Related papers: Les Houches lectures on matrix models and topologi…
we present a new topological invariant to describe the space-time defect which is closely related to torsion tensor in Riemann-Cartan manifold. By virtue of the topological current theory and $\phi$-mapping method, we show that there must…
In this paper we show how S-duality of type IIB superstrings leads to an S-duality relating A and B model topological strings on the same Calabi-Yau as had been conjectured recently: D-instantons of the B-model correspond to A-model…
We discuss the duality between two type I compactifications to four dimensions and an heterotic construction with spontaneous breaking of the N=4 supersymmetry to N=2. This duality allows us to gain insight into the non-perturbative…
In this paper we describe ideas about the string landscape, and how to relate it to the physics of the Standard Model of particle physics. First, we give a short status report about heterotic string compactifications. Then we focus on the…
In a previous paper, we presented a matrix model reproducing the topological string partition function on an arbitrary given toric Calabi-Yau manifold. Here, we study the spectral curve of our matrix model and thus derive, upon imposing…
In the recent years a lot of attention is focused on unconventional string compactifications. A variety of different but related frameworks was developed in order to address issues such as duality invariance, non-geometry and…
I present arguments to the affect that the topological phase of string theory must be event-symmetric. This motivates a search for a universal string group for discrete strings in event-symmetric space-time which unifies space-time symmetry…
Simple mean field methods can be used to describe transitions between different space-time models in string theory. These include transitions between different Calabi-Yau manifolds, and more exotic things such as the…
In this letter, we relate the free energy of the 0A matrix model to the sum of topological and anti-topological string amplitudes. For arbitrary integer multiples of the matrix model self-dual radius we describe the geometry on which the…
The topic of cosmic strings provides a bridge between the physics of the very small and the very large. They are predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions. If they exist, they may help to explain some of the largest-scale…
The topological description of $2D$ string theory at the self-dual radius is studied in the algebro-geometrical formulation of the $A_{k+1}$ topological models at $k=-3$. Genus zero correlators of tachyons and their gravitational…
We write the type IIB worldsheet action in classes of bosonic curved backgrounds threaded with Ramond-Ramond fluxes. The fixing of the kappa symmetry in the light-cone gauge and the use of the Bianchi identities of the supergravity theory…
A natural extension of the Dijkgraaf-Vafa proposal is to include fields in the fundamental representation of the gauge group. In this paper we use field theory techniques to analyze gauge theories whose tree level superpotential is a…
We prove the decomposition theorem for the loop homotopy algebra of quantum closed string field theory and use it to show that closed string field theory is unique up to gauge transformations on a given string background and given S-matrix.…
Markov chains are a class of probabilistic models that have achieved widespread application in the quantitative sciences. This is in part due to their versatility, but is compounded by the ease with which they can be probed analytically.…
These notes are based on the lectures delivered at the Les Houches Summer School in July 2015. They are addressed at a mixed audience of physicists and mathematicians with some basic working knowledge of random matrix theory. The first part…
We review recent developments and outstanding questions regarding connecting the top-down UV complete physical framework of string theory with the observed physics of the Standard Model and beyond the Standard Model physics, emphasizing the…
We derive a Kontsevich-type matrix model for the c=1 string directly from the W-infinity solution of the theory. The model that we obtain is different from previous proposals, which are proven to be incorrect. Our matrix model contains the…
In some string theories, e.g. SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds, a massless field with a tree level potential can acquire a tachyonic mass at the one loop level, forcing us to quantize the theory around a new background…
These are introductory lectures for a general audience that give an overview of the subject of matrix models and their application to random surfaces, 2d gravity, and string theory. They are intentionally 1.5 years out of date. 0. Canned…