Moreshwar Pathak | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

Magnetic Monopole Molecules

We construct a variety of bound states of Dirac magnetic monopoles in product $U(1)$ gauge theories that make up a Dirac magnetic monopole with unit magnetic charge under the unbroken $U(1)$ gauge group. The size of the bound states is determined by the balance between the repulsive magnetic Coulomb force of the unbroken $U(1)$ gauge group and the attractive force from the tension of the magnetic flux tubes of the broken $U(1)$ gauge groups. These bound states are extensions of the configuration first studied in arXiv:1608.06951. We dub this type of configurations ``Magnetic Monopole Molecules'' (MMMs). Besides some illustrative examples of MMMs made of a small number of constituent Dirac magnetic monopoles, a method to combine smaller MMMs to construct larger MMMs is presented. Implications for the weak gravity conjecture are also discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Localized Towers on the Composite Magnetic Monopole and the Weak Gravity Conjecture$=$Distance Conjecture Connection in Effective Field Theories

We study the energy spectrum of the composite magnetic monopole (CMM) in the model originally constructed in arXiv:1608.06951 to examine how the applicability of the weak gravity conjecture (WGC) propagates to lower energy scales in the effective field theory (EFT) framework. This is motivated by the WGC$=$distance conjecture (DC) connection suggested in the literature. Assuming that the limits of the model parameters correspond to the boundaries of the moduli space in a UV theory, we showed that the parameter dependence of the energy spectrum of the CMM is broadly in accord with the prediction of the WGC$=$DC connection. However, unlike the original DC, the low-energy excitations of the CMM are localized on the CMM. This leads us to propose an extension of the DC to include the localized tower of excited states. We discuss the implications of this extension of the DC to the swampland constraints on EFTs.

hep-th↗