2025/02/11 by Ashoke Sen, Sen, Ashoke · 6 citations
Decision Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Radioactive Decay and Measurement Techniques #Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.07883
openalex publication_date 2025/02/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Banks has argued that the moduli of string theory are not vacuum expectation values but parameters. We offer a different perspective on this question. Given two different points P and Q in the moduli space, we shall regard them as different vacua of the same underlying theory if in a theory where the asymptotic values of the moduli correspond to the point P, we can perform an experiment that can determine the spectrum and S-matrix of a theory where the asymptotic values of the moduli correspond to the point Q. We argue that in asymptotically flat space-time, this can be achieved by taking a charged black hole in the limit of large mass and charges. In this limit the local geometry at any point outside the horizon is indistinguishable from flat space-time. However the moduli vary slowly over the entire region so that their values at faraway points can differ by order unity. Therefore, by sending out experimental teams to different regions outside the horizon, an asymptotic observer can measure the spectrum and S-matrix for different values of the moduli.