of the dual CFT generated by a vertex operator with spacetime dimensions (2, 1). This operator shares the same quantum numbers as the integrable TJ¯ deformation of two-dimensional CFTs where J¯ is a chiral U(1) current. We show that the deformation is marginal on the worldsheet and that the target spacetime is deformed to null warped AdS3 upon dimensional reduction. We also calculate the spectrum of the deformed theory on the cylinder and compare it to the field theory analysis of TJ¯-deformed CFTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]