Topological string amplitudes for the local $\frac{1}{2}$K3 surface

Abstract

We study topological string amplitudes for the local half K3 surface. We develop a method of computing higher-genus amplitudes along the lines of the direct integration formalism, making full use of the Seiberg-Witten curve expressed in terms of modular forms and E_8-invariant Jacobi forms. The Seiberg-Witten curve was constructed previously for the low-energy effective theory of the non-critical E-string theory in R^4 x T^2. We clarify how the amplitudes are written as polynomials in a finite number of generators expressed in terms of the Seiberg-Witten curve. We determine the coefficients of the polynomials by solving the holomorphic anomaly equation and the gap condition, and construct the amplitudes explicitly up to genus three. The results encompass topological string amplitudes for all local del Pezzo surfaces.