Related papers: Untwisting Topological Field Theories
The $N=2$ minimal superconformal model can be twisted yielding an example of topological conformal field theory. In this article we investigate a Lie theoretic extension of this process.
A large class of two-dimensional topological conformal field theories (TCFTs) are obtained by the twisting construction of Witten and Eguchi-Yang. However there seem to exist TCFTs which are not obtained in this way; for instance, TCFTs…
We show that almost all string theories, including the bosonic string, the superstring and $W$-string theories, possess a twisted N=2 superconformal symmetry. This enables us to establish a connection between topological gravity and the…
These lectures review some of the basic properties of $N=2$ superconformal field theories and the corresponding topological field theories. One of my basic aims is to show how the techniques of topological field theory can be used to…
These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological string theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. The N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are reviewed. A…
In these lectures, we review the main properties of the topological theory obtained by twisting the N=2 two-dimensional superconformal algebra, associated to supersymmetric string compactifications. In particular, we describe a set of…
Superconformal field theory with $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry in four dimensional spacetime provides a prime playground to study strongly coupled phenomena in quantum field theory. Its rigid structure ensures valuable analytic control over…
We take first steps toward a theory of ``conformal twists'' for superconformal field theories in dimension 3 to 6, extending the well-known analysis of twists for supersymmetric theories. A conformal twist is a square-zero odd element in…
It is shown that two dimensional (2d) topological gravity in the conformal gauge has a larger symmetry than has been hitherto recognized; in the formulation of Labastida, Pernici and Witten it contains a twisted ``small'' N=4 superconformal…
We show how to make a topological string theory starting from an $N=4$ superconformal theory. The critical dimension for this theory is $\hat c= 2$ ($c=6$). It is shown that superstrings (in both the RNS and GS formulations) and critical…
We prove that critical and subcritical N=2 string theory gives a realization of an N=2 superfield extension of the topological conformal algebra. The essential observation is the vanishing of the background charge.
We study the topologically twisted string theory on the general back-ground $AdS_3\times {\cal N}$ which is compatible with the world-sheet N=2 superconformal symmetry and is extensively discussed in the recent works (hep-th/9904024,…
Twisted supergravity is supergravity in a background where the bosonic ghost field takes a non-zero value. This is the supergravity counterpart of the familiar concept of twisting supersymmetric field theories. In this paper, we give…
A chiral superfield strength in N=2 conformal supergravity at linearized level is obtained by acting two superspace derivatives on N=4 chiral superfield strength which can be described in terms of N=4 twistor superfields. By decomposing…
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…
The gauge symmetries that underlie string theory arise from inner automorphisms of the algebra of observables of the associated conformal field theory. In this way it is possible to study broken and unbroken symmetries on the same footing,…
((1+1)-dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ super-symmetric field theory and (3+1)-dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ super-symmetric gauge theory are discussed in a, more or less, unified way, designed to identify the quantum BPS states in both systems.…
This Ph.D. thesis investigates effective field and string theories in which supersymmetry is realized and broken in various ways. Chapter 1 addresses effective theories with nonlinearly realized supersymmetry, constructed using the…
We construct a string theory in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time that is independent of the boundary metric. It is a topologically twisted theory of quantum gravity. We study string theories with an asymptotic N=2 superconformal…
There are at present two known string theories in $(2,2)$ dimensions. One of them is the well known $N=2$ string, and the other one is a more recently constructed $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetric string. They are both based on certain…