Claim ds-002 · Atlas v1.2.0

Whether string/M-theory admits stable or metastable de Sitter vacua remains an open question, and there is no community consensus.

ds-002Active research

Whether string/M-theory admits stable or metastable de Sitter vacua remains an open question, and there is no community consensus.

Why it is stated this way
The source map is explicit that the disagreement is technical and genuine, turning on the validity of four-dimensional effective actions, the control of higher-dimensional backreaction, and the trustworthiness of asymptotic regimes. Both camps maintain mathematically sophisticated positions.
Scope and limitations
Neither this atlas nor its source paper adjudicates the question. Any presentation of either side as settled misrepresents the state of the field.
Sources

Last reviewed 2026-07-27 · Atlas v1.2.0

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Source cards — 3

VerifiedPrimary paper2019

de Sitter Vacua from Ten Dimensions ↗

Authors
Kachru, Kim, McAllister, Zimet
ID
arXiv:1908.04788

Why this source is here — The explicit ten-dimensional analysis defenders cite as reproducing the four-dimensional uplift result.

VerifiedPrimary paper2018

What if string theory has no de Sitter vacua? ↗

Authors
Danielsson, Van Riet
ID
arXiv:1804.01120

Why this source is here — A prominent statement of the position that string theory may have no de Sitter vacua at all, cited for the shape of the skeptical case.

ContextualEducational context2026

The de Sitter Problem in the String Swampland: A Verified Literature Map (Revision 2) ↗

Authors
Rajan, Mayone Maha (architect and curator)
Journal
Maha Strategies Research; Zenodo DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21603961

Why this source is here — The working paper this atlas is derived from. Cited where a claim rests on the paper’s own framing of the field rather than on a physics result — most directly the statement that no consensus exists.

Year taken from the publication date.