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A bstract We discuss the path-integral quantisation of perturbative string theory and show equivalence between the Polyakov-type, Schild-type and Nambu-Goto-type formulations of critical type II superstring theory. Remarkably, we also find that the Minkowskian path integral realises causality in the sense that a string does not propagate between points at space-like separation, by giving careful consideration to the measure of the world-sheet metric. We also discuss matrix regularisation of the path integral for type IIB perturbative superstring theory. The obtained matrix models are the Euclidean IKKT matrix model and a modified Minkowskian IKKT model, depending on how the matrix regularisation is applied.

A bstract Within the class of heterotic line bundle models, we argue that N = 1 vacua which lead to a small number of low-energy chiral families are preferred. By imposing an upper limit on the volume of the internal manifold, as required in order to obtain finite values of the four-dimensional gauge couplings, and validity of the supergravity approximation we show that, for a given manifold, only a finite number of line bundle sums are consistent with supersymmetry. By explicitly scanning over this finite set of line bundle models on certain manifolds we show that, for a sufficiently small volume of the internal manifold, the family number distribution peaks at small values, consistent with three chiral families. The relation between the maximal number of families and the gauge coupling is discussed, which hints towards a possible explanation of the family problem.

A bstract As a refinement of the Swampland Distance Conjecture, we propose that a quantum gravitational theory in an infinite distance limit of its moduli space either decompactifies, or reduces to an asymptotically tensionless, weakly coupled string theory. We support our claim by classifying, as special cases, the behaviour of M-Theory and Type IIA string theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau three-folds at infinite distances in Kähler moduli space. The analysis comprises three parts: we first classify the possible infinite distance limits in the classical Kähler moduli space of a Calabi-Yau three-fold. Each such limit at finite volume is characterized by a universal fibration structure, for which the generic fiber shrinking in the limit is either an elliptic curve, a K3 surface, or an Abelian surface. In the second part we focus on M-Theory and investigate the nature of the towers of asymptotically massless states that arise from branes wrapped on the shrinking fibers. Depending on which of the three classes of fibrations are considered, we obtain decompactification to F-Theory, or a theory with a unique asymptotically tensionless, weakly coupled heterotic or Type II string, respectively. The latter probes a dual D-manifold which is in general non-geometric. In addition to the intrinsic string excitations, towers of states from M2-branes along non-contractible curves become light and correspond to further wrapping and winding modes of the tensionless heterotic or Type II string. In the third part of the analysis, we consider Type IIA string theory on Calabi-Yau three-folds and show that quantum effects obstruct taking finite volume infinite distance limits in the Kähler moduli space. The only possible infinite distance limit which is not a decompactification limit involves K3-fibrations with string scale fiber volume and gives rise to an emergent tensionless heterotic string.

A bstract Superstring theory on AdS 3 × S 3 × T 4 with the smallest amount of NS-NS flux (“ k = 1”) is shown to be dual to the spacetime CFT given by the large N limit of the free symmetric product orbifold Sym N T 4 . To define the worldsheet theory at k = 1, we employ the hybrid formalism in which the AdS 3 × S 3 part is described by the p s u 1 , 1 | 2 1 WZW model (which is well defined). Unlike the case for k ≥ 2, it turns out that the string spectrum at k = 1 does not exhibit the long string continuum, and perfectly matches with the large N limit of the symmetric product. We also demonstrate that the fusion rules of the symmetric orbifold are reproduced from the worldsheet perspective. Our proposal therefore affords a tractable worldsheet description of a tensionless limit in string theory, for which the dual CFT is also explicitly known.

We derive a map relating the gauge symmetry groups of heterotic strings on T ⁴to other components of the moduli space with rank reduction. This generalizes the results for T ²and T ³which mirror the singularity freezing mechanism of K3 surfaces in F and M-theory, respectively. The novel feature in six dimensions is that the map explicitly involves the topology of the gauge groups, in particular acting only on non-simply-connected ones. This relation is equivalent to that of connected components of the moduli space of flat G-bundles over T ²with G non-simply-connected. These results are verified with a reasonably exhaustive list of gauge groups obtained with a moduli space exploration algorithm.

