Related papers: Universality of the topological string at large ra…
The $R^2 F^{2g-2}$ terms of Type IIA strings on Calabi-Yau 3-folds, which are given by the corresponding topological string amplitudes (a worldsheet instanton sum for all genera), are shown to have a simple M-theory interpretation. In…
In these lectures, two different aspects of brane world scenarios in 5d gravity or string theory are discussed. In the first two lectures, work on how warped compactifications of 5d gravity theories can change the guise of the hierarchy…
It is shown how two-dimensional states corresponding to D-branes arise in orbifolds of topologically massive gauge and gravity theories. Brane vertex operators naturally appear in induced worldsheet actions when the three-dimensional gauge…
We describe a new class of instanton effects in string compactifications that preserve only N=1 supersymmetry in four dimensions. As is well-known, worldsheet or brane instantons in such a background can sometimes contribute to an effective…
We give an introductory review of topological strings and their application to various aspects of superstrings and supersymmetric gauge theories. This review includes developing the necessary mathematical background for topological strings,…
We discuss a set of universal couplings between superstring Ramond-Ramond gauge fields and the gauge fields internal to D-branes, with emphasis on their topological consequences, and argue that instanton solutions in these internal theories…
In this paper we extend previous work on the relation between the complex structure moduli of the underlying Calabi-Yau manifold in five dimensional supergravity with the time evolution of an embedded 3-brane. We numerically solve the…
We consider topological closed string theories on Calabi-Yau manifolds which compute superpotential terms in the corresponding compactified type II effective action. In particular, near certain singularities we compare the partition…
1. Preliminaries. 2. Heterotic string and motivations for large volume compactifications; 2.1 Gauge coupling unification; 2.2 Supersymmetry breaking by compactification. 3. M-theory on S^1/Z_2 \times Calabi-Yau. 4. Type I/I' string theory…
In four-dimensional F-theory compactifications with N=1 supersymmetry the fields describing the dynamics of space-time filling 7-branes are part of the complex structure moduli space of the internal Calabi-Yau fourfold. We explicitly…
Making use of non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of type II strings we construct new `superstring' vacua in three dimensions with N=1 supersymmetry. This has an interpretation as compactifying formally from 13 dimensions (S-theory) on…
We develop the real vertex formalism for the computation of the topological string partition function with D-branes and O-planes at the fixed point locus of an anti-holomorphic involution acting non-trivially on the toric diagram of any…
We study the resurgent structure of the refined topological string partition function on a non-compact Calabi-Yau threefold, at large orders in the string coupling constant $g_s$ and fixed refinement parameter $\mathsf{b}$. For…
We construct new string vacua featuring Brane Supersymmetry Breaking, based on $T^4/\mathbb{Z}_N$ orientifolds with $\text{O}5_+$ planes and $\overline{\text{D}5}$ branes. Differently from the original construction, in these vacua the…
We study the refined topological string partition function of a class of toric elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds. These Calabi-Yau threefolds give rise to five dimensional quiver gauge theories and are dual to configurations of…
This note is the written version of a talk which was presented at the Cargese 2002 summer school. It gives a brief introduction to the paper hep-th/0205281, written in collaboration with R. Dijkgraaf and E. Verlinde. In this paper, we…
We study factorizations of topological string amplitudes on higher genus Riemann surfaces with multiple boundary components and find quantum A-infinity relations, which are the higher genus analog of the (classical) A-infinity relations on…
This review summarizes the recent developments in topological string theory from the author's perspective, mostly focused on aspects of research in which the author is involved. After a brief overview of the theory, we discuss two aspects…
We consider M-theory compactification on Calabi-Yau threefolds. The recently discovered connection between the BPS states of wrapped M2 branes and the topological string amplitudes on the threefold is used both as a tool to compute…
We identify a deformation of the N=2 supersymmetric sigma model on a Calabi-Yau manifold X which has the same effect on B-branes as a noncommutative deformation of X. We show that for hyperkahler X such deformations allow one to interpolate…