Curvature corrections to KPV: Do we need deep throats?

TL;DR

This paper investigates how curvature corrections at order α'^2 affect the KPV metastability analysis, revealing that large internal volumes are needed for small corrections and proposing a new uplift mechanism that avoids deep warped throats.

Contribution

It introduces a novel uplift mechanism based on curvature corrections, bypassing the need for deep warped throats in KKLT and LVS scenarios.

Findings

Large S^3 radius required for small α'^2 corrections

Curvature corrections can lower brane tension, enabling new uplift methods

Uplift mechanism does not depend on deep warped throats

Abstract

We consider $\alpha'^2$ curvature corrections to the action of an NS5-brane which plays the key role in the metastability analysis of warped anti-D3-brane uplifts by Kachru, Pearson and Verlinde (KPV). Such corrections can dramatically alter the KPV analysis. We find that for the $\alpha'^2$-corrections to be sufficiently small to recover essentially the leading-order KPV potential one needs a surprisingly large $S^3$ radius, corresponding to $g_sM > 20$. In the context of the Large Volume Scenario (LVS) this implies a D3-tadpole of at least $\mathcal{O}(10^3-10^4)$. However, large $\alpha'^2$-corrections do not necessarily spoil the uplift in KPV. Rather, as the curvature corrections lower the tension of the brane, a novel uplifting mechanism suggests itself where the smallness of the uplift is achieved by a tuning of curvature corrections. A key underlying assumption is the existence of a dense discretuum of $g_s$. This new mechanism does not require a deep warped throat, thereby sidestepping the main difficulty in uplifting KKLT and LVS. However, all of the above has to be treated as a preliminary exploration of possibilities since, at the moment, not all relevant correction at the order $\alpha'^2$ are known.