Related papers: Topological Strings, D-Model, and Knot Contact Hom…
We propose a new, precise integrality conjecture for the colored Kauffman polynomial of knots and links inspired by large N dualities and the structure of topological string theory on orientifolds. According to this conjecture, the natural…
Besides offering a friendly introduction to knot homologies and quantum curves, the goal of these lectures is to review some of the concrete predictions that follow from the physical interpretation of knot homologies. In particular, this…
We find further evidence for the conjecture relating large N Chern-Simons theory on S^3 with topological string on the resolved conifold geometry by showing that the Wilson loop observable of a simple knot on S^3 (for any representation)…
I present a new class of topological string theories, and discuss them in two dimensions as candidates for the string description of large-$N$ QCD. The starting point is a new class of topological sigma models, whose path integral is…
Starting from a torus knot $\mathcal{K}$ in the lens space $L(p,-1)$, we construct a Lagrangian sub-manifold $L_{\mathcal{K}}$ in $\mathcal{X}=\big(\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^1}(-1)\oplus \mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^1}(-1)\big)/\mathbb{Z}_p$ under…
We consider knot invariants in the context of large $N$ transitions of topological strings. In particular we consider aspects of Lagrangian cycles associated to knots in the conifold geometry. We show how these can be explicity constructed…
This survey explores knot polynomials and their categorification, culminating in the homological invariants of knots. We begin with an overview of classical knot polynomials, progressing towards the superpolynomial and its role in unifying…
In this thesis we probe various interactions between toric geometry and string theory. First, the notion of a top was introduced by Candelas and Font as a useful tool to investigate string dualities. These objects torically encode the local…
We present a topological interpretation of knot and braid contact homology in degree zero, in terms of cords and skein relations. This interpretation allows us to extend the knot invariant to embedded graphs and higher-dimensional knots. We…
An elementary introduction to knot theory and its link to quantum field theory is presented with an intention to provide details of some basic calculations in the subject, which are not easily found in texts. Study of Chern-Simons theory…
We study topological string theory on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds using mirror symmetry. We compute higher genus topological string amplitudes and express these in terms of polynomials of functions constructed from the…
In this paper, we discuss a relation between Jones-Witten theory of knot invariants and topological open string theory on the basis of the volume conjecture. We find a similar Hamiltonian structure for both theories, and interpret the AJ…
We propose a spectral curve describing torus knots and links in the B-model. In particular, the application of the topological recursion to this curve generates all their colored HOMFLY invariants. The curve is obtained by exploiting the…
We use mirror symmetry to establish the first concrete arena of spacetime topology change in string theory. In particular, we establish that the {\it quantum theories} based on certain nonlinear sigma models with topologically distinct…
We summarize recent work on a combinatorial knot invariant called knot contact homology. We also discuss the origins of this invariant in symplectic topology, via holomorphic curves and a conormal bundle naturally associated to the knot.
We study the relation between perturbative knot invariants and the free energies defined by topological string theory on the character variety of the knot. Such a correspondence between SL(2;C) Chern-Simons gauge theory and the topological…
In this paper we construct an $\mathcal{A}_\infty$-category associated to a Legendrian submanifold of jet spaces. Objects of the category are augmentations of the Chekanov algebra $\mathcal{A}(\Lambda)$ and the homology of the morphism…
In 1999, Khovanov showed that a link invariant known as the Jones polynomial is the Euler characteristic of a homology theory. The knot categorification problem is to find a general construction of knot homology groups, and to explain their…
We consider Open Gromov-Witten invariants for noncompact Calabi-Yau in the case the Lagrangian has the topology of $\R^2 \times S^1$. The definition of the invariant involves the choice of a frame for the Lagrangian, in accord with string…
We consider homological mirror symmetry in the context of hypertoric varieties, showing that appropriate categories of B-branes (that is, coherent sheaves) on an additive hypertoric variety match a category of A-branes on a Dolbeault…