Related papers: A String Theory for Two Dimensional Yang-Mills The…

We consider two-dimensional Yang-Mills theories on arbitrary Riemann surfaces. We introduce a generalized Yang-Mills action, which coincides with the ordinary one on flat surfaces but differs from it in its coupling to two-dimensional…

In earlier work we proposed a string theory dual to two dimensional Yang-Mills theory at zero coupling (which can also be thought of as a $BF$ theory), given by a Polyakov-like generalization of Ho\v rava's topological rigid string theory,…

We discuss the equivalence between a string theory and the two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with SU(N) gauge group for finite N. We find a sector which can be interpreted as a sum of covering maps from closed string world-sheets to the…

We quantize pure 2d Yang-Mills theory on an arbitrary Riemann surface in the gauge where the field strength is diagonal. Twisted sectors originate, as in Matrix string theory, from permutations of the eigenvalues around homotopically…

Quantization of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a torus in the gauge where the field strength is diagonal leads to twisted sectors that are completely analogous to the ones that originate long string states in Matrix String Theory. If…

Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory (2d YM) is arguably the simplest confining gauge theory and its large $N_c$ expansion has a structure of the genus expansion in string theory. Nevertheless various aspects of its worldsheet description have…

We propose that chiral two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a Riemann surface is dual to a deformed stationary subsector of the Gromov-Witten theory of that Riemann surface. Firstly, we argue that the algebraic structure that underlies the…

We show that two-dimensional SO(N) and Sp(N) Yang-Mills theories without fermions can be interpreted as closed string theories. The terms in the 1/N expansion of the partition function on an orientable or nonorientable manifold M can be…

We propose a worldsheet description for the ${\rm AdS}_5\times {\rm S}^5$ string theory dual to large $N$, free ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills in four dimensions. The worldsheet theory is a natural generalisation of the recently investigated…

We propose a bosonic string dual to large $N$ chiral Yang-Mills in two dimensions at finite 't Hooft coupling. The worldsheet theory is a $\beta$-$\gamma$ system deformed by a chiral Polchinski-Strominger term. We reproduce the partition…

We study the relations between two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the torus, topological string theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold whose local geometry is the sum of two line bundles over the torus, and Chern-Simons theory on torus bundles.…

We describe a topological string theory which reproduces many aspects of the 1/N expansion of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in two spacetime dimensions in the zero coupling (A=0) limit. The string theory is a modified version of topological…

It is well known that by using the infinite dimensional symmetries that issue from string theories, one can build 2D geometric field theories. These 2D field theories can be identified with gravitational and gauge anomalies that arise in…

We calculate the partition function of the $SU(N)$ ( and $U(N)$) generalized $YM_2$ theory defined on an arbitrary Riemann surface. The result which is expressed as a sum over irreducible representations generalizes the Rusakov formula for…

We formulate and solve a class of two-dimensional matrix gauge models describing ensembles of non-folding surfaces covering an oriented, discretized, two-dimensional manifold. We interpret the models as string theories characterized by a…

The stringy picture behind the integrable spin chains governing the evolution equations in Yang-Mills theory is discussed. It is shown that one-loop dilatation operator in N=4 theory can be expressed in terms of two-point functions on 2d…

We write down all orders large $N$ expansions for the dimensions of irreducible representations of $O(N)$ and $Sp(N)$. We interpret all the terms in these expansions as symmetry factors for singular worldsheet configurations, involving…

String configurations have been identified in compactified Matrix theory at vanishing string coupling. We show how the interactions of these strings are determined by the Yang-Mills gauge field on the worldsheet. At finite string coupling,…

We give a new description of classical Yang-Mills theory by coupling a two-dimensional chiral CFT (which gives the tree-level S-matrix of Yang-Mills theory at genus zero) to a background non-abelian gauge field. The resulting model is…

Polyakov has conjectured that Yang-Mills theory should be equivalent to a noncritical string theory. I pointed out, based on the work of Marchesini, Ishibashi, Kawai and collaborators, and Jevicki and Rodrigues, that the loop operator of…