Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture
Abstract The Distance Conjecture of Ooguri and Vafa holds that any infinite-distance limit in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory must be accompanied by a tower of exponentially light particles, which places tight constraints on the low-energy effective field theories in these limits. One a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of High Energy Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2023)130 |
| _version_ | 1797371246921383936 |
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| author | Tom Rudelius |
| author_facet | Tom Rudelius |
| author_sort | Tom Rudelius |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Distance Conjecture of Ooguri and Vafa holds that any infinite-distance limit in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory must be accompanied by a tower of exponentially light particles, which places tight constraints on the low-energy effective field theories in these limits. One attempt to extend these constraints to the interior of moduli space is the refined Distance Conjecture, which holds that the towers of light particles predicted by the Distance Conjecture must appear any time a modulus makes a super-Planckian excursion in moduli space. In this note, however, we point out that a tower which satisfies the Distance Conjecture in an infinite-distance limit of moduli space may be parametrically heavier than the Planck scale for an arbitrarily long geodesic distance. This means that the refined Distance Conjecture, in its most naive form, does not place meaningful constraints on low-energy effective field theory. This motivates alternative refinements of the Distance Conjecture, which place an absolute upper bound on the tower mass scale in the interior of moduli space. We explore two possibilities, providing evidence for them and briefly discussing their implications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:17:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f04c663863384802ae6c5b187396432e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1029-8479 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:17:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of High Energy Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-f04c663863384802ae6c5b187396432e2023-12-31T12:08:09ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792023-09-012023911810.1007/JHEP09(2023)130Revisiting the refined Distance ConjectureTom Rudelius0Physics Department, University of CaliforniaAbstract The Distance Conjecture of Ooguri and Vafa holds that any infinite-distance limit in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory must be accompanied by a tower of exponentially light particles, which places tight constraints on the low-energy effective field theories in these limits. One attempt to extend these constraints to the interior of moduli space is the refined Distance Conjecture, which holds that the towers of light particles predicted by the Distance Conjecture must appear any time a modulus makes a super-Planckian excursion in moduli space. In this note, however, we point out that a tower which satisfies the Distance Conjecture in an infinite-distance limit of moduli space may be parametrically heavier than the Planck scale for an arbitrarily long geodesic distance. This means that the refined Distance Conjecture, in its most naive form, does not place meaningful constraints on low-energy effective field theory. This motivates alternative refinements of the Distance Conjecture, which place an absolute upper bound on the tower mass scale in the interior of moduli space. We explore two possibilities, providing evidence for them and briefly discussing their implications.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2023)130String and Brane PhenomenologySupergravity ModelsSuperstring Vacua |
| spellingShingle | Tom Rudelius Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture Journal of High Energy Physics String and Brane Phenomenology Supergravity Models Superstring Vacua |
| title | Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture |
| title_full | Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture |
| title_fullStr | Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture |
| title_short | Revisiting the refined Distance Conjecture |
| title_sort | revisiting the refined distance conjecture |
| topic | String and Brane Phenomenology Supergravity Models Superstring Vacua |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2023)130 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomrudelius revisitingtherefineddistanceconjecture |