We consider higher derivative corrections to the graviton three-point coupling within a weakly coupled theory of gravity. Lorentz invariance allows further structures beyond the one present in the Einstein theory. We argue that these are constrained by causality. We devise a thought experiment involving a high energy scattering process which leads to causality violation if the graviton three-point vertex contains the additional structures. This violation cannot be fixed by adding conventional particles with spins J ≤ 2. But, it can be fixed by adding an infinite tower of extra massive particles with higher spins, J > 2. In AdS theories this implies a constraint on the conformal anomaly coefficients a−c c 1 ∆ 2 gap in terms of ∆ gap , the dimension of the lightest single trace operator with spin J > 2. For inflation, or de Sitter-like solutions, it indicates the existence of massive higher spin particles if the gravity wave non-gaussianity deviates significantly from the one computed in the Einstein theory.

Abstract:The holomorphic anomaly equations describe B-model closed topological strings in Calabi-Yau geometries. Having been used to construct perturbative expansions, it was recently shown that they can also be extended past perturbation theory by making use of resurgent transseries. These yield formal nonperturbative solutions, showing integrability of the holomorphic anomaly equations at the nonperturbative level. This paper takes such constructions one step further by working out in great detail the specific example of topological strings in the mirror of the local CP 2 toric Calabi-Yau background, and by addressing the associated (resurgent) large-order analysis of both perturbative and multi-instanton sectors. In particular, analyzing the asymptotic growth of the perturbative free energies, one finds contributions from three different instanton actions related by Z 3 symmetry, alongside another action related to the Kähler parameter. Resurgent transseries methods then compute, from the extended holomorphic anomaly equations, higher instanton sectors and it is shown that these precisely control the asymptotic behavior of the perturbative free energies, as dictated by resurgence. The asymptotic large-order growth of the one-instanton sector unveils the presence of resonance, i.e., each instanton action is necessarily joined by its symmetric contribution. The structure of different resurgence relations is extensively checked at the numerical level, both in the holomorphic limit and in the general nonholomorphic case, always showing excellent agreement with transseries data computed out of the nonperturbative holomorphic anomaly equations. The resurgence relations further imply that the string free energy displays an intricate multi-branched Borel structure, and that resonance must be properly taken into account in order to describe the full transseries solution.

Abstract:We explore the constraints imposed on higher curvature corrections of the Lovelock type due to causality restrictions in the boundary of asymptotically AdS spacetime. In the framework of AdS/CFT, this is related to positivity of the energy constraints that arise in conformal collider physics. We present explicit analytic results that fully address these issues for cubic Lovelock gravity in arbitrary dimensions and give the formal analytic results that comprehend general Lovelock theory. The computations can be performed in two ways, both by considering a thermal setup in a black hole background and by studying the scattering of gravitons with a shock wave in AdS. We show that both computations coincide in Lovelock theory. The different helicities, as expected, provide the boundaries defining the region of allowed couplings. We generalize these results to arbitrary higher dimensions and discuss their consequences on the shear viscosity to energy density ratio of CFT plasmas, the possible existence of Boulware-Deser instabilities in Lovelock theory and the extent to which the AdS/CFT correspondence might be valid for arbitrary dimensions.