Related papers: Surface Operators from M-strings
We construct a space of string diagrams, which are a type of fatgraph with some additional data, and show that there are string topology operations on the chains of the free loop space of a closed Riemannian manifold which are parameterized…
We review the recent developments in superstrings. We start with a brief summary of various consistent superstring theories and discuss T-duality which necessarily leads to the presence of D-branes. The properties of D-branes are summarized…
We define new topological theories related to sigma models whose target space is a 7 dimensional manifold of G_2 holonomy. We show how to define the topological twist and identify the BRST operator and the physical states. Correlation…
Over the last few years, string theory has changed profoundly. Most importantly, novel duality relations have emerged which involve gauge theories of brane excitations on one side and various closed string backgrounds on the other. In this…
Starting with a new bosonization scheme for the \beta\gamma CFT of the super-conformal ghosts, vertex operators are constructed for massless open string states in the intersecting D-brane world. These vertex operators satisfy all…
Brane actions with chiral bosons present special challenges. Recent progress in the description of the two main examples -- the M theory five-brane and the heterotic string -- is described. Also, double dimensional reduction of the M theory…
Vertex operators, being families of birational transformations of infinite-dimensional algebraic ``varieties'' M, act on appropriate line bundles on M. However, they act on (meromorphic) sections only as_partial operators_: they are defined…
In this thesis the recently developed duality covariant approach to string and M-theory is investigated. In this formalism the U-duality symmetry of M-theory or T-duality symmetry of Type II string theory becomes manifest upon extending…
The M(atrix) model has a dual realization as IIA superstring theory in the near-horizon geometry of the supergravity D0-brane. The role of $adS_2$ in this correspondence is reviewed, and some aspects of holography that it suggests are…
We consider matrix models exhibiting open-closed string duality in two-dimensional string theories with various amounts of supersymmetry. In particular, a relationship between matrix models in the $\beta = 2$ Wigner-Dyson class and models…
$A$-type Little String Theories (LSTs) are engineered from parallel M5-branes on a circle $\mathbb{S}_\perp^1$, probing a transverse $\mathbb{R}^4/\mathbb{Z}_M$ background. Below the scale of the radius of $\mathbb{S}_\perp^1$, these…
Surface operators in four-dimensional gauge theories are two-dimensional defects, serving as natural generalizations of Wilson lines and 't Hooft line operators. They act as ideal probes for exploring the non-perturbative structure of the…
In string-inspired effective actions, representing the low-energy bulk dynamics of brane/string theories, the higher-curvature ghost-free Gauss-Bonnet combination is obtained by local field redefinitions which leave the (perturbative)…
We derive how to incorporate topological features of Riemann surfaces in string amplitudes by insertions of bi-local operators called handle operators. The resulting formalism is exact and globally well-defined in moduli space. After a…
Trivially-acting symmetries in two-dimensional conformal field theory include twist fields of dimension zero which are local topological operators. We investigate the consequences of regarding these operators as part of the global symmetry…
We summarize recent progress in the understanding of minimal string theory, focusing on the worldsheet description of physical operators and D-branes. We review how a geometric interpretation of minimal string theory emerges naturally from…
The T-duality transformations between open and closed superstrings in different D-manifolds are generalized to curved backgrounds with commuting isometries. We address some global aspects like the occurrence of orientifold boundaries in…
We consider branes in refined topological strings. We argue that their wave-functions satisfy a Schr\"odinger equation depending on multiple times and prove this in the case where the topological string has a dual matrix model description.…
We consider a string theory with two types of strings with geometric interaction. We show that the theory contains strings with constant Dirichlet boundary condition and those strings are glued together by 2-d topological gravity with…
We investigate the behaviour of the mutual information $\mathcal{I}_{AB}$ between two "small" and wide separated spherical regions $A$ and $B$ in the $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM gauge theory dual to Type IIB string theory in $AdS_5 \times S^5$. To…