Connecting black holes and black strings

Static vacuum spacetimes with one compact dimension include black holes with localized horizons but also uniform and nonuniform black strings where the horizon wraps over the compact dimension. We present new numerical solutions for these localized black holes in 5 and 6 dimensions. Combined with previous 6D nonuniform string results, these provide evidence that the black hole and nonuniform string branches join at a topology changing solution.     

Strings as solitons & black holes as strings

Supersymmetric closed string theories contain an infinite tower of BPS-saturated, oscillating, macroscopic strings in the perturbative spectrum. When these theories have dual formulations, this tower of states must exist nonperturbatively as solitons in the dual theories. We present a general class of exact solutions of low-energy supergravity that corresponds to all these states. After dimensional reduction they can be interpreted as supersymmetric black holes with a degeneracy related to the degeneracy of the string states. For example, in four dimensions we obtain a point-like solution which is asymptotic to a stationary, rotating, electrically-charged black hole with Regge-bounded angular momentum and with the usual ring-singularity replaced by a string source. This further supports the idea that the entropy of supersymmetric black holes can be understood in terms of counting of string states. We also discuss some applications of these solutions to string duality.     

Can Superconducting Cosmic Strings Piercing Seed Black Holes Generate Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe?

The discovery of a large number of supermassive black holes (SMBH) at redshifts , when the Universe was only 900 million years old, raises the question of how such massive compact objects could form in a cosmologically short time interval. Each of the standard scenarios proposed, involving rapid accretion of seed black holes or black hole mergers, faces severe theoretical difficulties in explaining the short‐time formation of supermassive objects. In this work we propose an alternative scenario for the formation of SMBH in the early Universe, in which energy transfer from superconducting cosmic strings piercing small seed black holes is the main physical process leading to rapid mass increase. As a toy model, the accretion rate of a seed black hole pierced by two antipodal strings carrying constant current is considered. Using an effective action approach, which phenomenologically incorporates a large class of superconducting string models, we estimate the minimum current required to form SMBH with masses of order by . This corresponds to the mass of the central black hole powering the quasar ULAS J112001.48+064124.3 and is taken as a test case scenario for early‐epoch SMBH formation. For GUT scale strings, the required fractional increase in the string energy density, due to the presence of the current, is of order 10⁻⁷, so that their existence remains consistent with current observational bounds on the string tension. In addition, we consider an “exotic” scenario, in which an SMBH is generated when a small seed black hole is pierced by a higher‐dimensional string, predicted by string theory. We find that both topological defect strings and fundamental strings are able to carry currents large enough to generate early‐epoch SMBH via our proposed mechanism.     

Primordial black hole formation by stabilized embedded strings in the early universe

Primordial black hole formation by cosmic string collapses is reconsidered in the case where the winding number of the string is larger than unity. The line energy density of a multiple winding string becomes greater than that of a single winding string so that the probability of black hole formation by string collapse during loop oscillation would be strongly enhanced. Moreover, this probability could be affected by changes in gravity theory due to large extra dimensions based on the brane universe model. In addition, a wider class of strings which are stable compared to conventional cosmic strings can contribute to such a scenario. Although the production of the multiple winding defect is suppressed and its number density should be small, the enhancement of black hole formation by the increased energy density may provide a large number of evaporating black holes in the present universe which gives more stringent constraints on the string model compared to the ordinary string scenario.     

Gregory–Laflamme analysis of MGD black strings

The minimal geometric deformation (MGD), associated with the 4D Schwarzschild solution of the Einstein equations, is shown to be a solution of the pure 4D Ricci quadratic gravity theory, whose linear perturbations are then implemented by the Gregory–Laflamme eigentensors of the Lichnerowicz operator. The stability of MGD black strings is hence studied, through the correspondence between their Lichnerowicz eigenmodes and the ones associated with the 4D MGD solutions. It is shown that there exists a critical mass driving the MGD black strings stability, above which the MGD black string is precluded from any Gregory–Laflamme instability. The general-relativistic limit shows the MGD black string to be unstable, as expected, corresponding to the standard Gregory–Laflamme black string instability.     

Wiggly strings of radial configuration in Kerr–Newman black hole

Previously we have investigated the cosmic wiggly strings in (3 + 1)-dimensional Schwarzschild, Reissner–Nordström and Kerr black holes. As an extension the solutions in (3 + 1)-dimensional axially symmetric charged rotating black hole are investigated. The solutions for the wiggly string exhibit open strings lying in the radial direction in the equatorial plane outside the horizon.     

