The de Sitter swampland conjecture proposes that scalar potentials in consistent quantum-gravity effective theories obey a gradient bound |∇V| ≥ c·V, with c of order one.

The de Sitter swampland conjecture proposes that scalar potentials in consistent quantum-gravity effective theories obey a gradient bound |∇V| ≥ c·V, with c of order one.

Why it is stated this way

Stating the conjecture is a statement about the literature, not about nature. Its advocates motivate it from the distance conjecture and de Sitter thermodynamics, and it would forbid stable de Sitter minima if correct.

Scope and limitations

The conjecture has no derivation from a ten-dimensional construction and no proof. It is a proposal under active test, and a refined form was introduced precisely because the original was in tension with known physics.

Sources

• The original de Sitter swampland conjecture ↗ · Obied, Ooguri, Spodyneiko, Vafa · arXiv:1806.08362
• The slow-roll bound supporting the conjecture ↗ · Garg, Krishnan · arXiv:1807.05193

Related atlas concepts

de Sitter conjectureString swamplandde Sitter spacetime