Borel and Stokes Nonperturbative Phenomena in Topological String Theory and c = 1 Matrix Models

We address the nonperturbative structure of topological strings and c = 1 matrix models, focusing on understanding the nature of instanton effects alongside with exploring their relation to the large-order behavior of the 1/N expansion. We consider the Gaussian, Penner and Chern–Simons matrix models, together with their holographic duals, the c = 1 minimal string at self-dual radius and topological string theory on the resolved conifold. We employ Borel analysis to obtain the exact all-loop multi-instanton corrections to the free energies of the aforementioned models, and show that the leading poles in the Borel plane control the large-order behavior of perturbation theory. We understand the nonperturbative effects in terms of the Schwinger effect and provide a semiclassical picture in terms of eigenvalue tunneling between critical points of the multi-sheeted matrix model effective potentials. In particular, we relate instantons to Stokes phenomena via a hyperasymptotic analysis, providing a smoothing of the nonperturbative ambiguity. Our predictions for the multi-instanton expansions are confirmed within the trans-series set-up, which in the double-scaling limit describes nonperturbative corrections to the Toda equation. Finally, we provide a spacetime realization of our nonperturbative corrections in terms of toric D-brane instantons which, in the double-scaling limit, precisely match D-instanton contributions to c = 1 minimal strings.     

Geometry as seen by string theory

This is an introductory review of the topological string theory from physicist’s perspective. I start with the definition of the theory and describe its relation to the Gromov–Witten invariants. The BCOV holomorphic anomaly equations, which generalize the Quillen anomaly formula, can be used to compute higher genus partition functions of the theory. The open/closed string duality relates the closed topological string theory to the Chern–Simons gauge theory and the random matrix model. As an application of the topological string theory, I discuss the counting of bound states of D-branes.     

Matrix Models from Operators and Topological Strings

We propose a new family of matrix models whose 1/N expansion captures the all-genus topological string on toric Calabi–Yau threefolds. These matrix models are constructed from the trace class operators appearing in the quantization of the corresponding mirror curves. The fact that they provide a non-perturbative realization of the (standard) topological string follows from a recent conjecture connecting the spectral properties of these operators, to the enumerative invariants of the underlying Calabi–Yau threefolds. We study in detail the resulting matrix models for some simple geometries, like local \({\mathbb{P}^2}\) and local \({\mathbb{F}_2}\), and we verify that their weak ’t Hooft coupling expansion reproduces the topological string free energies near the conifold singularity. These matrix models are formally similar to those appearing in the Fermi-gas formulation of Chern–Simons matter theories, and their 1/N expansion receives non-perturbative corrections determined by the Nekrasov–Shatashvili limit of the refined topological string.     

Solvability of a Class of Nonlinear Pseudo-Differential Equations in ℝ<Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Superscript>

In the present work the existence of continuous and bounded solutions for a class of nonlinear pseudo-differential equations on ? ⁿ is proved. The monotonicity, asymptotic behavior and other properties for obtained solutions are also presented. Mentioned class of equations arises in p-adic string theory.     

Matrix Mechanics of the Relativistic Point Particle and String in Clifford Space

We resolve the space-time canonical variables of the relativistic point particle into inner products of Weyl spinors with components in a Clifford algebra and find that these spinors themselves form a canonical system with generalized Poisson brackets. For N particles, the inner products of their Clifford coordinates and momenta form two N × N Hermitian matrices X and P which transform under a U(N) symmetry in the generating algebra. This is used as a starting point for defining matrix mechanics for a point particle in Clifford space. Next we consider the string. The Lorentz metric induces a metric and a scalar on the world sheet which we represent by a Jackiw–Teitelboim term in the action. The string is described by a polymomenta canonical system and we find the wave solutions to the classical equations of motion for a flat world sheet. Finally, we show that the \({SL(2.\mathbb{C})}\) charge and space-time momentum of the quantized string satisfy the Poincaré algebra.     

Transseries for a class of nonlinear difference equations *

Given a nonlinear analytic difference equation of level 1 with a formal power series solution ? ₀ we associate with it a stable manifold of solutions with asymptotic expansion ? ₀. This manifold can be represented by means of Borel summable series. All solutions with asymptotic expansion ? ₀ in some sector can be written as certain exponential series which are called transseries. Some of their properties are investigated: are resurgence properties and Stokes transition. Analogous problems for differential equations have been studied by Costin in [7]     

Computation of the asymptotics of solutions for equations with polynomial degeneration of the coefficients

We study linear differential equations with holomorphic coefficients. We establish the reducibility of such equations to equations with degeneration in the principal symbol. For the case of cuspidal degeneration, we show that the solutions of such equations are resurgent whenever so are their right-hand sides. We also refine earlier-obtained asymptotics of solutions for some equations of this type.     

