We review our recent work on quantum foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and quantum gravity (formulated as metastring theory) and various implications for the problems of dark matter and dark energy. The first point concerns the new understanding of quantum theory via the concept of quantum (modular) spacetime endowed with manifest non-locality that is consistent with causality. This view implies the consistency of the fundamental length and Lorentz symmetry, based on the principle of relative (observer dependent) locality. The geometry of such quantum spacetime is encoded in the new concept of Born geometry. This in turn leads to a novel understanding of quantum field theory in a manifestly bi-local representation endowed with metaparticle quanta. A fully dynamical quantum spacetime, with a dynamical Born geometry, leads to quantum gravity (a quantum theory of dynamical geometry of quantum non-locality) in the guise of metastring theory. This generic formulation of string theory implies a radiatively stable positive cosmological constant (viewed as a curvature of the dual spacetime) as a model of dark energy in the observed classical spacetime, as well as metaparticle quanta (the zero modes of the metastring) as the natural quanta of dark matter in this approach.
I review some aspects of non-critical strings in connection with Lorentz-Invariance violating approaches to quantum gravity. I also argue how non-critical strings may provide a unifying framework where string Cosmology and quantum gravity may be tackled together.
It was proved more than three decades ago, that the first order $α'$ correction of string effective theory could be written as the Gauss-Bonnet term, which is the quadratic term of Lovelock gravity. In cosmological background, with an appropriate field redefinition, we reorganize the infinite $α'$ corrections of string effective action into a finite term expression for any specific dimension. This finite term expression matches Lovelock gravity exactly and thus fix the couplings of Lovelock gravity by the coefficients of string effective action. This result thus provides a strong support to st…
We propose a scenario with string theory in the deep ultraviolet, an intermediate asymptotically safe scaling regime for gravity and matter, and the Standard Model in the infrared. This could provide a new perspective to tackle challenges of the two models: For instance, the gravitational Renormalization Group flow could connect a negative microscopic to a positive macroscopic cosmological constant, potentially rendering string theory on an anti-de Sitter background observationally viable. Further, the unitarity of a string-theoretic ultraviolet completion could be inherited by an asymptotical…
This is a broad-brush review of how string theory addresses several important questions of gravitational physics. The problem of non-renormalizability is first reviewed, followed by introduction of string theory as an ultraviolet-finite theory of gravity. String theory's successes also include predicting both gauge theory and fermions. The difficulty of extra dimensions becomes a possible virtue, when one notes that these lead to mechanisms to explain fermion generations, as well as a means to break the large gauge symmetries of string theory. Finally, a long standing problem of string theory,…
We combine old and new quantum field theoretic arguments to show that any theory of stable or metastable higher spin particles can be coupled to gravity only when the gravity sector has a stringy structure. Metastable higher spin particles, free or interacting, cannot couple to gravity while preserving causality unless there exist higher spin states in the gravitational sector much below the Planck scale $M_{\rm pl}$. We obtain an upper bound on the mass $Λ_{\rm gr}$ of the lightest higher spin particle in the gravity sector in terms of quantities in the non-gravitational sector. We invoke the…
We consider a braneworld scenario with a black brane parallel to our brane, aiming towards a Higgs phase of gravity in string theory. The existence of the black brane spontaneously breaks the Lorentz symmetry on our brane but preserves the rotational and translational invariance. If all moduli are stabilized then this should lead to a Higgs phase of gravity. We investigate moduli stabilization by using a KKLT-type moduli potential in the context of type IIB warped flux compactification.
We consider the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) factorizations of gravity scalar-leg amplitudes into products of scalar-leg Yang-Mills amplitudes. We check and examine the factorizations at O(1) in $α'$ and extend the analysis by considering KLT-mapping in the case of generic effective Lagrangians for Yang-Mills theory and gravity.
New Developments in String Gravity and String Cosmology are reported: 1-String driven cosmology and its Predictions. 2-The primordial gravitational wave background in string cosmology. 3-Non-singular string cosmologies from Exact Conformal Field Theories. 4-Quantum Field Theory, String Temperature and the String Phase of de Sitter space-time, 5-Hawking Radiation in String Theory and the String Phase of Black Holes. 6-New Dual Relation between Quantum Field Theory regimes and String regimes in Curved Backgrounds, and the 'QFT/String Tango'. 7- New Coherent String States and Minimal Uncertainty …
We review our work on the minimal length uncertainty relation as suggested by perturbative string theory. We discuss simple phenomenological implications of the minimal length uncertainty relation and then argue that the combination of the principles of quantum theory and general relativity allow for a dynamical energy-momentum space. We discuss the implication of this for the problem of vacuum energy and the foundations of non-perturbative string theory.
