Discrete gauge symmetries and the weak gravity conjecture

Discrete gauge symmetries in global intersecting D-brane models constrain the exact form of the perturbative as well as non-perturbative superpotential. We derive the complete set of conditions on the existence of discrete Zn gauge symmetries on toroidal orbifolds, T6/Z(N) and T6/Z(2)xZ(2M}, with fractional or rigid D6-branes on tilted tori, for which global models of particle physics are known. Several examples of global left-right symmetric and Pati-Salam models are presented. Some discrete `stringy' Zn symmetries are trivial from the field theory point of view, while others have not been identified before.

A bstract We point out that the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) implies that sufficiently small extremal black holes are necessarily in the strong-field regime of electrodynamics, and therefore probe the UV completion of the Maxwell sector. To investigate the WGC bounds arising from these small extremal black holes, we revisit black hole decay in generic field theories in asymptotically flat space. We derive a necessary and a sufficient condition for any black hole to decay, the latter amounting to a bound on the growth of charge relative to mass. We apply these conditions to extremal black holes derived in various UV completions of the Maxwell sector. We find that the Euler-Heisenberg and DBI effective actions satisfy the sufficient condition for decay, while the ModMax model fails the necessary one, rendering it incompatible with the WGC. Using the decay conditions, we show that the black hole WGC implies positivity of the U(1) gauge coupling beta function. This provides an independent argument that classically stable (embedded-Abelian) colored black holes cannot exist. We also show that the black hole WGC constrains conformal hidden sector models, and is always satisfied in their AdS dual realizations.

We search for a possible relationship between weak gravity conjecture (WGC) and conformal field theory (CFT) in hyperscaling violating and Kerr-Newman-AdS black holes. We deal with the critical points of the black hole systems using the correlation function introduced in CFT and discuss WGC conditions using the imaginary part of the energy obtained from the critical points and their poles. Under the assumptions , , and , we link WGC to hyperscaling violating black holes owing to the existence of values larger and smaller than one. For the second black hole system, we study the conditions of WGC for Kerr-Newman-AdS black holes using rotation and radius parameters. Then, we show that the conditions of WGC are satisfied when the charged particle near the hyperscaling violating and Kerr-Newman black holes is with a ratio .

Is CP a gauge symmetry?

We investigate the behavior of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) under toroidal compactification and RG flows, finding evidence that WGC bounds for single photons become weaker in the infrared. By contrast, we find that a photon satisfying the WGC will not necessarily satisfy it after toroidal compactification when black holes charged under the Kaluza-Klein photons are considered. Doing so either requires an infinite number of states of different charges to satisfy the WGC in the original theory or a restriction on allowed compactification radii. These subtleties suggest that if the Weak Gravity Conjecture is true, we must seek a stronger form of the conjecture that is robust under compactification. We propose a “Lattice Weak Gravity Conjecture” that meets this requirement: a superextremal particle should exist for every charge in the charge lattice. The perturbative heterotic string satisfies this conjecture. We also use compactification to explore the extent to which the WGC applies to axions. We argue that gravitational instanton solutions in theories of axions coupled to dilaton-like fields are analogous to extremal black holes, motivating a WGC for axions. This is further supported by a match between the instanton action and that of wrapped black branes in a higher-dimensional UV completion.

A bstract We investigate the constraints imposed by the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) on gravitational lensing in gravity’s rainbow, focusing in particular on scenarios beyond extremality and on the interplay between the WGC and the Weak Cosmic Censorship Conjecture (WCCC) in the context of Reissner-Nordström-Anti-de Sitter black holes modified by rainbow gravity. Using topological methods, we first analyze the configuration of photon spheres and confirm that unstable circular photon spheres with topological charge ( ω = −1) exist outside the event horizon throughout the parameter space, thereby verifying the simultaneous validity of both the WGC and the WCCC. The rainbow functions f ( ε ) and g ( ε ), which encode Planck-scale corrections through the energy ratio ( ε = E/E P ), modify both the spacetime metric and the extremality bound. We derive the corresponding modified extremal charge-to-mass ratio, ( q 2 /m 2 ) > ( Q 2 /M 2 ) ext , and show that gravity’s rainbow offers a natural mechanism for reconciling these two fundamental conjectures. By applying the Gauss-Bonnet theorem in conjunction with Jacobi-Maupertuis optical geometry, we compute the weak deflection angles for both photons and massive particles to second order. The rainbow function g ( ε ) appears with powers ( g − 2 ) and ( g − 4 ), enhancing the deflection angle when g ( ε ) < 1, while f ( ε ) influences only the charge-dependent contributions. At extremality, the deflection angle becomes independent of f ( ε ), yielding a universal prediction that can be tested without specifying the form of the rainbow functions. We further find that super-extremal configurations exhibit stronger lensing effects than extremal black holes, suggesting a potential observational discriminator between WGC-satisfying naked singularities and WCCC-preserving black holes. These findings position gravitational lensing as a promising tool for probing quantum-gravity phenomenology with upcoming observational facilities.

