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Species and Strings

6 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.

6 Pith papers citing it
abstract

Based on well-known properties of semi-classical black holes, we show that weakly-coupled string theory can be viewed as a theory of N = 1/g_s^2 particle species. This statement is a string theoretic realization of the fact that the fundamental scale in any consistent D-dimensional theory of gravity is not the Planck length l_D, but rather the species scale L_N = N^1/(D-2) l_D. Using this fact, we derive the bound on semi-classical black hole entropy in any consistent theory of gravity as S > N, which when applied to string theory provides additional evidence for the former relation. This counting also shows that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy can be viewed as the entanglement entropy, without encountering any puzzle of species. We demonstrate that the counting of species extends to the M-theory limit. The role of the species scale is now played by the eleven-dimensional Planck length, beyond which resolution of distances is gravitationally-impossible. The conclusion is, that string theory is a theory of species and gets replaced by a pure gravitational theory in the limit when species become strongly coupled and decouple.

citation-role summary

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citation-polarity summary

fields

hep-th 6

years

2026 6

verdicts

UNVERDICTED 6

roles

background 4

polarities

background 4

representative citing papers

Taxonomy of Instanton Corrections in Infinite Distance Limits

hep-th · 2026-05-04 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0 · 2 refs

The Schwinger integral over light towers captures precisely the instantons with actions in the window (Λ_sp/M_light)^{-1} ≤ S_inst ≤ Λ_sp/M_light, as verified in eight- and seven-dimensional toroidal compactifications.

Optimal paths across potentials on scalar field space

hep-th · 2026-04-27 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

Optimal transport yields a generalized Wasserstein distance on field space, obtained from a WKB expansion of a Schrödinger equation and extended to dynamical gravity via the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in the ADM formalism.

EFTs with Symmetric Moduli Spaces: the Landscape and the Swampland

hep-th · 2026-05-25 · unverdicted · novelty 6.0

Using weight polytopes of irreducible representations, a finite list of symmetric moduli spaces satisfies the SDC decay rates; most embed from an E8(8) EFT but three cannot be obtained from string or M-theory compactifications.

String theory in the infrared

hep-th · 2026-04-24 · unverdicted · novelty 4.0

Worldsheet analysis shows that string theory effective theories obey UV/IR scaling relations between Wilson coefficients and vacuum energy, producing holographic bounds invisible to standard effective field theory.

citing papers explorer

Showing 6 of 6 citing papers.

  • Taxonomy of Instanton Corrections in Infinite Distance Limits hep-th · 2026-05-04 · unverdicted · none · ref 5 · 2 links · internal anchor

    The Schwinger integral over light towers captures precisely the instantons with actions in the window (Λ_sp/M_light)^{-1} ≤ S_inst ≤ Λ_sp/M_light, as verified in eight- and seven-dimensional toroidal compactifications.

  • The CFT Distance Conjecture and Tensionless String Limits in $\mathcal N=2$ Quiver Gauge Theories hep-th · 2026-01-13 · unverdicted · none · ref 30 · internal anchor

    In N=2 SU quiver theories the large-N Hagedorn temperature depends only on quiver length for linear cases and equals that of N=4 SYM for holographic quivers, with a universal lower bound of 1/sqrt(2) on the exponential rate alpha of higher-spin current conservation.

  • Optimal paths across potentials on scalar field space hep-th · 2026-04-27 · unverdicted · none · ref 106

    Optimal transport yields a generalized Wasserstein distance on field space, obtained from a WKB expansion of a Schrödinger equation and extended to dynamical gravity via the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in the ADM formalism.

  • EFTs with Symmetric Moduli Spaces: the Landscape and the Swampland hep-th · 2026-05-25 · unverdicted · none · ref 12 · internal anchor

    Using weight polytopes of irreducible representations, a finite list of symmetric moduli spaces satisfies the SDC decay rates; most embed from an E8(8) EFT but three cannot be obtained from string or M-theory compactifications.

  • How to deal with conformal and pure scale-invariant theories of gravity in d dimensions? hep-th · 2026-04-10 · unverdicted · none · ref 28

    Conformal and scale-invariant gravity theories in d dimensions have distinct properties from 4D analogues, enabled by a new formulation method.

  • String theory in the infrared hep-th · 2026-04-24 · unverdicted · none · ref 12

    Worldsheet analysis shows that string theory effective theories obey UV/IR scaling relations between Wilson coefficients and vacuum energy, producing holographic bounds invisible to standard effective field theory.