We investigate string-like solutions in four dimensions based on Hořava-Lifshitz gravity. For a restricted class of solutions where the Cotton tensor vanishes, we find that the string-like solutions in Einstein gravity including the BTZ black strings are solutions in Hořava-Lifshitz gravity as well. The geometry is warped in the same way as in Einstein gravity, but the "conformal" lapse function is not constrained in Hořava-Lifshitz gravity. It turns out that if $λ\ne 1$, there exist no other solutions. For the value of model parameter with which Einstein gravity recovers in IR limit (i.e., $λ…
String theory, as a theory containing quantum gravity, is usually thought to require more dimensions of spacetime than the usual 3+1. Here I argue on physical grounds that needing extra dimensions for strings may well be an artefact of forcing a fixed flat background space. I also show that discrete simplicial approaches to gravity in 3+1 dimensions have natural string-like degrees of freedom which are inextricably tied to the dynamical space in which they evolve. In other words, if simplicial approaches to 3+1 dimensional quantum gravity do indeed give consistent theories, they may essentiall…
We show that string-inspired lineal gravity interacting with matter fields cannot be Dirac-quantized owing to the well known anomaly in energy-momentum tensor commutators.
A covariantly constant dynamical two-form is exploited on a $D_3$-brane to obtain its gravity dual action, governing an $S^3$ deformed $AdS_5$ black hole, in a type IIB string theory on $S^1\times K3$. We invoke the Kaluza-Klein compactification to work out the open/closed string duality. Interestingly, the Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is obtained on the "non-Reimannian" braneworld.
String theory implies a relatively modest growth in computational complexity for perturbative gravity calculations as compared to gauge theory calculations, contrary to field theory expectations. An explicit string-based calculation, which would be extremely difficult using conventional techniques, is presented to illustrate this.
We show that a canonical tranformation converts, up to a boundary term, a generic 2d dilaton gravity model into a bosonic string theory with a Minkowskian target space.
In this paper we explicitly prove the invariance of the time-dependent string gravity Lagrangian with up to four derivatives under the global $O(d,d)$ symmetry.
We propose a string realization of the AdS4 brane in AdS5 that is known to localize gravity. Our theory is M D5 branes in the near horizon geometry of N D3 branes, where M and N are appropriately tuned.
Pure three-dimensional gravity in anti-de Sitter space can be formulated as an SL(2,R) $\times $ SL(2,R) Chern-Simons theory, and the latter can be reduced to a WZW theory at the boundary. In this paper we show that AdS$_3$ gravity with free boundary conditions is described by a string at the boundary whose target spacetime is also AdS$_3$. While boundary conditions in the standard construction of Coussaert, Henneaux, and van Driel are enforced through constraints on the WZW currents, we find that free boundary conditions are partially enforced through the string Virasoro constraints.
We discuss three separate types of infinities that occur in non-supersymmetric canonical gravity and string theory. We consider UV perturbative singularities in non-supersymmetric gravity coupled to matter and how these are related to loop corrections to beta functions for non-supersymmetric strings. Next we consider classical cosmological singularities that occur in these equations and discuss a specific singular cosmology of Dudas and Mourad for non-supersymmetric string theory. Finally we discuss the infinities that occur in quantum cosmology associated with topology change and discuss how …
We construct generalizations of the D=5 Kerr black string by including higher curvature corrections to the gravity action in the form of the Gauss-Bonnet density. These uniform black strings satisfy a generalised Smarr relation and share the basic properties of the Einstein gravity solutions. However, they exist only up to a maximal value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant, which depends on the solutions' mass and angular momentum.
We explore a scenario of the general relativity determined by the framework of the rainbow gravity with the purpose of searching for analogues of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. By focusing on the confinement of the Dirac field and the scalar field to a hard-wall confining potential in a modified background of the cosmic string spacetime, we examine the effects of the rainbow gravity and the topology of the cosmic string spacetime. Then, we compare each spectrum of energy with the cases where the rainbow gravity is absent.
In this work, we present the effect of a probe string on the complexity of a black hole according to the CA (Complexity equals action) conjecture on Horndeski's gravity. In our system, we consider a particle moving on the boundary of black hole spacetime in ($2+1$)-dimensions. To obtain a dual description, we need to insertion a fundamental string on the bulk spacetime. The effect of this string is given by the Nambu-Goto term. For the Nambu-Goto term, we can analyze the time development of this system, which is affected by the parameters of Horndeski's gravity. In our case, we show some inter…
I review recent progress in understanding non-perturbative aspects of string theory, quantum gravity and non-commutative geometry using lattice methods.