Nondecoupling of maximal supergravity from the superstring

We consider the conditions necessary for obtaining perturbative maximal supergravity in d dimensions as a decoupling limit of type II superstring theory compactified on a (10-d) torus. For dimensions d=2 and d=3, it is possible to define a limit in which the only finite-mass states are the 256 massless states of maximal supergravity. However, in dimensions d>or=4, there are infinite towers of additional massless and finite-mass states. These correspond to Kaluza-Klein charges, wound strings, Kaluza-Klein monopoles, or branes wrapping around cycles of the toroidal extra dimensions. We conclude that perturbative supergravity cannot be decoupled from string theory in dimensions>or=4. In particular, we conjecture that pure N=8 supergravity in four dimensions is in the Swampland.     

Extremal black holes as fundamental strings

We show that polarization-dependent string-string scattering provides new evidence for the identification of the Dabholkar-Harvey (DH) string solution with the heterotic string itself. First, we construct excited versions of the DH solution which carry arbitrary left-moving waves yet are annihilated by half the supersymmetries. These solutions correspond in a natural way to Bogomolny-bound-saturating excitations of the ground state of the heterotic string. When the excited string solutions are compactified to four dimensions, they reduce to Sen's family of extremal black hole solutions of the toroidally compactified heterotic string. We then study the large impact parameter scattering of two such string solutions. We develop methods which go beyond the metric on moduli space approximation and allow us to read off the subleading polarization-dependent scattering amplitudes. We find perfect agreement with heterotic string tree amplitude predictions for the scattering of corresponding string states. Taken together, these results clearly identify the string states responsible for Sen's extremal black hole entropy. We end with a brief discussion of implications for the black hole information problem.     

Comparison of String Fluid Dynamical Models in General Relativity and Einstein–Cartan theory

Dynamical models of string fluids areconstructed from the general energy-momentum tensor forstring fluids in general relativity and theEinstein-Cartan theories obtained from the Ray-Hilbertvariational principle. Examples of solutions to the fieldequations for general relativistic spacetimes are givenand compared with solutions obtained from the postulatedenergy-momentum tensor of Letelier. Solutions to the field equations in Riemann-Cartanspacetimes are compared with an extended Leteliersolution. All calculations are given for both thestandard and the extended thermodynamics versions inwhich the latter includes the string as thermodynamicvariables. In general relativity, it is shown for blackhole solutions that the general feature of strings(through the string vector) is to produce a shrinkage of the black hole horizon. In RiemannCartanspacetimes, the torsion field equation shows that stringvector can be identified with the torsion vector. Themost striking feature of strings in Riemann-Cartan spacetimes is that in the Reissner-Nordstromsolution, the addition of torsional strings produces thecorrect asympototic behavior of the metric necessary tomatch the experimental galactic rotationcurves.     

The Large-N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity

We show that the large-N limits of certainconformal field theories in various dimensions includein their Hilbert space a sector describing supergravityon the product of anti-de Sitter spacetimes, spheres, and other compact manifolds. This is shown bytaking some branes in the full M/string theory and thentaking a low-energy limit where the field theory on thebrane decouples from the bulk. We observe that, in this limit, we can still trust thenear-horizon geometry for large N. The enhancedsupersymmetries of the near-horizon geometry correspondto the extra supersymmetry generators present in thesuperconformal group (as opposed to just the super-Poincaregroup). The 't Hooft limit of 3 + 1 N = 4 super-Yang–Mills at the conformal pointis shown to contain strings: they are IIB strings. Weconjecture that compactifications of M/string theory on various anti-de Sitterspacetimes is dual to various conformal field theories.This leads to a new proposal for a definition ofM-theory which could be extended to include fivenoncompact dimensions.     

Compactifications of F-theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds (II)

We continue our study of compactifications of F-theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds. We gain more insight into F-theory duals of heterotic strings and provide a recipe for building F-theory duals for arbitrary heterotic compactifications on elliptically fibered manifolds. As a byproduct we find that string/string duality in six dimensions gets mapped to fiber/base exchange in F-theory. We also construct a number of new N = 1, d = 6 examples of F-theory vacua and study transitions among them. We find that some of these transition points correspond upon further compactification to 4 dimensions to transitions through analogues of Argyres-Douglas points of N = 2 moduli. A key idea in these transitions is the notion of classifying (0,4) fivebranes of heterotic strings.     

