arXiv research

BiHermitian geometry, discovered long ago by Gates, Hull and Roceck, is the most general sigma model target space geometry allowing for (2,2) world sheet supersymmetry. By using the twisting procedure proposed by Kapustin and Li, we work out the type A and B topological sigma models for a general biHermtian target spac…

This is an introductory review of topological field theories (TFTs) called AKSZ sigma models. The AKSZ construction is a mathematical formulation for the construction and analyses of a large class of TFTs, inspired by the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism of gauge theories. We begin by considering a simple two-dimensional t…

The Poisson--Weil sigma model, worked out by us recently, stems from gauging a Hamiltonian Lie group symmetry of the target space of the Poisson sigma model. Upon gauge fixing of the BV master action, it yields interesting topological field theories such as the 2--dimensional Donaldson-Witten topological gauge theory a…

We review the AKSZ construction as applied to the topological open membranes and Poisson sigma models. We describe a generalization to open topological p-branes and Nambu-Poisson sigma models.

Generalizes sigma model with Lie algebroid structure and geometric conditions.

BiKaehler geometry is characterized by a Riemannian metric g_{ab} and two covariantly constant generally non commuting complex structures K_+^a_b, K_-^a_b, with respect to which g_{ab} is Hermitian. It is a particular case of the biHermitian geometry of Gates, Hull and Roceck, the most general sigma model target space …

We describe a topological field theory that studies the moduli space of solutions of the symplectic vortex equations. It contains as special cases the topological sigma-model and topological Yang-Mills over Kahler surfaces. The correlation functions of the theory are closely related to the recently introduced Hamiltoni…

Study of quantum aspects of generalized Gross-Neveu models, focusing on sigma models.

We introduce a new topological sigma model, whose fields are bundle maps from the tangent bundle of a 2-dimensional world-sheet to a Dirac subbundle of an exact Courant algebroid over a target manifold. It generalizes simultaneously the (twisted) Poisson sigma model as well as the G/G-WZW model. The equations of motion…

We show how to carry out the gauging of the Poisson sigma model in an AKSZ inspired formulation by coupling it to the a generalization of the Weil model worked out in ref. arXiv:0706.1289 [hep-th]. We call the resulting gauged field theory, Poisson--Weil sigma model. We study the BV cohomology of the model and show its…

We identify a deformation of the N=2 supersymmetric sigma model on a Calabi-Yau manifold X which has the same effect on B-branes as a noncommutative deformation of X. We show that for hyperkahler X such deformations allow one to interpolate continuously between the A-model and the B-model. For generic values of the non…

We give a physical derivation of generalized Kahler geometry. Starting from a supersymmetric nonlinear sigma model, we rederive and explain the results of Gualtieri regarding the equivalence between generalized Kahler geometry and the bi-hermitean geometry of Gates-Hull-Rocek. When cast in the language of supersymmetri…

Review of sigma models on flag manifolds, linking to spin chains and integrable theories.

This paper concerns constructing topological sigma models governing maps from semirigid super Riemann surfaces to general target supermanifolds. We define both the A model and B model in this general setup by defining suitable BRST operators and physical observables. Using supersymmetric localization, we express correl…

We construct a topological Chern-Simons sigma model on a Riemannian three-manifold M with gauge group G whose hyperkahler target space X is equipped with a G-action. Via a perturbative computation of its partition function, we obtain new topological invariants of M that define new weight systems which are characterized…

In this contribution we review some of the interplay between sigma models in theoretical physics and novel geometrical structures such as Lie (n-)algebroids. The first part of the article contains the mathematical background, the definition of various algebroids as well as of Dirac structures, a joint generalization of…

We study the topological sector of N=2 sigma-models with H-flux. It has been known for a long time that the target-space geometry of these theories is not Kahler and can be described in terms of a pair of complex structures, which do not commute, in general, and are parallel with respect to two different connections wi…

We construct a three-dimensional topological sigma model which is induced from a generalized complex structure on a target generalized complex manifold. This model is constructed from maps from a three-dimensional manifold $X$ to an arbitrary generalized complex manifold $M$. The theory is invariant under the diffeomor…

We study AKSZ-type BV constructions for the topological A- and B-models within a double field theory formulation that incorporates backgrounds with geometric and non-geometric fluxes. We relate them to a Courant sigma-model, on an open membrane, corresponding to a generalized complex structure, which reduces to the A- …

We study twisted N=2 superconformal gauge theory on a product of two Riemann surfaces Sigma and C. The twisted theory is topological along C and holomorphic along Sigma and does not depend on the gauge coupling or theta-angle. Upon Kaluza-Klein reduction along Sigma, it becomes equivalent to a topological B-model on C …

We show that symmetries and gauge symmetries of a large class of 2-dimensional sigma models are described by a new type of a current algebra. The currents are labeled by pairs of a vector field and a 1-form on the target space of the sigma model. We compute the current-current commutator and analyse the anomaly cancell…

Tropical geometry aids in computing topological quantum field theories.

We investigate the geometric characteristics of constant gaussian curvature surfaces obtained from solutions of the $G(m,n)$ sigma model. Most of these solutions are related to the Veronese sequence. We show that we can distinguish surfaces with the same gaussian curvature using additional quantities like the topologic…

In this paper, given a knot K, for any integer m we construct a new surface Sigma_K(m) from a smoothly embedded surface Sigma in a smooth 4-manifold X by performing a surgery on Sigma. This surgery is based on a modification of the `rim surgery' which was introduced by Fintushel and Stern, by doing additional twist spi…

A topological defect separating a pair of two-dimensional CFTs is a codimension one interface along which all components of the stress-energy tensor glue continuously. We study topological defects of the bosonic, (0,1)- and (0,2)-supersymmetric sigma models in two dimensions. We find a geometric classification of such …

A new method analyzes topological B-model on a torus using doubled geometry.

