Related papers: On Gauge Theory and Topological String in Nekrasov…
A deformation of the N=2 topological string partition function is analyzed by considering higher dimensional F-terms of the type W^{2g}*Upsilon^n, where W is the chiral Weyl superfield and each Upsilon factor stands for the chiral…
We demonstrate the equivalence of all loop closed topological string amplitudes on toric local Calabi-Yau threefolds with computations of certain knot invariants for Chern-Simons theory. We use this equivalence to compute the topological…
We perform a topological-holomorphic twist of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric gauge theory on a four-manifold of the form $M_4=\Sigma_1 \times \Sigma_2$ with Riemann surfaces $\Sigma_{1,2}$, and unravel the mathematical implications of its…
We study geometric transitions for topological strings on compact Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces in toric varieties. Large N duality predicts an equivalence between topological open and closed string theories connected by an extremal transition.…
We show how enhanced gauge symmetry in type II string theory compactified on a Calabi--Yau threefold arises from singularities in the geometry of the target space. When the target space of the type IIA string acquires a genus $g$ curve $C$…
We consider a non-supersymmetric example of the AdS/CFT duality which generalizes the supersymmetric exactly marginal deformation constructed in hep-th/0502086. The string theory background we use was found in hep-th/0503201 from the AdS_5…
The AGT conjecture relates \mathcal{N}=2 4d SUSY gauge theories to 2d CFTs. Matrix model techniques can be used to investigate both sides of this relation. The large N limit refers here to the size of Young tableaux in the expression of 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 compute the Nekrasov partition function of gauge theories on the (resolved) toric singularities C^2/\Gamma in terms of blow-up formulae. We discuss the expansion of the partition function in the \epsilon_1,\epsilon_2 \to 0 limit along…
The Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of beta-ensembles with polynomial potential and N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in the Omega-background is intimately related to complex one-dimensional quantum mechanics. Multi-instanton corrections in…
We describe the magnetic phase of SU(N) $\mathcal{N}=2$ Super Yang-Mills theories in the self-dual Omega background in terms of a new class of multi-cut matrix models. These arise from a non-perturbative completion of topological strings in…
We analyze the conjectured duality between a class of double-scaling limits of a one-matrix model and the topological twist of non-critical superstring backgrounds that contain the N=2 Kazama-Suzuki SL(2)/U(1) supercoset model. The…
We study periodic spectral problems through their connection with supersymmetric gauge theories and two-dimensional conformal field theory. To characterize the associated stability chart, we develop a novel and systematic approach for…
We study a class of extremal transitions between topological distinct Calabi--Yau manifolds which have an interpretation in terms of the special massless states of a type II string compactification. In those cases where a dual heterotic…
We develop techniques to compute higher loop string amplitudes for twisted $N=2$ theories with $\hat c=3$ (i.e. the critical case). An important ingredient is the discovery of an anomaly at every genus in decoupling of BRST trivial states,…
We study the large N limit of SO(N) and Sp(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory on S^3 and identify its closed string dual as topological strings on an orientifold of the small resolution of the conifold. Applications to large N dualities for N=1…
We study open string amplitudes with the D3-branes in type IIB superstring theory compactified on C^2/Z_2. We introduce constant graviphoton background along the branes and calculate disk amplitudes using the NSR formalism. We take the zero…
We propose a new family of matrix models whose 1/N expansion captures the all-genus topological string on toric Calabi-Yau threefolds. These matrix models are constructed from the trace class operators appearing in the quantization of the…
We study N=2 super-conformal field theories in four dimensions that correspond to mass-deformed linear quivers with n gauge groups and (bi-)fundamental matter. We describe them using Seiberg-Witten curves obtained from an M-theory…
We consider $d=3$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories arising on membranes sitting at the apex of an arbitrary toric Calabi-Yau 4-fold cone singularity that are then further compactified on a Riemann surface, $\Sigma_g$, with a topological…