String Theory Journal Club

In this talk, I will review recent works on M-theory dualities: (2410.03591, 2311.10564). I will begin by revisiting the BFSS Conjecture - the original proposal for a non‑perturbative definition of M‑theory via discrete light‑cone quantization (DLCQ). Although finite‑N BFSS does not reproduce 11‑dimensional supergravity (9905183), recent works suggest that it is dual to a novel non‑relativistic gravity theory, with the usual Lorentzian bulk recovered only at large N, connecting BFSS within a broader web of non‑Lorentzian string/M‑theory dualities, all generated by a hierarchy of BPS decoupling limits that project onto successively smaller supersymmetric sectors. I will explain the "DLCQ^m/DLCQ^n conjecture," motivate the appearance of emergent Newton–Cartan and Carroll geometries, and, if time allows, discuss the reversing of decoupling limits viewed as a generalization of TTbar deformations for world volume theories.