Geodesic completeness from string T-duality

Abstract

By studying the Raychaudhuri equation for the gravitational force resulting from a string T-duality modified propagator, we present an analysis of the geodesic compression beyond the conventional classical limit. The result is that gravity on short length scales is subject to a screening effect similar to the Debye screening in electrostatics, which prevents the formation of curvature singularities. Using model-independent arguments, we conclude that the conventional attractive nature of gravity is only a low-energy effect.

Updated version in press on the European Physical Journal C; 6 pages, 2 figures