Is the Standard Model in the Swampland? Consistency Requirements from Gravitational Scattering

We study compatibility of the standard model of particle physics and general relativity by means of gravitational positivity bounds, which provide a necessary condition for a low-energy gravitational theory to be UV completable within the weakly coupled regime of gravity. In particular, we identify the cutoff scale of the standard model coupled to gravity by studying consistency of light-by-light scattering. While the precise value depends on details of the Pomeron effects in QCD, the cutoff scale reads 10(16) GeV if the single-Pomeron exchange picture works well up to this scale. We also demonstrate that the cutoff scale is lowered to 10(13) GeV if we consider the electroweak theory without the QCD sector.

Automated summary

This study investigates the compatibility between the standard model of particle physics and general relativity by analyzing gravitational positivity bounds. The cutoff scale for the standard model coupled to gravity is identified, taking into account different scenarios, providing valuable insights into the relationship between gravitational theory and particle physics.