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arXiv · 2107.06900

The four-dimensional null energy condition as a swampland conjecture

Heliudson Bernardo·Suddhasattwa Brahma·Keshav Dasgupta·Mir Mehedi Faruk·Radu Tatar
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Abstract

We analyze four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmologies in type IIB, arising from a M-theory dual, and find that the null energy condition (NEC) has to be obeyed by them (except for the negatively curved case) in order for the M-theory action to have a Wilsonian effective description. However, this does not imply that the M-theory metric has to obey the 11d NEC. Thus, we propose a new swampland conjecture -- the 4d NEC is a consistency condition for any theory to have a completion within M-theory -- with an explicit derivation of it for cosmological backgrounds from a top-down perspective. We briefly discuss the cosmological consequences of such a condition derived from M-theory.

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Heliudson Bernardo, Suddhasattwa Brahma, Keshav Dasgupta, Mir Mehedi Faruk, Radu Tatar. 2021-07-14. The four-dimensional null energy condition as a swampland conjecture. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.181301

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