We show that the recently proposed weak gravity conjecture\cite{AMNV0601} can be extended to a class of scalar field theories. Taking gravity into account, we find an upper bound on the gravity interaction strength, expressed in terms of scalar coupling parameters. This conjecture is supported by some two-dimensional models and noncommutative field theories.

In the description of isolated gravitating systems in General Relativity a spacelike timeslice has the structure of a complete Riemannian three-manifold with an asymptotically at end. Let (N; g) denote an end of such a complete Riemannian three-manifold, ie N is diffeomorphic to R3\B1 (0), and the metric on N asymptotically approaches the Euclidean metric near infinity: gij=

We compute the one-loop effective action of two D0-branes in the matrix model for a cosmological background, and find vanishing static potential. However, there is a non-vanishing v2 term not predicted in a supergravity calculation. This term is complex and signals an instability of the two D0-brane system, it may also indicate that the matrix model is incorrect.

Let<i>M</i> be a space-time whose local mass density is non-negative everywhere. Then we prove that the total mass of<i>M</i> as viewed from spatial infinity (the ADM mass) must be positive unless<i>M</i> is the flat Minkowski space-time. (So far we are making the reasonable assumption of the existence of a maximal spacelike hypersurface. We will treat this topic separately.) We can generalize our result to admit wormholes in the initial-data set. In fact, we show that the total mass associated with each asymptotic regime is non-negative with equality only if the space-time is flat.

We show that the Kazhdan-Lusztig category KL_k of level-k finite-length modules with highest-weight composition factors for the affine Lie superalgebra gl(1|1)ˆ has vertex algebraic braided tensor supercategory structure, and that its full subcategory O_k^fin of objects with semisimple Cartan subalgebra actions is a tensor subcategory. We show that every simple gl(1|1)ˆ-module in KL_k has a projective cover in O_k^fin, and we determine all fusion rules involving simple and projective objects in O_k^fin. Then using Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations, we prove that KL_k and O_k^fin are rigid. As an application of the tensor supercategory structure on O_k^fin, we study certain module categories for the affine Lie superalgebra sl(2|1)ˆ at levels 1 and −1/2. In particular, we obtain a tensor category of sl(2|1)ˆ-modules at level −1/2 that includes relaxed highest-weight modules and their images under spectral flow.