Where Is String Theory in the Space of Scattering Amplitudes?

Author(s)

Guerrieri, Andrea ^{[1, 2]} ; Penedones, Joao ^[3] ; Vieira, Pedro ^{[1, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Fis Teor, ICTP South Amer Inst Fundamental Res, Rua Dr Bento Teobaldo Ferraz 271, BR-01140070 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Tel Aviv Univ, Sch Phys & Astron, IL-69978 Ramat Aviv - Israel

^[3] Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, Inst Phys, Fields & String Lab, BSP 728, CH-1015 Lausanne - Switzerland

^[4] Perimeter Inst Theoret Phys, 31 Caroline St N, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5 - Canada

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Physical Review Letters; v. 127, n. 8 AUG 18 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

We use the S-matrix bootstrap to carve out the space of unitary, crossing symmetric and supersymmetric graviton scattering amplitudes in ten dimensions. We focus on the leading Wilson coefficient a controlling the leading correction to maximal supergravity. The negative region alpha < 0 is excluded by a simple dual argument based on linearized unitarity (the desert). Awhole semi-infinite region alpha greater than or similar to 0.14 is allowed by the primal bootstrap (the garden). A finite intermediate region is excluded by nonperturbative unitarity (the swamp). Remarkably, string theory seems to cover all (or at least almost all) the garden from very large positive a-at weak coupling-to the swamp boundary-at strong coupling. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/01343-7 - ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research: a regional center for theoretical physics
• Grantee: Nathan Jacob Berkovits
• Support Opportunities: Special Projects