The weak gravity conjecture in perturbative strings

TL;DR

This paper summarizes a proposed proof of the weak gravity conjecture within perturbative string theory, focusing on the bosonic string as a proof of concept and aiming for a comprehensive top-down validation.

Contribution

It provides a top-down proof of the weak gravity conjecture in perturbative string theory, specifically demonstrated for the bosonic string, with plans to extend to superstrings.

Findings

Proposed a proof of the weak gravity conjecture in perturbative string theory.

Focused on the bosonic string as a proof of concept.

Lays groundwork for future generalization to superstring theories.

Abstract

In this note we give a summary of [arXiv:2401.14449] in which we proposed a proof of the weak gravity conjecture in perturbative string theory. While the WGC is well established, checked in many examples, and many of the ingredients we use have previously appeared in the literature, a comprehensive proof from the top-down was still missing. The present work focuses on the bosonic string as a proof of concept, while the generalization to superstring cases is to appear in a forthcoming paper. This note is based heavily on [arXiv:2401.14449] and on a talk given at the Corfu2025 Workshop on Quantum Gravity and Strings.