The existence of intrinsic spin of matter requires the metric-affine formulation of gravity, in which the affine connection is not constrained to be symmetric and its antisymmetric part (torsion tensor) is a dynamical variable. We show that the cyclic identity for the curvature tensor in the metric-affine formulation forbids fermions represented by Dirac spinors to form point or string configurations. Consequently, fermionic strings contradict the gravitational field equations in the presence of spin. Superstring theory is therefore incorrect.
In this paper, we study the various cylindrical solutions (cosmic strings) in gravity's rainbow scenario. In particular, we calculate the gravitational field equations corresponding to energy-dependent background. Further, we discuss the possible Kasner, quasi-Kasner and non-Kasner exact solutions of the field equations. In this framework, we find that quasi-Kasner solutions can not be realized in gravity's rainbow. Assuming only time-dependent metric functions, we also analyse the time-dependent vacuum cosmic strings in gravity's rainbow, which are completely different than the other GR solut…
Motivated by the formalism of string bit models, or quantum matrix models, we study a class of simple Hamiltonian models of quantum gravity type in two space-time dimensions. These string bit models are special cases of a more abstract class of models defined in terms of the sl(2) subalgebra of the Virasoro algebra. They turn out to be solvable and their scaling limit coincides in special cases with known transfer matrix models of two-dimensional quantum gravity.
In this work we deal with the spacetime shaped by a straight cosmic string, emerging from local gauge theories, in the braneworld gravity context. We search for physical consequences of string features due to the modified gravitational scenario encoded in the projected gravitational equations. It is shown that cosmic strings in braneworld gravity may present significant differences when compared to the general relativity predictions since its linear density is modified and the deficit angle produced by the cosmic string is attenuated. Furthermore, the existence of cosmic strings in that scenar…
It is shown that Born-Infeld gravity --a high energy deformation of Einstein gravity-- removes the singularities of a cosmic string. The respective vacuum solution results to be free of conical singularity and closed timelike curves. The space ends at a minimal circle where the curvature invariants vanish; but this circle cannot be reached in a finite proper time.
In this paper we study black string solutions under the consideration of rainbow gravity. We have analytically obtained the solution for four-dimensional black strings in terms of the functions $f(E/E_p)$ and $g(E/E_p)$ that sets the energy scale where the rainbow gravity becomes relevant. We have also obtained the Hawking temperature for the black string, from which we could see that the rainbow functions play the role of increasing or decreasing the Hawking temperature for a given horizon radius depending on the choice of such rainbow functions. We have computed the entropy, specific heat an…
I review the present theoretical attempts to understand the quantum properties of spacetime. In particular, I illustrate the main achievements and the main difficulties in: string theory, loop quantum gravity, discrete quantum gravity (Regge calculus, dynamical triangulations and simplicial models), Euclidean quantum gravity, perturbative quantum gravity, quantum field theory on curved spacetime, noncommutative geometry, null surfaces, topological quantum field theories and spin foam models. I also briefly review several recent advances in understanding black hole entropy and attempt a critica…
Higher dimensional Einstein gravity in vacuum admits static black hole solutions with an Einstein manifold of non constant curvature as a horizon. This gives a much richer family of static black holes than in four dimensional GR. However, as we show in this paper, the Gauss-Bonnet string theory correction to Einstein gravity poses severe limitations on the geometry of a horizon Einstein manifold. The additional stringy constraints rule out most of the known examples of exotic black holes with a horizon of non constant curvature.
We construct a "stringy" version of Newton-Cartan gravity in which the concept of a Galilean observer plays a central role. We present both the geodesic equations of motion for a fundamental string and the bulk equations of motion in terms of a gravitational potential which is a symmetric tensor with respect to the longitudinal directions of the string. The extension to include a non-zero cosmological constant is given. We stress the symmetries and (partial) gaugings underlying our construction. Our results provide a convenient starting point to investigate applications of the AdS/CFT correspo…
The cylindrically-symmetric static vacuum equations of Conformal Gravity are solved for the case of additional boost symmetry along the axis. We present the complete family of solutions which describe the exterior gravitational field of line sources in Conformal Gravity. We also analyze the null geodesics in these spaces.
