Related papers: On characteristic numbers of $24$ dimensional Stri…
In this note we show that every integer is the signature of a non-compact, oriented, hyperbolic 4-manifold of finite volume, and give some partial results on the geography of such manifolds. The main ingredients are a theorem of Long and…
We observe that the Poincare duality isomorphism for a string manifold is an isomorphism of modules over the subalgebra A(2) of the modulo 2 Steenrod algebra. In particular, the pattern of the operations Sq^1, Sq^2, and Sq^4 on the…
We find an intriguing relation between the chiral algebra and the mixed Hodge structure of the Coulomb branch of four dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 2$ superconformal field theories. We identify the space of irreducible characters of the…
Cobordism offers a unique perspective into the non-perturbative sector of string theory by demanding the absence of higher form global symmetries for quantum gravitational consistency. In this work we compute the spin cobordism groups of…
This paper investigates stable cohomotopy groups in codimensions two and three from complementary algebraic and geometric viewpoints. For general CW complexes, we give a complete characterization of stable cohomotopy in codimension two and…
The simplest string theory compactifications to 3D with 16 supercharges -- the heterotic string on $T^7$, and type II strings on $K3 \times T^3$ -- are related by U-duality, and share a moduli space of vacua parametrized by $O(8,24;…
We examine the holonomy-perturbed traceless SU(2) character variety of the trivial four-stranded tangle {p_1,p_2,p_3,p_4} X [0,1] in S^2 X [0,1] equipped with a strong marking, either an earring or a bypass. Viewing these marked tangles as…
We investigate the physics of the E-string theory and its compactifications as well as their applications to four-dimensional topology. In particular, we compute the partition function of the topologically twisted theory on $M_4\times T^2$,…
We compute the space of Poisson traces on a classical W-algebra modulo an arbitrary central character, i.e., linear functionals on such an algebra invariant under Hamiltonian derivations. This space identifies with the top cohomology of the…
We explore the moduli space of heterotic strings in two dimensions. In doing so, we introduce new lines of compactified theories with Spin(24) gauge symmetry and discuss compactifications with Wilson lines. The phase structure of d=2…
We compute the first two k-invariants of the Picard spectra of $KU$ and $KO$ by analyzing their Picard groupoids and constructing their unit spectra as global sections of sheaves on the category of manifolds. This allows us to determine the…
We study the structure of warped compactifications of type IIB string theory to six space-time dimensions. We find that the most general four-manifold describing the internal dimensions is conformal to a Kahler manifold, in contrast with…
We define invariants of words in arbitrary groups, measuring how letters in a word are interleaving, perfectly detecting the dimension series of a group. These are the letter-braiding invariants. On free groups, braiding invariants coincide…
Let f: M -> N be an even codimensional immersion between smooth manifolds. We derive an explicit formula for the Pontrjagin numbers and signature of the multiple point manifolds in terms of singular cohomology of M and N, the maps induced…
Massless modes of both heterotic and Type II string compactifications on compact manifolds are determined by vector bundle valued cohomology classes. Various applications of our recent algorithm for the computation of line bundle valued…
In this paper, we study a certain type of Hurwitz numbers which count branched covers over the Riemann sphere admitting several branch points with fixed ramification types, one branch point with a fixed number of preimages, and one branch…
In work of Higson-Roe the fundamental role of the signature as a homotopy and bordism invariant for oriented manifolds is made manifest in how it and related secondary invariants define a natural transformation between the…
In this thesis, we explore two approaches to string phenomenology. In the first half of the work, we investigate M-theory compactifications on spaces with co-dimension four, orbifold singularities. We construct M-theory on C^2/Z_N by…
In 1996 E. Formanek classified all the irreducible complex representations of $B_n$ of dimension at most $n-1,$ where $B_n$ is the Artin braid group on $n$ strings. In this paper we extend this classification to the representations of…
Using spectral invariants of Dirac operators we construct a secondary version of the Witten genus, a bordism invariant of string manifolds in dimensions $4m-1$. We prove a secondary index theorem which relates this global-analytic…