High Energy Theory Seminar

The Weak Gravity Conjecture postulates the existence of a particle with charge-to-mass ratio larger than that of an extremal black hole in any consistent quantum gravity. I review the evidence for the conjecture and some of its strong forms, and compare it with a subtly different conjecture that requires a charged particle that repels its identical copy at large separations. I discuss the evidence for this "repulsive force conjecture" and comment on its relationship to black holes, as well as its potential application to theories without gravity.