Dictated by Symmetry Principle, string theory predicts not General Relativity but its own gravity which assumes the entire closed string massless sector to be geometric and thus gravitational. In terms of $R/(MG)$, i.e. the dimensionless radial variable normalized by mass, Stringy Gravity agrees with General Relativity toward infinity, but modifies it at short distance. At far short distance, gravitational force can be even repulsive. These may solve the dark matter and energy problems, as they arise essentially from small $R/(MG)$ observations: long distance divided by much heavier mass. We a…
We explore the kinematical effect of having extra dimensions on the gravity wave emission from cosmic strings. Additional dimensions both round off cusps, and reduce the probability of their formation. We recompute the gravity wave burst, taking into account these two factors, and find a potentially significant damping on the gravity waves of the strings.
This is an invited contribution to the Special Issue of "Foundations of Physics" titled "Forty Years Of String Theory: Reflecting On the Foundations". I have been asked to assess string theory as an outsider, and to compare it with the theory, methods, and expectations in my own field.
The general properties of the gravity wave backgrounds of cosmological origin are reviewed and briefly discussed, with emphasis on the relic background expected from an early pre-big bang phase typical of string cosmology models.
A Palatini-type action for Einstein and Gauss-Bonnet gravity with non-trivial torsion is proposed. Three-form flux is incorporated via a deformation of the Riemann tensor, and consistency of the Palatini variational principle requires the flux to be covariantly constant and to satisfy a Jacobi identity. Studying gravity actions of third order in the curvature leads to a conjecture about general Palatini-Lovelock-Cartan gravity. We point out potential relations to string-theoretic Bianchi identities and, using the Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket, derive a set of Bianchi identities for the non-geomet…
We argue that String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity can be thought of as describing different regimes of a single unified theory of quantum gravity. LQG can be thought of as providing the pre-geometric exoskeleton out of which macroscopic geometry emerges and String Theory then becomes the \emph{effective} theory which describes the dynamics of that exoskeleton. The core of the argument rests on the claim that the Nambu-Goto action of String Theory can be viewed as the expectation value of the LQG area operator evaluated on the string worldsheet. A concrete result is that the string tension o…
Cosmic string solutions of the abelian Higgs model with conformal coupling to gravity are shown to exist. The main characteristics of the solutions are presented and the differences with respect to the minimally coupled case are studied. An important difference is the absence of Bogomolnyi cosmic string solutions for conformal coupling. Several new features of the abelian Higgs cosmic strings of both types are discussed. The most interesting is perhaps a relation between the angular deficit and the central magnetic field which is bounded by a critical value.
Foundations of the Poincaré-gauge theory of gravity are developed. It is shown that the Poincaré-gauge field consists of two components: the translational gauge field ($t$-field), which is generated by the energy-momentum current of external fields, and the rotational gauge field ($r$-field), which is generated by the sum of the angular and spin momentum currents of external fields. Therefore, a physical field generated by the angular momentum of a rotating mass should exist.
We select $f(R)$ gravity models that undergo scale factor duality transformations. As a starting point, we consider the tree-level effective gravitational action of bosonic String Theory coupled with the dilaton field. This theory inherits the Busher's duality of its parent String Theory. Using conformal transformations of the metric tensor, it is possible to map the tree-level dilaton-graviton string effective action into $f(R)$ gravity, relating the dilaton field to the Ricci scalar curvature. Furthermore, the duality can be framed under the standard of Noether symmetries and exact cosmologi…
A previous study of the Kawai, Lewellen and Tye (KLT) relations between gravity and gauge theories, imposed by the relationship of closed and open strings, are here extended in the light of general relativity and Yang-Mills theory as effective field theories. We discuss the possibility of generalizing the traditional KLT mapping in this effective setting. A generalized mapping between the effective Lagrangians of gravity and Yang-Mills theory is presented, and the corresponding operator relations between gauge and gravity theories at the tree level are further explored. From this generalized m…
We consider black-string-type solutions in five-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. Numerically constructed solutions under static, axially symmetric and translationally invariant metric ansatz are presented. The solutions are specified by two asymptotic charges: mass of a black string and a scalar charge associated with the radion part of the metric. Regular black string solutions are found if and only if the two charges satisfy a fine-tuned relation, and otherwise the spacetime develops a singular event horizon or a naked singularity. We can also generate bubble solutions from the bla…
We have discussed a particular class of exact cosmological solutions of the 4-dimensional low energy string gravity in the string frame. In the vacuum without matter and the 2-form fields, the exact cosmological solutions always give monotonically shrinking universes if the dilaton field is not a constant. However, in the presence of the 2-form fields and/or the radiation-like fluid in the string frame, the exact cosmological solutions show a minimum size of the universe in the evolution, but with an initial cosmological curvature singularity in the string frame.
