Related papers: Les Houches lecture notes on topological recursion
Symplectic invariants introduced in math-ph/0702045 can be computed for an arbitrary spectral curve. For some examples of spectral curves, those invariants can solve loop equations of matrix integrals, and many problems of enumerative…
The theory of embedded random surfaces, equivalent to two--dimensional quantum gravity coupled to matter, is reviewed, further developed and partly generalized to four dimensions. It is shown that the action of the Liouville field theory…
The main results for the two-dimensional quantum gravity, conjectured from the matrix model or integrable approach, are presented in the form to be compared with the world-sheet or Liouville approach. In spherical limit the integrable side…
We discuss topological theories, arising from the general $\mathcal{N}=2$ twisted gauge theories. We initiate a program of their study in the Gromov-Witten paradigm. We re-examine the low-energy effective abelian theory in the presence of…
The goal of this article is to present a broad perspective on quantum gravity for \emph{non-experts}. After a historical introduction, key physical problems of quantum gravity are illustrated. While there are a number of interesting and…
A method is presented by which a hidden N=2 superconformal symmetry can be exhibited in a string theory or indeed in a topological conformal field theory. More precisely, we present strong evidence, based on calculations with string…
Recurrence properties of systems and associated sets of integers that suffice for recurrence are classical objects in topological dynamics. We describe relations between recurrence in different sorts of systems, study ways to formulate…
These notes are based on lectures at the PSSCMP/PiTP summer school that was held at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study in July, 2015. They are devoted largely to topological phases of matter that can be understood in…
These lecture notes are devoted to the theory of equations of associativity describing geometry of moduli spaces of 2D topological field theories. Introduction. Lecture 1. WDVV equations and Frobenius manifolds. {Appendix A.} Polynomial…
The paper is devoted to the mathematical aspects of topological quantum field theory and its applications to enumerative problems of algebraic geometry. In particular, it contains an axiomatic treatment of Gromov-Witten classes, and a…
A new gauge theory of gravity is presented. The theory is constructed in a flat background spacetime and employs gauge fields to ensure that all relations between physical quantities are independent of the positions and orientations of the…
We introduce and study the Hermitian matrix model with potential V(x)=x^2/2-stx/(1-tx), which enumerates the number of linear chord diagrams of fixed genus with specified numbers of backbones generated by s and chords generated by t. For…
We reformulate and motivate AKSZ-type topological field theories in pedestrian terms, explaining how they arise as the most general Schwartz-type topological actions subject to a simple constraint, and how they generalize Chern$-$Simons…
This is a collection of lecture notes from three lectures given by Alexei Kitaev at the 2008 Les Houches summer school "Exact methods in low-dimensional physics and quantum computing." They provide a pedagogical introduction to topological…
The goal of this article is to present an introduction to loop quantum gravity -a background independent, non-perturbative approach to the problem of unification of general relativity and quantum physics, based on a quantum theory of…
Preliminary version No.~2 of the lecture notes for the talk ``Quantum theory of gravitational collapse'' given at the 271. WE-Heraeus-Seminar ``Aspects of Quantum Gravity'' at Bad Honnef, 25 February--1 March 2002
We introduce a notion of topological M-theory and argue that it provides a unification of form theories of gravity in various dimensions. Its classical solutions involve G_2 holonomy metrics on 7-manifolds, obtained from a topological…
We use the explicit relation between genus filtrated $s$-loop means of the Gaussian matrix model and terms of the genus expansion of the Kontsevich--Penner matrix model (KPMM), which is the generating function for volumes of discretized…
We extend the definition of L\"uscher's lattice topological charge to the case of $4$d $SU(N)$ gauge fields coupled with $\mathbb{Z}_N$ $2$-form gauge fields. This result is achieved while maintaining the locality, the $SU(N)$ gauge…
Neural network field theory formulates field theory as a statistical ensemble of fields defined by a network architecture and a density on its parameters. We extend the construction to topological settings via the inclusion of discrete…