Fate of the black string instability

Gregory and Laflamme showed that certain nonextremal black strings (and p-branes) are unstable to linearized perturbations. It is widely believed that this instability will cause the black string horizon to classically pinch off and then quantum mechanically separate, resulting in higher dimensional black holes. We argue that this cannot happen. Under very mild assumptions, classical event horizons cannot pinch off. Instead, they settle down to new static black string solutions which are not translationally invariant along the string.     

Extremal black hole entropy from conformal string sigma model

We present a string-theory derivation of the semiclassical entropy of extremal dyonic black holes in the approach based on the conformal sigma model (NS-NS embedding of the classical solution). We demonstrate (resolving some puzzles existing in previous related discussions) that the degeneracy responsible for the entropy is due to string oscillations in four transverse dimensions ‘intrinsic’ to the black hole: four non-compact directions of the D = 5 black hole case and three non-compact and one compact (responsible for embedding of magnetic charges) dimensions in the D = 4 black hole case. Oscillations in other compact internal dimensions give subleading contributions to statistical entropy in the limit when all charges are large. The dominant term in the statistical entropy is thus universal (i.e. is the same in type II and heterotic string theory) and agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking expression.     

Kaluza-Klein states versus winding states: can both be above the string scale?

Closed strings in extra compactified dimensions give rise to both Kaluza-Klein states and winding states. Since the masses of these states play a reciprocal role, it is often believed that either the lightest Kaluza-Klein states or the lightest winding states must be at or below the string scale. In this Letter, we demonstrate the contrary, showing that there exist toroidal compactifications for which all Kaluza-Klein states as well as all winding states are heavier than the string scale. Within the context of low-scale string theories, this implies that it may be possible to cross the string scale without detecting any states associated with spacetime compactification.     

String-induced space compactification

Motivated by the possibility of a finite theory of gravity provided by superstrings in ten space-time dimensions, we analyze the problem of space compactification in the context of string dynamics. Such an analysis is hampered by conceptual and technical problems, stemming from the existence of the quantum string's own graviton mode on the one hand, and from Witten's observation of anomalies in a not specially chosen curves space-time on the other hand. Still, in the context of a classical local field presentation of string theory à la Nambu and Hosotani, supplemented by gravitational and Kalb-Ramond interactions, we are able to find solutions with space compactification. It is the antisymmetric tensor zero modes that dictate this compactification towards three space-time dimensions for ordinary strings or towards four or five space-time dimensions for superstrings.     

The Role of Magnetic Field in Anisotropic String Cosmological Model

In this paper we consider a spatially homogenous and anisotropic Bianchi type-V space-time model to investigate the effects of a magnetic field in string cosmology. We assume that the string’s direction and magnetic field are along x-axis. The field equations are solved by using the equation of state for a cloud of strings and variable magnetic permeability. We derive exact solutions for three types of strings: (i) Nambu strings, (ii) string model where the sum of energy density and string tension density is zero and (iii) Takabayasi strings. We examine the behaviour of scale factors and other physical parameters with and without magnetic field and it is found that the magnetic field effects the dynamics of the universe at early time. During late time the universe becomes isotropic even in the presence of magnetic field. The universe expands with decelerated rate during early stages of the evolution of the universe but it goes to marginal inflation at late times.     

Recent developments in topological string theory

This review summarizes the recent developments in topological string theory from the author's perspective, mostly focusing on aspects of research in which the author is involved. After a brief overview of the theory, we discuss two aspects of these developments. First, we discuss the computational progress in the topological string partition functions on a class of elliptic Calabi-Yau manifolds. We propose to use Jacobi forms as an ansatz for the partition function. For non-compact models, the techniques often provide complete solutions, while for compact models, though it is still not completely solvable, we compute to higher genus than previous works. Second, we explore a remarkable connection of refined topological strings on a class of non-compact toric Calabi-Yau threefolds with non-perturbative effects in quantum-mechanical systems. The connections provide rarely available exact quantization conditions for quantum systems and new insights on non-perturbative formulations of topological string theory.     

Rayleigh-Plateau and Gregory-Laflamme instabilities of black strings

Many and very general arguments indicate that the event horizon behaves as a stretched membrane. We explore this analogy by associating the Gregory-Laflamme instability of black strings with a classical membrane instability known as the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. We show that the key features of the black string instability can be reproduced using this viewpoint. In particular, we get good agreement for the threshold mode in all dimensions and exact agreement for large spacetime dimensionality. The instability time scale is also well described within this model, as well as the dimensionality dependence. It also predicts that general nonaxisymmetric perturbations are stable. We further argue that the instability of ultraspinning black holes follows from this model.