Topological Strings and Quantum Curves

Download or read book Topological Strings and Quantum Curves written by Lotte Hollands and published by Amsterdam University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis presents several new insights on the interface between mathematics and theoretical physics, with a central role for Riemann surfaces. First of all, the duality between Vafa-Witten theory and WZW models is embedded in string theory. Secondly, this model is generalized to a web of dualities connecting topological string theory and N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories to a configuration of D-branes that intersect over a Riemann surface. This description yields a new perspective on topological string theory in terms of a KP integrable system based on a quantum curve. Thirdly, this thesis describes a geometric analysis of wall-crossing in N=4 string theory. And lastly, it offers a novel approach to constuct metastable vacua in type IIB string theory.