Related papers: Topological strings and their physical application…
We use local mirror symmetry in type IIA string compactifications on Calabi-Yau n+1 folds $X_{n+1}$ to construct vector bundles on (possibly singular) elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau n-folds Z_n. The interpretation of these data as valid…
In this dissertation we study hidden symmetries within the framework of string theory. There are two kinds of hidden symmetries investigated in this work: the first type is associated with dynamics of quantum fields and the second type is…
These lectures present some topics of string phenomenology and contain two parts. In the first part, I review the possibility of lowering the string scale in the TeV region, that provides a theoretical framework for solving the mass…
It has recently been conjectured that the closed topological string wave function computes a grand canonical partition function of BPS black hole states in 4 dimensions: Z_BH=|psi_top|^2. We conjecture that the open topological string wave…
We present a general algorithm which permits to construct solutions in string cosmology for heterotic and type-IIB superstrings in four dimensions. Using a chain of transformations applied in sequence: conformal, T-duality and SL(2,R)…
A free superstring with chiral N=2 supersymmetry in six dimensions is proposed. It couples to a two-form gauge field with a self-dual field strength. Compactification to four dimensions on a two-torus gives a strongly coupled N=4…
We study the resurgent structure of Walcher's real topological string on general Calabi-Yau manifolds. We find trans-series solutions to the corresponding holomorphic anomaly equations, at all orders in the string coupling constant, by…
In this thesis we investigate topological aspects and arithmetic structures in quantum field theory and string theory. Particular focus is put on consistent truncations of supergravity and compactifications of F-theory.
We demonstrate that for a broad class of local Calabi-Yau geometries built around a string of IP^1's - those whose toric diagrams are given by triangulations of a strip - we can derive simple rules, based on the topological vertex, for…
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…
These notes consist of a study of special Lagrangian submanifolds of Calabi-Yau manifolds and their moduli spaces. The particular case of three dimensions, important in string theory, allows us to introduce the notion of gerbes. These offer…
We construct more dual pairs of type II-heterotic strings in four dimensions with $N=2,1$ spacetime supersymmetry. On the type II side the construction utilizes the various possible choices of K3 automorphisms with fixed points which…
Supersymmetric solutions of supergravity have been of particular importance in the advances of string theory. This article reviews the current status of black hole solutions in higher-dimensional supergravity theories. We discuss primarily…
The most general gauge-invariant marginal deformation of four-dimensional abelian BF-type topological field theory is studied. It is shown that the deformed quantum field theory is topological and that its observables compute, in addition…
Gravitational corrections in N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories are obtained from topological string amplitudes. We show how they are recovered in matrix model computations. This provides a test of the proposal by Dijkgraaf and Vafa…
In this paper we study black hole interior solutions and cosmologies in different dimensions using tools from canonical gravity and nonsupersymmetric string quantum cosmology. We find that the quantum wave functions associated with these…
The most impressively prolific exploration of superstring models (aiming for our physical reality) has been focused on worldsheet-supersymmetric gauged linear sigma models and the closely associated complex-algebraic toric geometry. Mirror…
Motivated by the recently proposed connection between N=2 BPS black holes and topological strings, I study the attractor equations and their interplay with the holomorphic anomaly equation. The topological string partition function is…
I explain two applications of the relationship between four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories, zero dimensional gauged matrix models, and geometric transitions in string theory. The first is related to the spectrum of BPS domain…
We study duals to field theories in two dimensions with N=(4,4) SUSY. The string backgrounds reproduce certain non-perturbative aspects of the dual field theory with a large number of colors N_c and a tunable number of flavors N_f.…