Related papers: Periodic Schur Process, Cylindric Partitions and N…

The initial motivation of this work was to give a topological interpretation of two-periodic twisted de-Rham cohomology which is generalizable to arbitrary coefficients. To this end we develop a sheaf theory in the context of locally…

Taking the results of hep-th/0702110 we study the Dijkgraaf-Vafa open/closed topological string duality by considering the wavefunction behavior of the partition function. We find that the geometric transition associated with the duality…

We consider a generalization of the Schur process in which a partition evolves from the empty partition into an arbitrary fixed final partition. We obtain a double integral representation of the correlation kernel. For a special final…

We study the perturbative large-$N$ expansion of the round three-sphere partition function in a class of M2-brane theories, including flavored SYM and ABJM theories as well as more general 3d theories admitting dual $(p,q)$ 5-brane web…

We set up, purely in A-model terms, a novel formalism for the global solution of the open and closed topological A-model on toric Calabi-Yau threefolds. The starting point is to build on recent progress in the mathematical theory of open…

A $D>2$ topological string is presented by coupling the $2d$ topological gravity with the twisted version of the $N=2$ superconformal matter with $c=3k/(k-2)$. The latter is shown to admit $k+1$ chiral primary fields from the…

We investigate string configurations in the deconfined phase of SU(3) gauge theory, which arise from the spontaneous breaking of the $Z_3$ center symmetry. These configurations form at the junctions of domain walls of the theory. The…

Nonperturbative terms in the free energy of Chern-Simons gauge theory play a key role in its duality to the closed topological string. We show that these terms are reproduced by performing a double scaling limit near the point where the…

We evaluate the Nekrasov partition function of 5d gauge theories engineered by webs of 5-branes, using the refined topological vertex on the dual Calabi-Yau threefolds. The theories include certain non-Lagrangian theories such as the T_N…

In the presence of a static quark--antiquark pair, the spectrum of the low-lying states in SU($N$) gauge theories is discrete and likely to be described, at large quark separations $r$, by an effective string theory. The expansion of the…

The primary purpose of these lecture notes is to explore the moduli space of type IIA, type IIB, and heterotic string compactified on a K3 surface. The main tool which is invoked is that of string duality. K3 surfaces provide a fascinating…

We study the Type IIA NS five-brane wrapped on a Calabi-Yau manifold X in a double-scaled decoupling limit. We calculate the euclidean partition function in the presence of a flat RR 3-form field. The classical contribution is given by a…

We apply the modular approach to computing the topological string partition function on non-compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau 3-folds with higher Kodaira singularities in the fiber. The approach consists in making an ansatz for the…

We calculate the refined topological string partition function of the Calabi-Yau threefold which is the total space of the canonical bundle on $\mathbb{P}^2$ (the local $\mathbb{P}^2$). The refined topological vertex formalism can not be…

T-duality is one of the essential elements of string theory. Recently, Hull has developed a formalism where the dimension of the target space is doubled so as to make T-duality manifest. This is then supplemented with a constraint equation…

We derive a compact and explicit expression for the generating functional of all correlation functions of tachyon operators in 2D string theory. This expression makes manifest relations of the $c=1$ system to KP flow and $W_{1+\infty}$…

We discuss gauge theory with a topological N=2 symmetry. This theory captures the de Rham complex and Riemannian geometry of some underlying moduli space $\cal M$ and the partition function equals the Euler number of $\cal M$. We explicitly…

There is a close relation between duality in $N=2$ SUSY gauge theories and integrable models. In particular, the quantum moduli space of vacua of $N=2$ SUSY $SU(3)$ gauge theories coupled to two flavors of massless quarks in the fundamental…

We derive an approximate analytic relation between the number of consistent heterotic Calabi-Yau compactifications of string theory with the exact charged matter content of the standard model of particle physics and the topological data of…

We analyze the U-duality group for the case of a type II superstring compactified to four dimensions on a K3 surface times a torus. The various limits of this theory are considered which have interpretations as type IIA and IIB…