Naturalness and the Weak Gravity Conjecture

Abstract

The weak gravity conjecture (WGC) is an ultraviolet consistency condition asserting that an Abelian force requires a state of charge $q$ and mass $m$ with $q>m/m_{\rm Pl}$. We generalize the WGC to product gauge groups and study its tension with the naturalness principle for a charged scalar coupled to gravity. Reconciling naturalness with the WGC either requires a Higgs phase or a low cutoff at $\Lambda \sim q m_{\rm Pl}$. If neither applies, one can construct simple models that forbid a natural electroweak scale and whose observation would rule out the naturalness principle.