A brief introduction to the weak gravity conjecture

Abstract

The Weak Gravity Conjecture proposes that a theory with a gauge field that is coupled to gravity must have charged matter on which gravity acts as the weakest force. It also proposes that there is an intrinsic cutoff on such an effective theory, which corresponds to a tower of charged states, that is set by the strength of the gauge coupling (in Planck units). This article is a brief introduction to the Weak Gravity Conjecture, covering aspects of the motivations for it as well as various extensions and refinements.