Geometry And Physics Of Branes

Branes are solitonic configurations of a string theory that are represented by extended objects in a higher-dimensional space-time. They are essential for a comprehension of the non-perturbative aspects of string theory, in particular, in connection with string dualities. From the mathematical viewpoint, branes are related to several important theo

Self-contained and pedagogical introduction to key string theory ideas and techniques needed to understand D-branes.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in exploring the connections between various disciplines of mathematics and theoretical physics such as representation theory, algebraic geometry, quantum field theory, and string theory. One of the challenges of modern mathematical physics is to understand rigorously the idea of quantization. The program of quantization by branes, which comes from string theory, is explored in the book. This open access book provides a detailed description of the geometric approach to the representation theory of the double affine Hecke algebra (DAHA) of rank one. Spherical DAHA is known to arise from the deformation quantization of the moduli space of SL(2,C) flat connections on the punctured torus. The authors demonstrate the study of the topological A-model on this moduli space and establish a correspondence between Lagrangian branes of the A-model and DAHA modules. The finite-dimensional DAHA representations are shown to be in one-to-one correspondence with the compact Lagrangian branes. Along the way, the authors discover new finite-dimensional indecomposable representations. They proceed to embed the A-model story in an M-theory brane construction, closely related to the one used in the 3d/3d correspondence; as a result, modular tensor categories behind particular finite-dimensional representations with PSL(2,Z) action are identified. The relationship of Coulomb branch geometry and algebras of line operators in 4d N = 2* theories to the double affine Hecke algebra is studied further by using a further connection to the fivebrane system for the class S construction. The book is targeted at experts in mathematical physics, representation theory, algebraic geometry, and string theory. This is an open access book.

This book consists of a series of introductory lectures on mirror symmetry and its surrounding topics. These lectures were provided by participants in the PIMS Superschool for Derived Categories and D-branes in July 2016. Together, they form a comprehensive introduction to the field that integrates perspectives from mathematicians and physicists alike. These proceedings provide a pleasant and broad introduction into modern research topics surrounding string theory and mirror symmetry that is approachable to readers new to the subjects. These topics include constructions of various mirror pairs, approaches to mirror symmetry, connections to homological algebra, and physical motivations. Of particular interest is the connection between GLSMs, D-branes, birational geometry, and derived categories, which is explained both from a physical and mathematical perspective. The introductory lectures provided herein highlight many features of this emerging field and give concrete connections between the physics and the math. Mathematical readers will come away with a broader perspective on this field and a bit of physical intuition, while physicists will gain an introductory overview of the developing mathematical realization of physical predictions.

A comprehensive introduction to the mathematical description of strings, D-branes and the geometry of strongly curved spacetime.

The universe has many secrets. It may hide additional dimensions of space other than the familier three we recognize. There might even be another universe adjacent to ours, invisible and unattainable . . . for now. Warped Passages is a brilliantly readable and altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature—taking us into the warped, hidden dimensions underpinning the universe we live in, demystifying the science of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond our own.

Noncommutative differential geometry is a novel approach to geometry, aimed in part at applications in physics. It was founded in the early eighties by the 1982 Fields Medalist Alain Connes on the basis of his fundamental works in operator algebras. It is now a very active branch of mathematics with actual and potential applications to a variety of domains in physics ranging from solid state to quantization of gravity. The strategy is to formulate usual differential geometry in a somewhat unusual manner, using in particular operator algebras and related concepts, so as to be able to plug in noncommutativity in a natural way. Algebraic tools such as K-theory and cyclic cohomology and homology play an important role in this field. It is an important topic both for mathematics and physics. Contents:K-Theory and D-Branes, Shonan:The Local Index Formula in Noncommutative Geometry Revisited (Alan L Carey, John Phillips, Adam Rennie and Fedor A Sukochev)Semi-Finite Noncommutative Geometry and Some Applications (Alan L Carey, John Phillips and Adam Rennie)Generalized Geometries in String Compactification Scenarios (Tetsuji Kimura)What Happen to Gauge Theories under Noncommutative Deformation? (Akifumi Sako)D-Branes and Bivariant K-Theory (Richard J Szabo)Two-Sided Bar Constructions for Partial Monoids and Applications to K-Homology Theory (Dai Tamaki)Twisting Segal's K-Homology Theory (Dai Tamaki)Spectrum of Non-Commutative Harmonic Oscillators and Residual Modular Forms (Kazufumi Kimoto and Masato Wakayama)Coarse Embeddings and Higher Index Problems for Expanders (Qin Wang)Deformation Quantization and Noncommutative Geometry, RIMS:Enriched Fell Bundles and Spaceoids (Paolo Bertozzini, Roberto Conti and Wicharn Lewkeeratiyutkul)Weyl Character Formula in KK-Theory (Jonathan Block and Nigel Higson)Recent Advances in the Study of the Equivariant Brauer Group (Peter Bouwknegt, Alan Carey and Rishni Ratnam)Entire Cyclic Cohomology of Noncommutative Manifolds (Katsutoshi Kawashima)Geometry of Quantum Projective Spaces (Francesco D'Andrea and Giovanni Landi)On Yang–Mills Theory for Quantum Heisenberg Manifolds (Hyun Ho Lee)Dilatational Equivalence Classes and Novikov–Shubin Type Capacities of Groups, and Random Walks (Shin-ichi Oguni)Deformation Quantization of Gauge Theory in ℝ4 and U(1) Instanton Problems (Yoshiaki Maeda and Akifumi Sako)Dualities in Field Theories and the Role of K-Theory (Jonathan Rosenberg)Dualities in Field Theories and the Role of K-Theory (Jonathan Rosenberg) Readership: Researchers and graduate students in Mathematical Physics and Applied Mathematics. Keywords:Noncommutative Geometry;Deformation Quantizations;D-Brane;K-Theory;T-Duality

Research in string theory has generated a rich interaction with algebraic geometry, with exciting work that includes the Strominger-Yau-Zaslow conjecture. This monograph builds on lectures at the 2002 Clay School on Geometry and String Theory that sought to bridge the gap between the languages of string theory and algebraic geometry.