HEP Theory Journal Club

What is the graviton pole made of?

Kelian Häring

University of Amsterdam

In this talk, I will start by reviewing dispersion relations in the presence of gravity. This leads to a dispersion relation for the graviton pole. Then, I will explore the physical mechanisms responsible for generating this pole in the dispersion relations. These mechanisms are characterized by an energy scale at which the graviton pole is generated at fixed impact parameters. At large impact parameters, the eikonal model of high-energy gravitational scattering is identified as a universal mechanism that generates the graviton pole in dispersion relations. At smaller impact parameters, the graviton pole can arise from stringy higher-spin resonances. If time permits, I will discuss a Tauberian theorem for the graviton pole, which must be satisfied by any UV completion of gravity that admits twice-subtracted dispersion relations. This talk is based on arXiv:2410.21499.