Related papers: Notes on string topology
This thesis is based on some selected topics in open topological string theory which I have worked on during my Ph.D. It comprises an introductory part where I have focused on the points most needed for the later chapters, trading…
Simplicial homology manifolds are proposed as an interesting class of geometric objects, more general than topological manifolds but still quite tractable, in which questions about the microstructure of space-time can be naturally…
We apply a version of the Chas-Sullivan-Cohen-Jones product on the higher loop homology of a manifold in order to compute the homology of the spaces of continuous and holomorphic maps of the Riemann sphere into a complex projective space.…
In these lecture proceedings, we describe some of the fundamental mathematical concepts that underlie supersymmetric string theory and field theory, and their role in describing and testing dualities. In particular, we provide a pedagogical…
Let $M$ be a closed, oriented and smooth manifold of dimension $d$. Let $\L M$ be the space of smooth loops in $M$. Chas and Sullivan introduced loop product, a product of degree $-d$ on the homology of $LM$. In this paper we show how for…
This is an expanded and updated version of a talk given at the Conference on Topics in Geometry and Physics at the University of Southern California, November 6, 1992. It is a survey talk, aimed at mathematicians AND physicists, which…
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…
Let $M$ be a 1-connected closed manifold and $LM$ be the space of free loops on $M$. In \cite{C-S} M. Chas and D. Sullivan defined a structure of BV-algebra on the singular homology of $LM$, $H_\ast(LM; \bk)$. When the field of coefficients…
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)…
The BRST formalism has played a fundamental role in the construction of bosonic closed string backgrounds, ie. the stringy analogs of classical solutions to the field equations of general relativity. The concept of a string background has…
A brief discussion is presented assessing the achievements and challenges of string phenomenology: the subfield dedicated to study the potential for string theory to make contact with particle physics and cosmology. Building from the well…
We calculate the topological string partition function to all genus on the conifold, in the presence of branes. We demonstrate that the partition functions for different brane backgrounds (smoothly connected along a quantum corrected moduli…
We set up a Batalin-Vilkovisky Quantum Master Equation for open-closed string theory and show that the corresponding moduli spaces give rise to a solution, a generating function for their fundamental chains. The equation encodes the…
The complete quantum theory of covariant closed strings is constructed in detail. The action is defined by elementary vertices satisfying recursion relations that give rise to Jacobi-like identities for an infinite chain of string field…
The homology of a 2-colored dioperad of decorated Riemann surfaces, relevant to open-closed string field theory, is computed. The structure it describes is realized in an open-closed setting of string topology via an action at the level of…
Exact string solutions are presented, providing backgrounds where a dynamical change of topology is occuring. This is induced by the time variation of a modulus field. Some lessons are drawn concerning the region of validity of effective…
String theory on D-brane backgrounds is open-closed string theory. Given the relevance of this fact, we give details and elaborate upon our earlier construction of oriented open-closed string field theory. In order to incorporate explicitly…
Using the topological membrane approach to string theory, we suggest a geometric origin for the heterotic string. We show how different membrane boundary conditions lead to different string theories. We discuss the construction of closed…
In these lecture notes for the Les Houches School on Applications of Random Matrices in Physics we give an introduction to the connections between matrix models and topological strings. We first review some basic results of matrix model…
The purpose of this article is to embed the string topology bracket developed by Chas-Sullivan and Menichi on negative cyclic cohomology groups as well as the dual bracket found by de Thanhoffer de Voelcsey-Van den Bergh on negative cyclic…