In recent years, the old idea that gauge theories and string theories are equivalent has been implemented and developed in various ways, and there are by now various models where the string theory / gauge theory correspondence is at work. One of the most important examples of this correspondence relates Chern-Simons theory, a topological gauge theory in three dimensions which describes knot and three-manifold invariants, to topological string theory, which is deeply related to Gromov-Witten invariants. This has led to some surprising relations between three-manifold geometry and enumerative geometry. This book gives the first coherent presentation of this and other related topics. After an introduction to matrix models and Chern-Simons theory, the book describes in detail the topological string theories that correspond to these gauge theories and develops the mathematical implications of this duality for the enumerative geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds and knot theory. It is written in a pedagogical style and will be useful reading for graduate students and researchers in both mathematics and physics willing to learn about these developments.

This book provides an introduction to some of the most recent developments in string theory, and in particular to their mathematical implications and their impact in knot theory and algebraic geometry.

An ideal reference on the mathematical aspects of quantum field theory, this volume provides a set of lectures and reviews that both introduce and representatively review the state-of-the art in the field from different perspectives.

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.

Quantum mechanics is one of the most successful theories in science, and is relevant to nearly all modern topics of scientific research. This textbook moves beyond the introductory and intermediate principles of quantum mechanics frequently covered in undergraduate and graduate courses, presenting in-depth coverage of many more exciting and advanced topics. The author provides a clearly structured text for advanced students, graduates and researchers looking to deepen their knowledge of theoretical quantum mechanics. The book opens with a brief introduction covering key concepts and mathematical tools, followed by a detailed description of the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) method. Two alternative formulations of quantum mechanics are then presented: Wigner's phase space formulation and Feynman's path integral formulation. The text concludes with a chapter examining metastable states and resonances. Step-by-step derivations, worked examples and physical applications are included throughout.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference String-Math 2015, which was held from December 31, 2015–January 4, 2016, at Tsinghua Sanya International Mathematics Forum in Sanya, China. Two of the main themes of this volume are frontier research on Calabi-Yau manifolds and mirror symmetry and the development of non-perturbative methods in supersymmetric gauge theories. The articles present state-of-the-art developments in these topics. String theory is a broad subject, which has profound connections with broad branches of modern mathematics. In the last decades, the prosperous interaction built upon the joint efforts from both mathematicians and physicists has given rise to marvelous deep results in supersymmetric gauge theory, topological string, M-theory and duality on the physics side, as well as in algebraic geometry, differential geometry, algebraic topology, representation theory and number theory on the mathematics side.