A general form for the boundary coupling of a Lie algebroid Poisson sigma model is proposed. The approach involves using the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism in the AKSZ geometrical version, to write a BRST-invariant coupling for a representation up to homotopy of the target Lie algebroid or its subalgebroids. These consid…

On a closed symplectic surface Sigma of genus two or more, we give a new construction of an extended flux map (a crossed homomorphism from the symplectomorphism group Symp(Sigma) to the cohomology group H^1(Sigma;R) that extends the flux homomorphism). This construction uses the topology of the Jacobian of the surface …

In four-dimensional gauge theory there exists a well-known correspondence between instantons and holomorphic curves, and a similar correspondence exists between certain octonionic instantons and triholomorphic curves. We prove that this latter correspondence stems from the dynamics of various dimensional reductions of …

The Poisson sigma model is a widely studied two-dimensional topological field theory. This note shows that boundary conditions for the Poisson sigma model are related to coisotropic submanifolds (a result announced in [math.QA/0309180]) and that the corresponding reduced phase space is a (possibly singular) dual pair b…

Suppose M is a noncompact connected PL 2-manifold. In this paper we study the topological property of the triple (H(M)_0, H^PL(M)_0, H^PL, c(M)_0), where H(M)_0 is the identity component of the homeomorphism group {\cal H}(M) of M with the compact-open topology, and H^PL(M)_0 and H^PL, c(M)_0 are the identity component…

BiHermitian geometry, discovered long ago by Gates, Hull and Rocek, is the most general sigma model target space geometry allowing for (2,2) world sheet supersymmetry. In this paper, we work out supersymmetric quantum mechanics for a biHermitian target space. We display the full supersymmetry of the model and illustrat…

We show that in the context of two-dimensional sigma models minimal coupling of an ordinary rigid symmetry Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ leads naturally to the appearance of the "generalized tangent bundle" $\mathbb{T}M \equiv TM \oplus T^*M$ by means of composite fields. Gauge transformations of the composite fields foll…

The paper shows how to generate mapping class groups with specific involutions.

The path integral generalization of the Casson invariant as developed by Rozansky and Witten is investigated. The path integral for various three manifolds is explicitly evaluated. A new class of topological observables is introduced that may allow for more effective invariants. Finally it is shown how the dimensional …

We present an equivariant extension of the Thom form with respect to a vector field action, in the framework of the Mathai-Quillen formalism. The associated Topological Quantum Field Theories correspond to twisted $N=2$ supersymmetric theories with a central charge. We analyze in detail two different cases: topological…

This is the second in a series of papers discussing in the framework of gerbe theory canonical and geometric aspects of the 2d nonlinear sigma model in the presence of conformal defects in the worldsheet. Employing the formal tools worked out in the first paper of the series, 1101.1126 [hep-th], a thorough analysis of …

Using mirror symmetry as described by Hori and Vafa, we compute the quantum equivariant cohomology ring of toric manifolds. This ring arises naturally in topological gauged sigma-models and is related to the Hamiltonian Gromov-Witten invariants of the target manifold.

Starting from a higher Courant bracket associated to exceptional generalized geometry, we provide a systematic derivation of all types of fluxes and their Bianchi identities for four-dimensional compactifications of M-theory. We show that these fluxes may be understood as generalized Wess-Zumino terms in certain topolo…

The kth finite subset space of a topological space X is the space exp_k X of non-empty finite subsets of X of size at most k, topologised as a quotient of X^k. The construction is a homotopy functor and may be regarded as a union of configuration spaces of distinct unordered points in X. We show that the finite subset …

Eguchi-Hori-Xiong and S. Katz proposed a conjecture that the partition function of topological sigma model coupled to gravity is annihilated by infinitely many differential operators which form half branch of the Virasoro algebra. In this paper, we give a proof to this conjecture for the genus 0 part.

Generalizes Hamiltonian structures to Dirac structures for new mechanics models.

Two-dimensional conformally parametrized surfaces immersed in the su(N) algebra are investigated. The focus is on surfaces parametrized by solutions of the equations for the CP^(N-1) sigma model. The Lie-point symmetries of the CP^(N-1) model are computed for arbitrary N. The Weierstrass formula for immersion is determ…

Sigma models linked to Gross-Neveu models via quiver varieties.

This is a brief review of some of the uses of nonlinear sigma models. After a short general discussion touching on point particles, strings and condensed matter systems, focus is shifted to sigma models as probes of target space geometries. The relation of supersymmetric non-linear sigma models to Kähler, hyperkähler, …

Given a mapping class f of an oriented surface Sigma and a lagrangian lambda in the first homology of Sigma, we define an integer n_{lambda}(f). We use n_{lambda}(f) (mod 4) to describe a universal central extension of the mapping class group of Sigma as an index-four subgroup of the extension constructed from the Masl…

Summarizes geometric connections between sigma models and Gross-Neveu models.

We define the sigma-model action for world-sheets with embedded defect networks in the presence of a three-form field strength. We derive the defect gluing condition for the sigma-model fields and their derivatives, and use it to distinguish between conformal and topological defects. As an example, we treat the WZW mod…