Related papers: GLSM's, gerbes, and Kuznetsov's homological projec…
We study a broad class of two dimensional gauged linear sigma models (GLSMs) with off-shell N=(2,2) supersymmetry that flow to nonlinear sigma models (NLSMs) on noncompact geometries with torsion. These models arise from coupling chiral,…
We review the string/gauge theory duality relating Chern-Simons theory and topological strings on noncompact Calabi-Yau manifolds, as well as its mathematical implications for knot invariants and enumerative geometry.
In this easy introduction to higher gauge theory, we describe parallel transport for particles and strings in terms of 2-connections on 2-bundles. Just as ordinary gauge theory involves a gauge group, this generalization involves a gauge…
Mirror symmetry relates type IIB string theory on a Calabi-Yau 3-fold to type IIA on the mirror CY manifold, whose complex structure and Kaehler moduli spaces are exchanged. We show that the mirror map is a particular case of a more general…
In this article we will examine a "generalized topological sigma model." This so-called "generalized topological sigma model" is the M-Theoretic analog of the standard topological sigma model of string theory. We find that the observables…
In this paper we extend work on exotic two-dimensional (2,2) supersymmetric gauged linear sigma models (GLSMs) in which, for example, geometries arise via nonperturbative effects, to (0,2) theories, and in so doing find some novel (0,2)…
We study the physics of two-dimensional N=(2,2) gauged linear sigma models (GLSMs) via the two-sphere partition function. We show that the classical phase boundaries separating distinct GLSM phases, which are described by the secondary fan…
We review a systematic construction of the 2-stack of bundle gerbes via descent, and extend it to non-abelian gerbes. We review the role of non-abelian gerbes in orientifold sigma models, for the anomaly cancellation in supersymmetric sigma…
We describe a class of (2,2) superconformal field theories obtained by fibering a Landau-Ginzburg orbifold CFT over a compact Kaehler base manifold. While such models are naturally obtained as phases in a gauged linear sigma model, our…
This thesis is almost entirely devoted to studying string theory backgrounds characterized by simple geometrical and integrability properties. The archetype of this type of system is given by Wess-Zumino-Witten models, describing string…
We examine the role of global topological data associated to choices of holonomy for flat gauge fields in string compactification. Our study begins with perturbative string compactification on compact flat manifolds preserving 8…
We investigate the connections between four-dimensional, N=2 M-theory vacua constructed as orbifolds of type II, heterotic, and type I strings. All these models have the same massless spectrum, which contains an equal number of vector…
This Ph.D. thesis investigates effective field and string theories in which supersymmetry is realized and broken in various ways. Chapter 1 addresses effective theories with nonlinearly realized supersymmetry, constructed using the…
We offer a derivation of the duality between the topological U(1) gauge theory on a Calabi-Yau 3-fold and the topological A-model on the same manifold. This duality was conjectured recently by Iqbal, Nekrasov, Okounkov, and Vafa. We deduce…
We consider type IIA/B strings in two-dimensions and their projection with respect to the nilpotent space-time supercharge. Based on the ground ring structure, we propose a duality between perturbed type II strings and the topological…
6-dimensional superconformal field theories are exotic and fascinating. They emerge from compactifications of F-theory on Calabi-Yau elliptic fibrations, which grants them a rich array of dualities with various other formulations of string…
This work is devoted to a study of some of the non-perturbative aspects of superstring theory that have come within reach thanks to dualities. The first chapter gives a non-technical zero-equation introduction to these developments intended…
Compactifications of the physical superstring to two dimensions provide a general template for realizing 2D conformal field theories coupled to worldsheet gravity, i.e. non-critical string theories. Motivated by this observation, in this…
The aim of this talk is to explain how symmetry breaking in a quantum field theory problem leads to a study of projective bundles, Dixmier-Douady classes, and associated gerbes. A gerbe manifests itself in different equivalent ways. Besides…
In this paper we work out some basic results concerning heterotic string compactifications on stacks and, in particular, gerbes. A heterotic string compactification on a gerbe can be understood as, simultaneously, both a compactification on…