Related papers: Les Houches lectures on matrix models and topologi…
We consider two dimensional string backgrounds. We discuss the physics of long strings that come from infinity. These are related to non-singlets in the dual matrix model description.
We find the precise relationship between the loop gas method and the matrix quantum mechanics approach to two-dimensional string theory. The two systems are distinguished by different target spaces ($\Z$ and $\R$, respectively) as far as…
We consider the Topological String/Spectral theory duality on toric Calabi-Yau threefolds obtained from the resolution of the cone over the $Y^{N,0}$ singularity. Assuming Kyiv formula, we demonstrate this duality in a special regime thanks…
We study the topological string on local P2 with O-plane and D-brane at its real locus, using three complementary techniques. In the A-model, we refine localization on the moduli space of maps with respect to the torus action preserved by…
In this paper we use trivial defects to define global taffy-like operations on string worldsheets, which preserve the field theory. We fold open and closed strings on a space X into open strings on products of multiple copies of X, and…
In these lectures we discuss some elementary concepts in connection with the theory of symmetric spaces applied to ensembles of random matrices. We review how the relationship between random matrix theory and symmetric spaces can be used in…
A model of a cloud formed by massive strings is used as a source of LRS Bianchi type II with time decaying vacuum energy density $\Lambda$. To construct string cosmological models we have used the energy-momentum tensor for such string as…
We study the perturbative S-matrix of closed strings in the two-dimensional type 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective, by directly integrating correlation functions of ${\cal N}=1$ Liouville theory. The latter is computed…
I present a brief review on some of the recent developments in topological quantum field theory. These include topological string theory, topological Yang-Mills theory and Chern-Simons gauge theory. It is emphasized how the application of…
The role of integrable systems in string theory is discussed. We remind old examples of the correspondence between stringy partition functions or effective actions and integrable equations, based on effective application of the matrix model…
In these lectures we review the properties of holomorphic couplings in the effective action of four-dimensional N=1 and N=2 closed string vacua. We briefly outline their role in establishing a duality among (classes of) different string…
In this paper, we explicitly construct string theory backgrounds that realise the so-called $\mathcal N=2^\star$ gauge theory. We prove the consistency of our models by calculating their partition function and obtaining the correct gauge…
The standard model of particle physics lies in an enormous number of string vacua. In a nonperturbative formulation of string theory, various string vacua can, in principle, be compared dynamically, and the probability distribution over the…
For a generic two-dimensional 0A string background, we map the Dirac-Born-Infeld action to a matrix model. This is achieved using a canonical transformation. The action describes D0-branes in this background, while the matrix model has a…
We propose a duality between the complex Liouville string and a two-matrix integral. The complex Liouville string is defined by coupling two Liouville theories with complex central charges $c = 13 \pm i \lambda$ on the worldsheet. The…
In this work we provide a self-contained and modern introduction to some of the tools, obstacles and open questions arising in string compactifications. Techniques and current progress are illustrated in the context of smooth heterotic…
The genus g free energies of matrix models can be promoted to modular invariant, non-holomorphic amplitudes which only depend on the geometry of the classical spectral curve. We show that these non-holomorphic amplitudes satisfy the…
We embed the large N Chern-Simons/topological string duality in ordinary superstrings. This corresponds to a large $N$ duality between generalized gauge systems with N=1 supersymmetry in 4 dimensions and superstrings propagating on…
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…
It has recently been shown that the low energy dynamics of the large $N$ gauge theory on $S^3$ at finite temperature reduces to a one-matrix model, where the matrix is given by the holonomy of the gauge field around the Euclidean time…