Anomaly Equations Research Articles

Global properties of topological string amplitudes and orbifold invariants

We derive topological string amplitudes on local Calabi-Yau manifolds in terms of polynomials in finitely many generators of special functions. These objects are defined globally in the moduli space and lead to a description of mirror symmetry at any point in the moduli space. Holomorphic ambiguities of the anomaly equations are fixed by global information obtained from boundary conditions at few special divisors in the moduli space. As an illustration we compute higher genus orbifold Gromov-Witten invariants for \( {{{\mathbb{C}^3}} \mathord{\left/{\vphantom {{{\mathbb{C}^3}} {{\mathbb{Z}_3}}}} \right.} {{\mathbb{Z}_3}}} \) and \( {{{\mathbb{C}^3}} \mathord{\left/{\vphantom {{{\mathbb{C}^3}} {{\mathbb{Z}_4}}}} \right.} {{\mathbb{Z}_4}}} \).

Anomalies at finite density and chiral fermions

Using perturbation theory in the Euclidean (imaginary time) formalism as well as the non-perturbative Fujikawa method, we verify that the chiral anomaly equation remains unaffected in the presence of nonzero chemical potential, $\mu$. We extend our considerations to fermions with exact chiral symmetry on the lattice and discuss the consequences for the recent Bloch-Wettig proposal for the Dirac operator at finite chemical potential. We propose a new simpler method of incorporating $\mu$ and compare it with the Bloch-Wettig idea.

Solving the topological string on K3 fibrations

We present solutions of the holomorphic anomaly equations for compact two-parameter Calabi-Yau manifolds which are hypersurfaces in weighted projective space. In particular we focus on K3-fibrations where due to heterotic type II duality the topological invariants in the fibre direction are encoded in certain modular forms. The formalism employed provides holomorphic expansions of topological string amplitudes everywhere in moduli space.

Decoupling A and B model in open string theory: topological adventures in the world of tadpoles

In this paper we analyze the problem of tadpole cancellation in open topological strings. We prove that the inclusion of unorientable worldsheet diagrams guarantees a consistent decoupling of A and B model for open superstring amplitudes at all genera. This is proven by direct microscopic computation in Super Conformal Field Theory. For the B-model we explicitly calculate one loop amplitudes in terms of analytic Ray-Singer torsions of appropriate vector bundles and obtain that the decoupling corresponds to the cancellation of D-brane and orientifold charges. Local tadpole cancellation on the worldsheet then guarantees the decoupling at all loops. The holomorphic anomaly equations for open topological strings at one loop are also obtained and compared with the results of the Quillen formula.

Local Heterotic Torsional Models

We present a class of smooth supersymmetric heterotic solutions with a non-compact Eguchi-Hanson space. The non-compact geometry is embedded as the base of a six-dimensional non-Kahler manifold with a non-trivial torus fiber. We solve the non-linear anomaly equation in this background exactly. We also define a new charge that detects the non-Kahlerity of our solutions.

Chiral anomaly in soft collinear effective theory

Anomalies have infrared and ultraviolet ingredients, and are often realized in effective theories in a nontrivial way. We study the chiral anomaly in soft collinear effective theory (SCET), where the anomaly equation has terms contributing at different orders in the power expansion. The chiral anomaly equations in SCET are computed up to next-to-next-to-leading order in the power counting with external collinear and/or ultrasoft gluons. We do this by expanding the QCD anomaly equation, using the tree level (leading order in ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{s}$) relations between QCD and SCET fields. The validity of this correspondence between the anomaly equations is confirmed by direct computation of the one-loop diagrams in SCET.

Topological strings on Grassmannian Calabi-Yau manifolds

We present solutions for the higher genus topological string amplitudes on Calabi-Yau-manifolds, which are realized as complete intersections in Grassmannians. We solve the B-model by direct integration of the holomorphic anomaly equations using a finite basis of modular invariant generators, the gap condition at the conifold and other local boundary conditions for the amplitudes. Regularity of the latter at certain points in the moduli space suggests a CFT description. The A-model amplitudes are evaluated using a mirror conjecture for Grassmannian Calabi-Yau by Batyrev, Ciocan-Fontanine, Kim and Van Straten. The integrality of the BPS states gives strong evidence for the conjecture.

