The Distance Conjecture holds that any infinite-distance limit in the scalar field moduli space of a consistent theory of quantum gravity must be accompanied by a tower of light particles whose masses scale exponentially with proper field distance ‖ϕ‖ as m ~ exp(−λ‖ϕ‖), where λ is order-one in Planck units. While the evidence for this conjecture is formidable, there is at present no consensus on which values of λ are allowed. In this paper, we propose a sharp lower bound for the lightest tower in a given infinite-distance limit in d dimensions: λ ≥ $$ 1/\sqrt{d-2} $$ 1 / d − 2 . In support of this proposal, we show that (1) it is exactly preserved under dimensional reduction, (2) it is saturated in many examples of string/M-theory compactifications, including maximal supergravity in d = 4 – 10 dimensions, and (3) it is saturated in many examples of minimal supergravity in d = 4 – 10 dimensions, assuming appropriate versions of the Weak Gravity Conjecture. We argue that towers with λ <$$ 1/\sqrt{d-2} $$ 1 / d − 2 discussed previously in the literature are always accompanied by even lighter towers with λ ≥ $$ 1/\sqrt{d-2} $$ 1 / d − 2 , thereby satisfying our proposed bound. We discuss connections with and implications for the Emergent String Conjecture, the Scalar Weak Gravity Conjecture, the Repulsive Force Conjecture, large-field inflation, and scalar field potentials in quantum gravity. In particular, we argue that if our proposed bound applies beyond massless moduli spaces to scalar fields with potentials, then accelerated cosmological expansion cannot occur in asymptotic regimes of scalar field space in quantum gravity.

We describe the higher-form and non-invertible symmetries of 4d N = 3 Sfolds using the brane dynamics of their holographic duals. In cases with enhancement to N = 4 supersymmetry, our analysis reproduces the known field theory results of Aharony, Seiberg and Tachikawa, and is compatible with the effective action recently given by Bergman and Hirano. Likewise, for two specific N = 3 theories for which Zafrir has conjectured N = 1 Lagrangians our results agree with those implied by the Lagrangian description. In all other cases, our results imply novel predictions about the symmetries of the corresponding N = 3 field theories. Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Higher form symmetries of S-folds 4 2.1 k = 2 allowed brane wrappings, a warm up 4 2.2 Commutation relations from topology 6 2.3 The branes of general k and the linking pairing 9 2.4 Commutation relations for N = 3 S-folds 2.5 Commutation relations for N = 4 S-folds 2.6 An effective action on AdS 5 2.7 Review of discrete torsion and Freed-Witten anomaly for k = 2 2.8 Fluxes and Freed-Witten anomalies 2.9 't Hooft anomalies and non-invertible symmetries 3 The N = 4 theories from the k = 2 S-fold 29 3.1 The line operator dictionary 3.2 Field theory mutual locality from bulk non-commutativity 3.3 Interpreting the bulk effective action 3.4 SL(2, Z) duality webs 4 Conclusions 38