In this thesis we study landscape constructions to challenge existing swampland conjectures and extend established ones in order to expand our understanding of quantum gravity and its possible consequences for phenomenology. We construct a new class of axions in Klebanov-Strassler throats including a four-dimensional supergravity formulation. We show that the axion and associated instantons violate the axionic weak gravity conjecture in its simplest form and that the instantons consistent with it populate very coarse charge sub-lattices. Based on the winding scenario, we show that light axionic directions of field space can posses tunable, positive minima in their scalar potential. This gives a controlled supersymmetry-breaking and uplifting mechanism which may be applied in known AdS vacua. We discuss stability of these solutions. We propose a bound on the quality of global symmetries that are derived from gauge symmetries. This involves a Stuckelberg axion as well as instantons coupling to it. Integrating over instanton insertions leads to global-symmetry-violating operators. Using the axionic weak gravity conjecture the coefficient of the operator may be bounded from below. In the spirit of the weak gravity conjecture, we constrain attractive forces in the absence of gauge charges. We claim that the minimal size of a bound state is governed by gravitational forces alone and arrive at a bound state conjecture: In an EFT, there is a universal lower bound on the typical radius of any bound state.

We combine two popular extensions of beyond the Standard Model physics within the framework of intersecting D6-brane models: discrete ℤn symmetries and Peccei-Quinn axions. The underlying natural connection between both extensions is formed by the presence of massive U(1) gauge symmetries in D-brane model building. Global intersecting D6-brane models on toroidal orbifolds of the type T6/ℤ2N and T6/ℤ2 × ℤ2M with discrete torsion offer excellent playgrounds for realizing these extensions. A generation-dependent ℤ2 symmetry is identified in a global Pati-Salam model, while global left-right symmetric models give rise to supersymmetric realizations of the DFSZ axion model. In one class of the latter models, the axion as well as Standard Model particles carry a non-trivial ℤ3 charge.

Discrete gauge symmetries in axionic extensions of the supersymmetric standard model

We study aspects of Heterotic/F-theory duality for compactifications with Abelian discrete gauge symmetries. We consider F-theory compactifications on genus-one fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds with n-sections, associated with the Tate-Shafarevich group {mathbb{Z}}_n . Such models are obtained by studying first a specific toric set-up whose associated Heterotic vector bundle has structure group {mathbb{Z}}_n . By employing a conjectured Heterotic/F-theory mirror symmetry we construct dual geometries of these original toric models, where in the stable degeneration limit we obtain a discrete gauge symmetry of order two and three, for compactifications to six dimensions. We provide explicit constructions of mirror-pairs for symmetric examples with {mathbb{Z}}_2 and {mathbb{Z}}_3 , in six dimensions. The Heterotic models with symmetric discrete symmetries are related in field theory to a Higgsing of Heterotic models with two symmetric abelian U(1) gauge factors, where due to the Stückelberg mechanism only a diagonal U(1) factor remains massless, and thus after Higgsing only a diagonal discrete symmetry of order n is present in the Heterotic models and detected via Heterotic/F-theory duality. These constructions also provide further evidence for the conjectured mirror symmetry in Heterotic/F-theory at the level of fibrations with torsional sections and those with multi-sections.

