Related papers: A bordism approach to string topology

For any simplicial complex $X$ with a total ordering of its vertices, one can construct a chain complex $\mathbb{L}_\bullet(X)$ generated by necklaces of simplices in $X$, which computes the homology of the free loop space of the geometric…

We give an introduction to the physics and mathematics involved in the recently observed relation between topological string theory and knot contact homology and then discuss this relation. The note is based on two lectures given at the…

We construct new topological theories related to sigma models whose target space is a seven dimensional manifold of G_2 holonomy. We define a new type of topological twist and identify the BRST operator and the physical states. Unlike the…

To the symmetric space of the (positive half) of a real loop group, we attach a Borel--Serre type bordification and equip it with a Hausdorff topology. The attached boundary, indexed by certain rational parabolics of the loop group, is…

We construct a cobordism group for embedded graphs in two different ways, first by using sequences of two basic operations, called "fusion" and "fission", which in terms of cobordisms correspond to the basic cobordisms obtained by attaching…

To open-closed cobordism surfaces, open-closed string topology associates topological quantum field theory (TQFT) operations, namely string operations, which depend only on homeomorphism types of surfaces and which satisfy the sewing…

We make a precision test of a recently proposed conjecture relating Chern-Simons gauge theory to topological string theory on the resolution of the conifold. First, we develop a systematic procedure to extract string amplitudes from vacuum…

We revisit Stasheff's construction of a minimal Lie-Quillen model of a simply-connected closed manifold $M$ using the language of infinity-algebras. This model is then used to construct a graded Lie bracket on the equivariant homology of…

In this paper we study the topology of cobordism categories of manifolds with corners. Specifically, if {Cob}_{d,<k>} is the category whose objets are a fixed dimension d, with corners of codimension less than or equal to k, then we…

We introduce the notion of the space of parallel strings with partially summable labels, which can be viewed as a geometrically constructed group completion of the space of particles with labels. We utilize this to construct a machinery…

We show that the BRST structure of the topological string is encoded in the ``small'' $N=4$ superconformal algebra, enabling us to obtain, in a non-trivial way, the string theory from hamiltonian reduction of $A(1|1)$. This leads to the…

In theories of closed oriented superstrings, the one loop amplitude is given by a single diagram, with the topology of a torus. Its interpretation had remained obscure, because it was formally real, converged only for purely imaginary…

This is a glossary of notions and methods related with the topological theory of collections of affine planes, including braid groups, configuration spaces, order complexes, stratified Morse theory, simplicial resolutions, complexes of…

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…

In this thesis, we consider heterotic string vacua based on a warped product of a four-dimensional domain wall and a six-dimensional internal manifold preserving only two supercharges. Thus, they correspond to half-BPS states of heterotic…

We develop semiclassical methods to analyze the spectrum of BPS monopole operators for superconformal field theories in three dimensions with N=2 supersymmetry. We show that the chiral ring of the theory results from the semiclassical…

Twenty years ago, Mumford initiated the systematic study of the cohomology ring of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces. Around the same time, Harer proved that the homology of the mapping class groups of oriented surfaces is independent of…

We discuss various aspects of `braid spaces' or configuration spaces of unordered points on manifolds. First we describe how the homology of these spaces is affected by puncturing the underlying manifold, hence extending some results of…

Working with group homomorphisms, a construction of manifolds is introduced to preserve homology groups. The construction gives as special cases Qullien's plus construction with handles obtained by Hausmann, the existence of one-sided…

We present a surprisingly new connection between two well-studied combinatorial classes: rooted connected chord diagrams on one hand, and rooted bridgeless combinatorial maps on the other hand. We describe a bijection between these two…