A bstract We test various conjectures about quantum gravity for six-dimensional string compactifications in the framework of F-theory. Starting with a gauge theory coupled to gravity, we analyze the limit in Kähler moduli space where the gauge coupling tends to zero while gravity is kept dynamical. We show that such a limit must be located at infinite distance in the moduli space. As expected, the low-energy effective theory breaks down in this limit due to a tower of charged particles becoming massless. These are the excitations of an asymptotically tensionless string, which is shown to coincide with a critical heterotic string compactified to six dimensions. For a more quantitative analysis, we focus on a U(1) gauge symmetry and use a chain of dualities and mirror symmetry to determine the elliptic genus of the nearly tensionless string, which is given in terms of certain meromorphic weak Jacobi forms. Their modular properties in turn allow us to determine the charge-to-mass ratios of certain string excitations near the tensionless limit. We then provide evidence that the tower of asymptotically massless charged states satisfies the (sub-)Lattice Weak Gravity Conjecture, the Completeness Conjecture, and the Swampland Distance Conjecture. Quite remarkably, we find that the number theoretic properties of the elliptic genus conspire with the balance of gravitational and scalar forces of extremal black holes, such as to produce a narrowly tuned charge spectrum of superextremal states. As a byproduct, we show how to compute elliptic genera of both critical and non-critical strings, when refined by Mordell-Weil U(1) symmetries in F-theory.

We introduce cymyc, a high-performance Python library for numerical investigation of the geometry of a large class of string compactification manifolds and their associated moduli spaces. We develop a well-defined geometric ansatz to numerically model tensor fields of arbitrary degree on a large class of Calabi-Yau manifolds. cymyc includes a machine learning component which incorporates this ansatz to model tensor fields of interest on these spaces by finding an approximate solution to the system of partial differential equations they should satisfy.

A bstract We present a constructive method to compute the AdS Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude, order by order in AdS curvature corrections. At k th order the answer takes the form of a genus zero world-sheet integral involving weight 3 k single-valued multiple polylogarithms. The coefficients in our ansatz are fixed, order by order, by requiring: crossing symmetry; the correct supergravity limit; the correct structure of poles, determined by dispersive sum rules; and the dimensions of the first few Konishi-like operators, available from integrability. We explicitly construct the first two curvature corrections. Our final answer then reproduces all localisation results and all CFT data available from integrability, to this order, and produces a wealth of new CFT data for planar N = 4 SYM at strong coupling.

A bstract We systematically analyse weak coupling limits for 2-form tensor fields in the presence of gravity. Such limits are significant for testing various versions of the Weak Gravity and Swampland Distance Conjectures, and more broadly, the phenomenon of emergence. The weak coupling limits for 2-forms correspond to certain infinite-distance limits in the moduli space of string compactifications, where asymptotically tensionless, solitonic strings arise. These strings are identified as weakly coupled fundamental strings in a dual frame, which makes the idea of emergence manifest. Concretely we first consider weakly coupled tensor fields in six-dimensional compactifications of F-theory, where the arising tensionless strings play the role of dual weakly coupled heterotic strings. As the main part of this work, we consider certain infinite distance limits of Type IIB strings on K3 surfaces, for which we show that the asymptotically tensionless strings describe dual fundamental Type IIB strings, again on K3 surfaces. By contrast the analogous weak coupling limits of M-theory compactifications are found to correspond to an F-theory limit where an extra dimension emerges rather than tensionless strings. We comment on extensions of our findings to four-dimensional compactifications.

Abstract By fibering the duality between the E 8 × E 8 heterotic string on T 3 and M-theory on K3, we study heterotic duals of M-theory compactified on G 2 orbifolds of the form T 7 / ℤ 2 3 ℤ₂³ . While the heterotic compactification space is straightforward, the description of the gauge bundle is subtle, involving the physics of point-like instantons on orbifold singularities. By comparing the gauge groups of the dual theories, we deduce behavior of a “half-G 2” limit, which is the M-theory analog of the stable degeneration limit of F-theory. The heterotic backgrounds exhibit point-like instantons that are localized on pairs of orbifold loci, similar to the “gauge-locking” phenomenon seen in Hořava-Witten compactifications. In this way, the geometry of the G 2 orbifold is translated to bundle data in the heterotic background. While the instanton configuration looks surprising from the perspective of the E 8 × E 8 heterotic string, it may be understood as T-dual Spin(32)/ℤ2 instantons along with winding shifts originating in a dual Type I compactification.