Stable non-supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter vacua of massive IIA supergravity

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the perturbative stability of certain non-supersymmetric AdS vacua in massive IIA supergravity, challenging the common belief that such stable non-supersymmetric solutions do not exist.

Contribution

It analytically computes the full bosonic Kaluza-Klein spectrum for a specific non-supersymmetric AdS solution and provides evidence for stability in additional solutions, questioning the Swampland Conjecture.

Findings

The G_2-invariant non-supersymmetric AdS_4 solution is perturbatively stable.

Six other non-supersymmetric AdS_4 solutions are also likely stable.

These results challenge the belief that stable non-supersymmetric AdS vacua cannot exist.

Abstract

Stable non-supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter (AdS) vacua of string theory are widely believed not to exist. In this letter, we analytically compute the full bosonic Kaluza-Klein spectrum around the ${\rm G_2}$-invariant non-supersymmetric $\textrm{AdS}_4$ solution of massive IIA supergravity, and show that it is perturbatively stable. We also provide evidence that six other non-supersymmetric $\textrm{AdS}_4$ solutions of massive IIA supergravity are perturbatively stable. Since previous studies have indicated that these AdS vacua may also be non-perturbatively stable, our findings pose a challenge to the Swampland Conjecture.