Related papers: Open G2 Strings
We give a worldsheet proof of the equivalence between the U(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory on S^3 and the topological closed string theory on the resolved conifold geometry. When the `t Hooft coupling of the gauge theory is small, the dual…
This is the second in a two-part paper devoted to studying entanglement entropy and edge modes in the A model topological string theory. This theory enjoys a gauge-string (Gopakumar-Vafa) duality which is a topological analogue of AdS/CFT.…
We argue that G_2 manifolds for M-theory admitting string theory Calabi-Yau duals are fibered by coassociative submanifolds. Dual theories are constructed using the moduli space of M5-brane fibers as target space. Mirror symmetry and…
We present a finite-dimensional and smooth formulation of string structures on spin bundles. It uses trivializations of the Chern-Simons 2-gerbe associated to this bundle. Our formulation is particularly suitable to deal with string…
We consider a string dual of a partially topological $U(N)$ Chern-Simons-matter (PTCSM) theory recently introduced by Aganagic, Costello, McNamara and Vafa. In this theory, fundamental matter fields are coupled to the Chern-Simons theory in…
We show that refined Chern-Simons theory and large N duality can be used to study the refined topological string with and without branes. We derive the refined topological vertex of hep-th/0701156 and hep-th/0502061 from a link invariant of…
We consider a sigma model formulation of open string theory with boundary fermions carrying Chan-Paton charges at the string ends. This formalism is particularly suitable for studying world-volume potentials on D-branes. We perform explicit…
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…
In the vicinity of points in Calabi-Yau moduli space where there are degenerating three-cycles the low energy effective action of type IIA string theory will contain significant contributions arising from membrane instantons that wrap…
Some gauge theories with Coulomb branches exhibit singularities in perturbation theory, which are usually resolved by nonperturbative physics. In string theory this corresponds to the resolution of timelike singularities near the core of…
Brane Tilings represent one of the largest classes of superconformal theories with known gravity duals in 3+1 and also 2+1 dimensions. They provide a useful link between a large class of quiver gauge theories and their moduli spaces, which…
In this note we present a brief overview of connections between Chern-Simons theory and topological strings. A prominent role in this link has been played by large N dualities and holography. We demystify this by explaining why the Kahler…
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 study large N dualities for a class of ${\cal N} = 1$ theories realized on type IIB D5 branes wrapping 2-cycles of local Calabi-Yau threefolds which is obtained from resolving orbifolded conifolds or as effective field theories on D4…
We formulate and study a class of massive N=2 supersymmetric gauge field theories coupled to boundary degrees of freedom on the strip. For some values of the parameters, the infrared limits of these theories can be interpreted as open…
We show that every twist of pure supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group GL(N) can be realized as an open-string field theory in topological string theory. Our approach reinterprets twists of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory as…
We study bubbling geometry in topological string theory. Specifically, we analyse Chern-Simons theory on both the 3-sphere and lens spaces in the presence of a Wilson loop insertion of an arbitrary representation. For each of these three…
We study S-dualities in analytically continued SL(2) Chern-Simons theory on a 3-manifold M. By realizing Chern-Simons theory via a compactification of a 6d five-brane theory on M, various objects and symmetries in Chern-Simons theory become…
Nonperturbative terms in the free energy of Chern-Simons gauge theory play a key role in its duality to the closed topological string. We show that these terms are reproduced by performing a double scaling limit near the point where the…
In arXiv:0902.4032 [hep-th] an O(D,D)-covariant sigma model describing the embedding of a closed world-sheet into the 2D-dimensional twisted torus was proposed. Such sigma models provide a universal description of string theory with target…