In this short survey paper, we shall discuss certain recent results in classical gravity. Our main attention will be restricted to two topics in which we have been involved; the positive mass conjecture and its extensions to the case with horizons, including the Penrose conjecture (Part I), and the interaction of gravity with other force fields and quantum-mechanical particles (Part II).

We analyze spectrum of Laplacian supported by a periodic honeycomb lattice with generally unequal edge lengths and a <i></i> type coupling in the vertices. Such a quantum graph has nonempty point spectrum with compactly supported eigenfunctions provided all the edge lengths are commensurate. We derive conditions determining the continuous spectral component and show that existence of gaps may depend on number-theoretic properties of edge lengths ratios. The case when two of the three lengths coincide is discussed in detail.

We study deformations of maximally supersymmetric gauge theories by higher dimensional operators in various spacetime dimensions. We classify infinitesimal deformations that preserve all 16 supersymmetries, while allowing the possibility of breaking either Lorentz or R-symmetry, using an on-shell algebraic method developed by Movshev and Schwarz. We also consider the problem of extending the deformation beyond the first order.

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The paper discusses quantum graphs with a vertex coupling which interpolates between the common one of the type and a coupling introduced recently by two of the authors which exhibits a preferred orientation. Describing the interpolation family in terms of circulant matrices, we analyze the spectral and scattering property of such vertices, and investigate the band spectrum of the corresponding square lattice graph.