Classifying A-field and B-field configurations in the presence of D-branes

We ``solve'' the Freed-Witten anomaly equation, i.e., we find a geometrical classification of the B-field and A-field configurations in the presence of D-branes that are anomaly-free. The mathematical setting being provided by the geometry of gerbes, we find that the allowed configurations are jointly described by a coset of a certain hypercohomology group. We then describe in detail various cases that arise according to such classification. As is well-known, only under suitable hypotheses the A-field turns out to be a connection on a canonical gauge bundle. However, even in these cases, there is a residual freedom in the choice of the bundle, naturally arising from the hypercohomological description. For a B-field which is flat on a D-brane, fractional or irrational charges of subbranes naturally appear; for a suitable gauge choice, they can be seen as arising from ``gauge bundles with not integral Chern class'': we give a precise geometric interpretation of these objects.

Integrability of the holomorphic anomaly equations

We show that modularity and the gap condition make the holomorphic anomaly equation completely integrable for non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. This leads to a very efficient formalism to solve the topological string on these geometries in terms of almost holomorphic modular forms. The formalism provides in particular holomorphic expansions everywhere in moduli space including large radius points, the conifold loci, Seiberg-Witten points and the orbifold points. It can be also viewed as a very efficient method to solve higher genus closed string amplitudes in the $\frac{1}{N^2}$ expansion of matrix models with more then one cut.

Topological wave functions and the 4D-5D lift

We revisit the holomorphic anomaly equations satisfied by the topological string amplitude from the perspective of the 4D-5D lift, in the context of ''magic'' N=2 supergravity theories. In particular, we interpret the Gopakumar-Vafa relation between 5D black hole degeneracies and the topological string amplitude as the result of a canonical transformation from 4D to 5D charges. Moreover we use the known Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of 5D black holes to constrain the asymptotic behavior of the topological wave function at finite topological coupling but large K\"ahler classes. In the process, some subtleties in the relation between 5D black hole degeneracies and the topological string amplitude are uncovered, but not resolved. Finally we extend these considerations to the putative one-parameter generalization of the topological string amplitude, and identify the canonical transformation as a Weyl reflection inside the 3D duality group.

Counting BPS States on the Enriques Calabi-Yau

We study topological string amplitudes for the FHSV model using various techniques. This model has a type II realization involving a Calabi-Yau threefold with Enriques fibres, which we call the Enriques Calabi-Yau. By applying heterotic/type IIA duality, we compute the topological amplitudes in the fibre to all genera. It turns out that there are two different ways to do the computation that lead to topological couplings with different BPS content. One of them gives the standard D0-D2 counting amplitudes, and from the other one we obtain information about bound states of D0-D4-D2 branes on the Enriques fibre. We also study the model using mirror symmetry and the holomorphic anomaly equations. We verify in this way the heterotic results for the D0-D2 generating functional for low genera and find closed expressions for the topological amplitudes on the total space in terms of modular forms, and up to genus three. This model turns out to be much simpler than the generic B-model and might be exactly solvable.

The holomorphic anomaly for open string moduli

We complete the holomorphic anomaly equations for topological strings with their dependence on open moduli. We obtain the complete system by standard path integral arguments generalizing the analysis of BCOV (Commun. Math. Phys. 165 (1994) 311) to strings with boundaries. We study both the anti-holomorphic dependence on open moduli and on closed moduli in presence of Wilson lines. By providing the compactification à la Deligne-Mumford of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces with boundaries, we show that the open holomorphic anomaly equations are structured on the (real codimension one) boundary components of this space.

Direct integration of the topological string

We present a new method to solve the holomorphic anomaly equations governing the free energies of type B topological strings. The method is based on direct integration with respect to the non-holomorphic dependence of the amplitudes, and relies on the interplay between non-holomorphicity and modularity properties of the topological string amplitudes. We develop a formalism valid for any Calabi-Yau manifold and we study in detail two examples, providing closed expressions for the amplitudes at low genus, as well as a discussion of the boundary conditions that fix the holomorphic ambiguity. The first example is the non-compact Calabi-Yau underlying Seiberg-Witten theory and its gravitational corrections. The second example is the Enriques Calabi-Yau, which we solve in full generality up to genus six. We discuss various aspects of this model: we obtain a new method to generate holomorphic automorphic forms on the Enriques moduli space, we write down a new product formula for the fiber amplitudes at all genus, and we analyze in detail the field theory limit. This allows us to uncover the modularity properties of SU(2), N=2 super Yang-Mills theory with four massless hypermultiplets.

Comments on the holomorphic anomaly in open topological string theory

We show that a general solution to the extended holomorphic anomaly equations for the open topological string on D-branes in a Calabi–Yau manifold, recently written down by Walcher in arXiv: 0705.4098, is obtained from the general solution to the holomorphic anomaly equations for the closed topological string on the same manifold, by shifting the closed string moduli by amounts proportional to the 't Hooft coupling.

