arXiv subjects

Aleksandar Gligovic

Publications and source records attributed to Aleksandar Gligovic.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Comments on the Emergence of 4D Topological Amplitudes in M-Theory

The M-theoretic Emergence Proposal claims that all of the terms in the low-energy action arise from quantum effects. After reviewing the current status of this proposal, we focus on four-dimensional compactifications with $N=2$ supersymmetry, where kinetic terms are encoded in topological string amplitudes, such as the prepotential $F_0$. Evidence for the emergence of such terms was provided recently, where in particular it was shown that the classical cubic term in $F_0$ can be obtained by integrating out the light towers of states in the M-theory limit, using a novel regularization of the infinite sum over Gopakumar/Vafa invariants. We address two issues that were left open. First, we show that the regularization can be equivalently performed in complex structure moduli space and in Kähler moduli space. Second, we extend the proposed regularization to the linear terms in the one-loop prepotential $F_1$.

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arXiv2025

Emergence of CY Triple Intersection Numbers in M-theory

To give more credence to the M-theoretic Emergence Proposal it is important to show that also classical kinetic terms in a low energy effective action arise as a quantum effect from integrating out light towers of states. We show that for compactifications of type IIA on Calabi-Yau manifolds, the classical weak coupling Yukawa couplings, which are the triple intersection numbers of the Calabi-Yau threefold, can be obtained from the 1/2-BPS protected one-loop Schwinger integral over $D2$-$D0$ bound states, after employing a novel regularization for the final infinite sum of Gopakumar-Vafa invariants. Approaching the problem in a consecutive manner from 6D decompactification over emergent string to the ultimate M-theory limits, we arrive at a mathematically concrete regularization that involves finite distance degeneration limits of Calabi-Yau threefolds in an intriguing way. We test and challenge this proposal by the concrete determination of the periods around such degeneration points for threefolds with one Kähler modulus and the two examples $\mathbb P_{1,1,1,6,9}[18]$ and $\mathbb P_{1,1,2,2,6}[12]$.

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arXiv2024

Emergence of $R^4$-terms in M-theory

It has been recently suggested that the strong Emergence Proposal is realized in M-theory limits by integrating out all light towers of states with a typical mass scale not larger than the species scale, i.e. the eleventh dimensional Planck mass. Within the BPS sector, these are transverse $M2$- and $M5$-branes, that can be wrapped and particle-like, carrying Kaluza-Klein momentum along the compact directions. We provide additional evidence for this picture by revisiting and investigating further the computation of $R^4$-interactions in M-theory à la Green-Gutperle-Vanhove. A central aspect is a novel UV-regularization of Schwinger-like integrals, whose actual meaning and power we clarify by first applying it to string perturbation theory. We consider then toroidal compactifications of M-theory and provide evidence that integrating out all light towers of states via Schwinger-like integrals thus regularized yields the complete result for $R^4$-interactions. In particular, this includes terms that are tree-level, one-loop and space-time instanton corrections from the weakly coupled point of view. Finally, we comment on the conceptual difference of our approach to earlier closely related work by Kiritsis-Pioline and Obers-Pioline, leading to a correspondence between two types of constrained Eisenstein series.

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arXiv2024

Reflections on an M-theoretic Emergence Proposal

In a pedagogical manner, we review recent developments in the investigation of the Emergence Proposal. Although it is fair to say that this idea is still at an exploratory level and a fully coherent picture has yet to be developed, we put it into perspective to previous work on the swampland program and on emergence in QG. In view of the emergent string conjecture, we argue and provide evidence that it is not the emergent string but rather the decompactification limit which is a natural candidate for the potential realization of the Emergence Proposal. This resonates in a compelling way with old ideas of emergence in M(-atrix) theory and gives rise to a number of further speculations.

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arXiv2024

Demystifying the Emergence Proposal

We revisit the Emergence Proposal in the vector multiplet moduli space of type IIA N=2 supersymmetric string vacua in four dimensions, for which the string tree-level prepotential and the string one-loop correction are exactly known via mirror symmetry. We argue that there exists an exact notion of emergence, according to which these four-dimensional couplings can be computed exactly in any asymptotic limit in field space. In such limits, a perturbative quantum gravity theory emerges, whose fundamental degrees of freedom include all complete infinite towers of states with typical mass scale not larger than the species scale. For a decompactification limit, this picture is closely related to and in fact motivated by the computation of Gopakumar-Vafa invariants. In addition, in the same limit our results suggest that the emergent theory will also contain asymptotically tensionless wrapped NS5-branes.

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arXiv2023

The Emergence Proposal and the Emergent String

We explore the Emergence Proposal for the moduli metric and the gauge couplings in a concrete model with 7 saxionic and 7 axionic moduli fields, namely the compactification of the type IIA superstring on a 6-dimensional toroidal orbifold. We show that consistency requires integrating out precisely the 12 towers of light particle species arising from KK and string/brane winding modes and one asymptotically tensionless string up to the species scale. After pointing out an issue with the correct definition of the species scale in the presence of string towers, we carry out the emergence computation and find that the KK and winding modes indeed impose the classical moduli dependence on the one-loop corrections, while the emergent string induces moduli dependent logarithmic suppressions. The interpretation of these results for the Emergence Proposal are discussed revealing a couple of new and still not completely settled aspects.

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arXiv2023

The Emergent M-theory Limit

It has been recently proposed that at each infinite distance limit in the moduli space of quantum gravity a perturbative description emerges with fundamental degrees of freedom given by those infinite towers of states whose typical mass scale is parametrically not larger than the ultraviolet cutoff, identified with the species scale. This proposal is applied to the familiar ten-dimensional type IIA and IIB superstring theories, when considering the limit of infinite string coupling. For type IIB, the light towers of states are given by excitations of the D1-brane, as expected from self-duality. Instead, for type IIA at strong coupling, which is dual to M-theory on $S^1$, we make the observation that the emergent degrees of freedom are bound states of transversal M2- and M5-branes with Kaluza-Klein momentum along the circle. We speculate on the interpretation of the necessity of including all these states for a putative quantum formulation of M-theory.

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arXiv2022

Mass Hierarchies and Quantum Gravity Constraints in DKMM-refined KKLT

We carefully revisit the mass hierarchies for the KKLT scenario with an uplift term from an anti D3-brane in a strongly warped throat. First, we derive the bound resulting from what is usually termed "the throat fitting into the bulk" directly from the Klebanov-Strassler geometry. Generating the small value of the superpotential $W_{0}$ via the mechanism proposed by Demirtas, Kim, McAllister and Moritz (DKMM), we identify two possible DKMM-refined KKLT scenarios for stabilizing the light axio-dilaton modulus. The first scenario spoils the expected hierarchy between the bulk and the throat mass scales and implies that the energy scale of the uplift is larger than the species scale of the effective theory in the throat. Moreover it requires an unnaturally large tadpole $N\sim 10^{7-8}$ that is certainly in conflict with tadpole cancellation. For the less restricted second scenario, the hierarchy can be controlled at the expense of, under the most optimistic assumptions, an only moderately large tadpole $N\sim 10^{2-3}$.

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