Abstract: In this three-lecture mini-course, we will introduce the concepts of the string theory Landscape and the Swampland. We will focus specifically on the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC), which holds that gravity is necessarily the weakest force in any effective field theory compatible with string theory. In the first lecture, we will introduce the different versions of the WGC and the motivation for them. In the second lecture, we will look at some of the lines of evidence for WGC. In the third lecture, we will explore some of the implications of the WGC for cosmology, particle physics, black holes, and geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds.

Lectures take place August 17,19 and 21, at 12:10 PM on zoom (link below)

Prerequisites: Phys 232A or equivalent. Phys 231 is recommended.

About the lecturer:

Tom Rudelius is a postdoc in the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics. Prior to coming to Berkeley, Tom was a postdoc at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a grad student at Harvard, where he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Cumrun Vafa.