Asymptotic existence theorems for formal power series whose coefficients satisfy certain partial differential recursions

We study power series whose coefficients are holomorphic functions of another complex variable and a nonnegative real parameter s, and are given by a differential recursion equation. For positive integer s, series of this form naturally occur as formal solutions of some partial differential equations with constant coefficients, while for s=0 they satisfy certain perturbed linear ordinary differential equations. For arbitrary s?0, these series solve a differential-integral equation. Such power series, in general, are not multisummable. However, we shall prove existence of solutions of the same differential-integral equation that in sectors of, in general, maximal opening have the formal series as their asymptotic expansion. Furthermore, we shall indicate that the solutions so obtained can be related to one another in a fairly explicit manner, thus exhibiting a Stokes phenomenon.     

Flat coordinates for Saito Frobenius manifolds and string theory

We investigate the connection between the models of topological conformal theory and noncritical string theory with Saito Frobenius manifolds. For this, we propose a new direct way to calculate the flat coordinates using the integral representation for solutions of the Gauss–Manin system connected with a given Saito Frobenius manifold. We present explicit calculations in the case of a singularity of type A _n . We also discuss a possible generalization of our proposed approach to SU(N) _k /(SU(N) _k+1 × U(1)) Kazama–Suzuki theories. We prove a theorem that the potential connected with these models is an isolated singularity, which is a condition for the Frobenius manifold structure to emerge on its deformation manifold. This fact allows using the Dijkgraaf–Verlinde–Verlinde approach to solve similar Kazama–Suzuki models.     

Dynamics of a probe null string in the gravitational field of a closed null string radially collapsing in the plane

We consider the dynamics of a probe null string in the gravitational field of a closed (“thick”) null string radially collapsing in a plane. Analysis of the obtained solutions suggests that there might exist several properties of a null-string gas interesting from the cosmological standpoint, such as acceleration of expansion or contraction, a granular structure of the gas, the emergence of stable polarized states, and a domain structure.     

Polynomial approximations of a class of stochastic multiscale elasticity problems

We consider a class of elasticity equations in \({\mathbb{R}^d}\) whose elastic moduli depend on n separated microscopic scales. The moduli are random and expressed as a linear expansion of a countable sequence of random variables which are independently and identically uniformly distributed in a compact interval. The multiscale Hellinger–Reissner mixed problem that allows for computing the stress directly and the multiscale mixed problem with a penalty term for nearly incompressible isotropic materials are considered. The stochastic problems are studied via deterministic problems that depend on a countable number of real parameters which represent the probabilistic law of the stochastic equations. We study the multiscale homogenized problems that contain all the macroscopic and microscopic information. The solutions of these multiscale homogenized problems are written as generalized polynomial chaos (gpc) expansions. We approximate these solutions by semidiscrete Galerkin approximating problems that project into the spaces of functions with only a finite number of N gpc modes. Assuming summability properties for the coefficients of the elastic moduli’s expansion, we deduce bounds and summability properties for the solutions’ gpc expansion coefficients. These bounds imply explicit rates of convergence in terms of N when the gpc modes used for the Galerkin approximation are chosen to correspond to the best N terms in the gpc expansion. For the mixed problem with a penalty term for nearly incompressible materials, we show that the rate of convergence for the best N term approximation is independent of the Lamé constants’ ratio when it goes to \({\infty}\). Correctors for the homogenization problem are deduced. From these we establish correctors for the solutions of the parametric multiscale problems in terms of the semidiscrete Galerkin approximations. For two-scale problems, an explicit homogenization error which is uniform with respect to the parameters is deduced. Together with the best N term approximation error, it provides an explicit convergence rate for the correctors of the parametric multiscale problems. For nearly incompressible materials, we obtain a homogenization error that is independent of the ratio of the Lamé constants, so that the error for the corrector is also independent of this ratio.     

An indefinite concave-convex equation under a Neumann boundary condition I

We investigate the problem (P _λ) ?Δu = λb(x)|u| ^q?2 u + a(x)|u| ^p?2 u in Ω, ?u/?n = 0 on ?Ω, where Ω is a bounded smooth domain in R ^N (N ≥ 2), 1 < q < 2 < p, λ ∈ R, and a, b ∈ \({C^\alpha }\left( {\overline \Omega } \right)\) with 0 < α < 1. Under certain indefinite type conditions on a and b, we prove the existence of two nontrivial nonnegative solutions for small |λ|. We then characterize the asymptotic profiles of these solutions as λ → 0, which in some cases implies the positivity and ordering of these solutions. In addition, this asymptotic analysis suggests the existence of a loop type component in the non-negative solutions set. We prove the existence of such a component in certain cases, via a bifurcation and a topological analysis of a regularized version of (P _λ).     

