Related papers: Notes on polytopes, amplitudes and boundary config…
Recent breakthroughs in the study of scattering amplitudes have uncovered profound and unexpected connections with combinatorial geometry. These connections range from classical structures -- such as polytopes, matroids, and Grassmannians…
The non-compact CFT of a class of NS-supported pp-wave backgrounds is solved exactly. The associated tree-level covariant string scattering amplitudes are calculated. The S-matrix elements are well-defined, dual but not analytic as a…
A notion of generalized $n$-semimodularity is introduced, which extends that of (sub/super)mod\-ularity in four ways at once. The main result of this paper, stating that every generalized $(n\colon\!2)$-semimodular function on the $n$th…
We introduce a new positive geometry, the associahedral grid, which provides a geometric realization of the inverse string theory KLT kernel. It captures the full $\alpha'$-dependence of stringified amplitudes for bi-adjoint scalar $\phi^3$…
In this pedagogically structured article, we describe a generalized harmonic formulation of the Einstein equations in spherical symmetry which is regular at the origin. The generalized harmonic approach has attracted significant attention…
In these lecture notes, we take a closer look at the calculation of scattering amplitudes for the bosonic string. It is believed that string theories form the UV completions of (super)gravity theories. Support for this claim can be found in…
Contour integrals of rational functions over ${\cal M}_{0,n}$, the moduli space of $n$-punctured spheres, have recently appeared at the core of the tree-level S-matrix of massless particles in arbitrary dimensions. The contour is determined…
We reformulate tree-level amplitudes in open superstring theory (type-I) in terms of stringy Tr$(\phi^3)$ amplitudes with various kinematical shifts in the "curve-integral" formulation: while the bosonic-string amplitude with $n$ pairs of…
The tau function corresponding to the affine ring of a certain plane algebraic curve, called (n,s)-curve, embedded in the universal Grassmann manifold is studied. It is neatly expressed by the multivariate sigma function. This expression is…
We consider the interactions of strings on T-folds from the world-sheet point of view which are exact in $\alpha'$. As a concrete example, we take a model where the internal torus at the so(8) enhancement point is twisted by T-duality…
We present solutions for the higher genus topological string amplitudes on Calabi-Yau-manifolds, which are realized as complete intersections in Grassmannians. We solve the B-model by direct integration of the holomorphic anomaly equations…
The positive Grassmannian $Gr_{k,n}^{\geq 0}$ is the subset of the real Grassmannian where all Pl\"ucker coordinates are nonnegative. It has a beautiful combinatorial structure as well as connections to statistical physics, integrable…
We implement the worldline formalism in phase space to compute scattering amplitudes. First, the Feynman rules exhibit several useful universal features, reflecting elements of the symplectic geometry of the phase space target. Next,…
The global Schwinger formula, introduced by Cachazo and Early as a single integral over the positive tropical Grassmannian, provides a way to uncover properties of scattering amplitudes which are hard to see in their standard Feynman…
The B-model topological string theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold X has a symmetry group Gamma, generated by monodromies of the periods of X. This acts on the topological string wave function in a natural way, governed by the quantum…
Given a graph G, we construct a convex polytope whose face poset is based on marked subgraphs of G. Dubbed the graph multiplihedron, we provide a realization using integer coordinates. Not only does this yield a natural generalization of…
Squaregraphs were originally defined as finite plane graphs in which all inner faces are quadrilaterals (i.e., 4-cycles) and all inner vertices (i.e., the vertices not incident with the outer face) have degrees larger than three. The planar…
Sinha and Vafa had conjectured that the $SO$ Chern-Simons gauge theory on $S^3$ must be dual to the closed $A$-model topological string on the orientifold of a resolved conifold. Though the Chern-Simons free energy could be rewritten in…
The Klein-Fock-Gordon equation is studied on the generalized Y-junction of $N$ strings with a massive center. The corresponding formulas for wave scattering and normal modes are obtained.
A string polytope is a rational convex polytope whose lattice points parametrize a highest weight crystal basis, which is obtained from a string cone by explicit affine inequalities depending on a highest weight. It also inherits geometric…