It seems that the regime of Hawking radiation and evaporation ultimately drives charged black holes toward super-extremality of the charge parameter and the dominance of extremal conditions. This progression, in turn, lays the groundwork for satisfying the necessary conditions for the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC). Preliminary studies indicate that black holes such as the Reissner–Nordström (RN) model, in their initial form, lack the capacity to sustain super-extremality of the charge parameter. If such conditions arise, these black holes transition into naked singularities – a scenario that is highly undesirable due to the loss of causality and the breakdown of space–time geometry. This raises whether the inability to sustain super-extremality is an inherent property of the model or a consequence of the approximations and precision limitations employed in its construction. To address this, we turned to the ModMax model, which represents an extension of the RN model. Our analysis revealed that the ModMax model not only accommodates super-extremality of the charge parameter but also, under certain conditions, emerges as a promising candidate for investigating the WGC. Furthermore, we independently observed how the inclusion of the de Sitter radius ( $$\ell $$ ℓ ) in the AdS model and F(R) gravitational corrections – both of which enhance and complicate the model – can have a direct impact on the range of super-extremal charge tolerance which, in turn, provides the realization of the conditions necessary for the WGC.

Unlike the standard entanglement entropy considered in the holographic con- text, entwinement measures entanglement between degrees of freedom that are not associated to a spatial subregion. Entwinement is defined for two-dimensional CFTs with a discrete ℤN gauge symmetry. Since the Hilbert space of these CFTs does not factorize into tensor products, even the entanglement entropy associated to a spatial subregion cannot be defined as the von Neumann entropy of a reduced density matrix. While earlier works considered embedding the density matrix into a larger, factorizing Hilbert space, we apply a gauge invariant approach by using a density matrix uniquely defined through its relation to the local algebra of observables. We furthermore obtain a fully gauge invariant definition of entwinement valid for general CFTs with ℤN gauge symmetry in terms of all observables acting on the degrees of freedom considered. Holographically, entwinement is dual to the length of non-minimal geodesics present for conical defects or black holes. In this context, we propose a definition of entwinement for thermal states dual to the BTZ black hole. Our results show that “entwinement is enough” to describe the full bulk geometry for the conical defect and provide strong hints that the same holds true for the BTZ black hole. Thus, it provides an alternative to holographic complexity for the theories considered.

A class of variational schemes for the hydrodynamic-electrodynamic model of lossless free-electron gas in a quasineutral background is developed for high-quality simulations of surface plasmon polaritons. The Lagrangian density of lossless free-electron gas with a self-consistent electromagnetic field is established, and the dynamical equations with the associated constraints are obtained via a variational principle. Based on discrete exterior calculus, the action functional of this system is discretized and minimized to obtain the discrete dynamics. Newton-Raphson iteration and the biconjugate gradient stabilized method are equipped as a hybrid nonlinear-linear algebraic solver. Instead of discretizing the partial differential equations, the variational schemes have better numerical properties in secular simulations, as they preserve the discrete Lagrangian symplectic structure, gauge symmetry, and general energy-momentum density. Two numerical experiments were performed. The numerical results reproduce characteristic dispersion relations of bulk plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons, and the numerical errors of conserved quantities in all experiments are bounded by a small value after long-term simulations.

Motivated by the Weak Gravity Conjecture, we uncover an intricate interplay between black holes, BPS particle counting, and Calabi‐Yau geometry in five dimensions. In particular, we point out that extremal BPS black holes exist only in certain directions in the charge lattice, and we argue that these directions fill out a cone that is dual to the cone of effective divisors of the Calabi‐Yau threefold. The tower and sublattice versions of the Weak Gravity Conjecture require an infinite tower of BPS particles in these directions, and therefore imply purely geometric conjectures requiring the existence of infinite towers of holomorphic curves in every direction within the dual of the cone of effective divisors. We verify these geometric conjectures in a number of examples by computing Gopakumar‐Vafa invariants.

We analyze the constraints on four-derivative corrections to 5d Einstein-Maxwell theory from the black hole weak gravity conjecture (WGC). We calculate the leading corrections to the extremal mass of asymptotically flat 5d charged solutions as well as 4d Kaluza-Klein compactifications. The WGC bounds from the latter, interpreted as 4d dyonic black holes, are found to be strictly stronger. As magnetic graviphoton charge lifts to a NUT-like charge in 5d, we argue that the logic of the WGC should apply to these topological charges as well and leads to new constraints on purely gravitational theories.