Moduli-Space Laplacians, Asymptotic Geometry, and the Emergent String Conjecture

Abstract

At asymptotic limits of moduli spaces of quantum gravity vacua, we argue that the masses of the lightest particle towers are eigenfunctions of the moduli-space Laplacian. The associated eigenvalues are quantized by the Emergent String Conjecture and determine the exponential decay rates of axionic directions in these limits. We also connect the quantization of Laplacian eigenvalues to the spectrum of instantons for the theory. We support our claims with diverse examples that preserve between 4 and 32 supercharges.