We set the foundation and formulate the Perfect (Ideal) Hyperfluid. The latter represents the natural generalization of the usual perfect fluid structure where now the microscopic characteristics of matter (spin, shear, dilation) are also taken into account, sourcing a non-Riemannian arena (i.e spacetime torsion and non-metricity) for Metric-Affine Gravity. We derive the energy tensors of this Hyperfluid structure and subsequently present the conservation laws obeyed by them. Finally, we consider a Cosmological application of this Perfect Hyperfluid and classify some possible forms of this flu…
We present a metric solution in six dimensions where gravity is localized on a four-dimensional singular string-like defect. The corrections to four-dimensional gravity from the bulk continuum modes are suppressed by ${\cal O}(1/r^3)$. No tuning of the bulk cosmological constant to the brane tension is required in order to cancel the four-dimensional cosmological constant.
The gravitational properties of a local cosmic string in the framework of scalar-tensor gravity are examined. We find the metric in the weak-field approximation and we show that, contrary to the General Relativity case, the cosmic string in scalar-tensor gravitation exerces a force on non-relativistic, neutral test particle. This force is proportional to the derivative of the conformal factor $A^{2}(ϕ)$ and it is always attractive. Moreover, this force could have played an important role at the Early Universe, although nowadays it can be neglegible. It is also shown that the angular separation…
Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are discussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of high-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum description of cosmology, with appropriate observables. While string theory addresses some problems of quantum gravity, its ability to resolve these remains unclear. Answers may require new mechanisms and constructs, whether within string theory, or in another framework.
We discuss dyonic black hole solutions in the case of $f(R)$-gravity coupled with a dilaton and two gauge bosons. The study of such a model is highly motivated from string theory. Our Black Hole solutions are extensions of the one firstly studied by Kallosh, Linde, Ortín, Peet and Van Proyen (KLOPV) in [arXiv:hep-th/9205027]. We will show that extreme solutions are unstable. In particular, these solutions have Bousso-Hawking-Nojiri-Odintsov (anti)evaporation instabilities.
We compute the external moduli and dilaton hair to $O(α')$ in the framework of the one-loop corrected superstring effective action for a rotating black hole background.
We consider a quantum field theory on a spherically symmetric quantum space time described by loop quantum gravity. The spin network description of space time in such a theory leads to equations for the quantum field that are discrete. We show that to avoid significant violations of Lorentz invariance one needs to consider specific non-local interactions in the quantum field theory similar to those that appear in string theory. This is the first sign that loop quantum gravity places restrictions on the type of matter considered, and points to a connection with string theory physics.
The loop quantum gravity technique is applied to the free bosonic string. A Hilbert space similar to loop space in loop quantum gravity as well as representations of diffeomorphism and hamiltonian constraints on it are constructed. The string in this representation can be viewed as a set of interacting relativistic particles each carrying a certain momentum. Two different regularizations of the hamiltonian constraint are proposed. The first of them is anomaly-free and give rise to interaction very similar to that of two dimensional $ϕ^4$-model. The second version of hamiltonian constraint is s…
In this paper, I analyze numerically the behaviour of the solutions corresponding to an Abelian string in the framework of the Starobinsky model. The role played by the quadratic term in the Lagrangian density $f(R) = R + ηR^2$ of this model is emphasized and the results are compared with the corresponding ones obtained in the framework of Einstein's theory of gravity. I have found that the angular deficit generated by the string is lowered as the $η$ parameter increases, allowing a well-behaved spacetime for a large range of values of the symmetry-breaking scale.
We will analyze a black string in dRGT massive theory of gravity. Considering different approaches, we will study the critical behavior, phase transition and thermal stability for such a black string solution. We will also analyze the Van der Waals behavior for this system, and observe that the Van der Waals behavior depends on the graviton mass. It will be observed that the thermal fluctuations can modify the behavior of this system. We will explicitly analyze the effect of such fluctuations on the stability of this black string solution. This will be done using the Hessian matrix for this sy…
We discuss the properties of the gas of primordial `stringy' black holes possibly formed in the high-curvature phase preceding the bouncing transition to the phase of standard cosmological evolution. We show that the regime dominated by such a string-hole gas can be consistently described by explicit solutions of the string effective action including first-order $α'$ corrections. We present a phase space analysis of the stability of such solutions comparing the results obtained from different actions and including the possibility of $O(d,d)$-symmetric configurations.