Holomorphic anomaly and matrix models

The genus g free energies of matrix models can be promoted to modular invariant, non-holomorphic amplitudes which only depend on the geometry of the classical spectral curve. We show that these non-holomorphic amplitudes satisfy the holomorphic anomaly equations of Bershadsky, Cecotti, Ooguri and Vafa. We derive as well holomorphic anomaly equations for the open string sector. These results provide evidence at all genera for the Dijkgraaf--Vafa conjecture relating matrix models to type B topological strings on certain local Calabi--Yau threefolds.

Topological wave functions and heat equations

It is generally known that the holomorphic anomaly equations in topological string theory reflect the quantum mechanical nature of the topological string partition function. We present two new results which make this assertion more precise: (i) we give a new, purely holomorphic version of the holomorphic anomaly equations, clarifying their relation to the heat equation satisfied by the Jacobi theta series; (ii) in cases where the moduli space is a Hermitian symmetric tube domain $G/K$, we show that the general solution of the anomaly equations is a matrix element $\IP{\Psi | g | \Omega}$ of the Schr\"odinger-Weil representation of a Heisenberg extension of $G$, between an arbitrary state $\bra{\Psi}$ and a particular vacuum state $\ket{\Omega}$. Based on these results, we speculate on the existence of a one-parameter generalization of the usual topological amplitude, which in symmetric cases transforms in the smallest unitary representation of the duality group $G'$ in three dimensions, and on its relations to hypermultiplet couplings, nonabelian Donaldson-Thomas theory and black hole degeneracies.

Generalized Konishi anomaly, Seiberg duality and singular effective superpotentials

Using the generalized Konishi anomaly (GKA) equations, we derive the effective superpotential of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric SU(n) gauge theory with n+2 fundamental flavors. We find, however, that the GKA equations are only integrable in the Seiberg dual description of the theory, but not in the direct description of the theory. The failure of integrability in the direct, strongly coupled, description suggests the existence of non-perturbative corrections to the GKA equations.

Kähler quantization ofH3(CY3,R) and the holomorphic anomaly

Studying the quadratic field theory on seven dimensional spacetime constructed by a direct product of Calabi-Yau three-fold by a real time axis, with phase space being the third cohomology of the Calabi-Yau three-fold, the generators of translation along moduli directions of Calabi-Yau three-fold are constructed. The algebra of these generators is derived which take a simple form in canonical coordinates. Applying the Dirac method of quantization of second class constraint systems, we show that the Schr\"{o}dinger equations corresponding to these generators are equivalent to the holomorphic anomaly equations if one defines the action functional of the quadratic field theory with a proper factor one-half.

Calculating method of series for true anomaly of a spacecraft elliptic orbit

The transcendental equation of a true anomaly was written in a power series instead of a differential form. When the sufficient condition of the iterative convergence is satisfied, the relationship between the true anomaly and the time was gotten by the iterative method. And for the others, the transcendental equation of an eccentric anomaly was solved by the iterative method. After the eccentric anomaly had been calculated, the relationship between the true anomaly and the time was gotten with the numerical integral method. The approximate equation, which included the first five terms in general expansion, was written for the spacecraft quasi-circular orbit. And the true anomaly as the function of the time was also gotten by the iterative method. The numerical simulation results show that these methods are efficient.

Operator mixing in [formula omitted] SYM: The Konishi anomaly revisited

In the context of the superconformal N = 4 SYM theory the Konishi anomaly can be viewed as the descendant K 10 of the Konishi multiplet in the 10 of SU ( 4 ) , carrying the anomalous dimension of the multiplet. Another descendant O 10 with the same quantum numbers, but this time without anomalous dimension, is obtained from the protected half-BPS operator O 20 ′ (the stress-tensor multiplet). Both K 10 and O 10 are renormalized mixtures of the same two bare operators, one trilinear (coming from the superpotential), the other bilinear (the so-called “quantum Konishi anomaly”). Only the operator K 10 is allowed to appear in the right-hand side of the Konishi anomaly equation, the protected one O 10 does not match the conformal properties of the left-hand side. Thus, in a superconformal renormalization scheme the separation into “classical” and “quantum” anomaly terms is not possible, and the question whether the Konishi anomaly is one-loop exact is out of context. The same treatment applies to the operators of the BMN family, for which no analogy with the traditional axial anomaly exists. We illustrate our abstract analysis of this mixing problem by an explicit calculation of the mixing matrix at level g 4 (“two loops”) in the supersymmetric dimensional reduction scheme.