Related papers: A Generalization of Turaev's Virtual String Cobrac…

In these lecture notes we review the various relations between intersection theory on the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, integrable hierarchies of KdV type, matrix models, and topological quantum field theories. We explain in particular…

This paper deals with the problem of representing the matching independence system in a graph as the intersection of finitely many matroids. After characterizing the graphs for which the matching independence system is the intersection of…

The U(1) lattice gauge theory in three dimensions is a perfect laboratory to study the properties of the confining string. On the one hand, thanks to the mapping to a Coulomb gas of monopoles, the confining properties of the model can be…

This paper gives a polynomial invariant for flat virtual links. In the case of one component, the polynomial specializes to Turaev's virtual string polynomial. We show that Turaev's polynomial has the property that it is non-zero precisely…

In this paper, we describe the relation between the Turaev--Viro TQFT and the string-net space introduced in the papers of Levin and Wen. In particular, the case of surfaces with boundary is considered in detail.

We present a ``topological'' formulation of arbitrarily shaped vortex strings in four dimensional field theory. By using a large Higgs mass expansion, we then evaluate the effective action of the closed Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex…

In an orientable surface with boundary, free homotopy classes of curves on surfaces are in one to one correspondence with cyclic reduced words in a set of standard generators of the fundamental group. The combinatorial length of a class is…

In view of recent progress in studying matrix model-2D gravity duality, we reexamine some features of $(2,2p+1)$ minimal string. After reviewing both sides of the proposed correspondence in this case, a previously unnoted identification…

Oriented loops on an orientable surface are, up to equivalence by free homotopy, in one-to-one correspondence with the conjugacy classes of the surface's fundamental group. These conjugacy classes can be expressed (not uniquely in the case…

We investigate the variation of the string field action under changes of the string field vertices giving rise to different decompositions of the moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces. We establish that any such change in the string action…

Based on earlier work by Carlen-Maas and the second- and third-named author, we introduce the notion of intertwining curvature lower bounds for graphs and quantum Markov semigroups. This curvature notion is stronger than both Bakry-\'Emery…

We prove that the string cobracket is not a homotopy invariant. Adapting Naef's method arXiv:2106.11307 for computing the string coproduct, we show that the string cobrackets on the three-dimensional lens spaces $L(9;1)$ and $L(9;4)$…

In a recent work [2] with Datta, we introduced the mu vector (with respect to a given field) of simplicial complexes and used it to study tightness and lower bounds. In this paper, we modify the definition of mu vectors. With the new…

For any simple digraph $D$ we offer a new proof for the intersection number of its middle digraph, $M(D)$; while doing so we also solve for the intersection number when $D$ has loops. In addition, a new transformation, the union of $D$ and…

String theory in 4 dimensions has the unique feature that a topological term, the oriented self-intersection number, can be added to the usual action. It has been suggested that the corresponding theory of random surfaces wold be free from…

We study the number of intersections of the nodal lines of an eigenfunction of the Laplacian on the standard torus with a fixed reference curve, that is, the number of zeros of the eigenfunction restricted to the curve. An upper bound is…

We explore the consequences of imposing Polyakov's zig/zag-invariance in the search for a confining string. We first find that the requirement of zig/zag-invariance seems to be incompatible with spacetime supersymmetry. We then try to find…

We numerically examine the self-dual solutions of self-intersecting strings immersed in four dimensions. We find that open torus knots have topologies that can support monopole/anti-monopole as well as q-qbar production and annihilation. We…

We consider, in a string theory framework, physical processes of phenomenological interest in models with a low string scale. The amplitudes we study involve tree-level virtual gravitational exchange, divergent in a field-theoretical…

We consider several aspects of `confining strings', recently proposed to describe the confining phase of gauge field theories. We perform the exact duality transformation that leads to the confining string action and show that it reduces to…