Nontrivial examples of coupled equations for Kähler metrics and Yang-Mills connections

We provide nontrivial examples of solutions to the system of coupled equations introduced by M. García-Fernández for the uniformization problem of a triple (M; L; E), where E is a holomorphic vector bundle over a polarized complex manifold (M, L), generalizing the notions of both constant scalar curvature Kähler metric and Hermitian-Einstein metric.     

Quantile Function Expansion Using Regularly Varying Functions

We present a simple result that allows us to evaluate the asymptotic order of the remainder of a partial asymptotic expansion of the quantile function h(u) as u → 0⁺ or 1^?. This is focussed on important univariate distributions when h(?) has no simple closed form, with a view to assessing asymptotic rate of decay to zero of tail dependence in the context of bivariate copulas. Motivation of this study is illustrated by the asymptotic behaviour of the tail dependence of Normal copula. The Normal, Skew-Normal and Gamma are used as initial examples. Finally, we discuss approximation to the lower quantile of the Variance-Gamma and Skew-Slash distributions.     

Bilinear approach to <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis> = 2 supersymmetric KdV equations

The N = 2 supersymmetric KdV equations are studied within the framework of Hirota bilinear method. For two such equations, namely N = 2, a = 4 and N = 2, a = 1 supersymmetric KdV equations, we obtain the corresponding bilinear formulations. Using them, we construct particular solutions for both cases. In particular, a bilinear Bäcklund transformation is given for the N = 2, a = 1 supersymmetric KdV equation.     

Resurgent aspects of applied exponential asymptotics

In many physical problems, it is important to capture exponentially small effects that lie beyond-all-orders of an algebraic asymptotic expansion; when collected, the full asymptotic expansion is known as a trans-series. Applied exponential asymptotics has been enormously successful in developing practical tools for studying the leading exponentials of a trans-series expansion, typically for singularly perturbed nonlinear differential or integral equations. Separately to applied exponential asymptotics, there exists a related line of research known as Écalle's theory of resurgence, which, via Borel resummation, describes the connection between trans-series and a certain class of holomorphic functions known as resurgent functions. Most applications and examples of Écalle's resurgence theory focus mainly on nonparametric asymptotic expansions (i.e., differential equations without a parameter). The relationships between these latter areas with applied exponential asymptotics have not been thoroughly examined—largely due to differences in language and emphasis. In this work, we establish these connections as an alternative framework to the factorial-over-power ansatz procedure in applied exponential asymptotics and clarify a number of aspects of applied exponential asymptotic methodology, including Van Dyke's rule and the universality of factorial-over-power ansatzes. We provide a number of useful tools for probing more pathological problems in exponential asymptotics and establish a framework for future applications to nonlinear and multidimensional problems in the physical sciences.     

Exotic involutions on symplectic 4-manifolds and G-monopole invariants

Using the G-monopole invariant, we shall show that any anti-holomorphic involution on a closed symplectic 4-manifold is not diffeomorphic to any holomorphic involution. As a corollary, we shall give a way to construct exotic smooth structures.     

On the sequences of zeros of holomorphic solutions of linear second-order differential equations

We find necessary and sufficient conditions under which a finite or infinite sequence of complex numbers is the sequence of zeros of a holomorphic solution of the linear differential equation f″ + a ₀ f = 0 with a meromorphic coefficient a ₀ that has second-order poles. In addition, we present a criterion for all solutions of second-order linear equations to be meromorphic.     

On the asymptotic behavior of solutions of nonlinear second-order parabolic equations

We study the asymptotic behavior as t → +∞ of solutions to a semilinear second-order parabolic equation in a cylindrical domain bounded in the spatial variable. We find the leading term of the asymptotic expansion of a solution as t → +∞ and show that each solution of the problem under consideration is asymptotically equivalent to a solution of some nonlinear ordinary differential equation.     

Asymptotic Behavior of Massless Dirac Waves in Schwarzschild Geometry

In this paper, we show that massless Dirac waves in the Schwarzschild geometry decay to zero at a rate t ^?2λ , where λ = 1, 2, . . . is the angular momentum. Our technique is to use Chandrasekhar’s separation of variables whereby the Dirac equations split into two sets of wave equations. For the first set, we show that the wave decays as t ^?2λ . For the second set, in general, the solutions tend to some explicit profile at the rate t ^?2λ . The decay rate of solutions of Dirac equations is achieved by showing that the coefficient of the explicit profile is exactly zero. The key ingredients in the proof of the decay rate of solutions for the first set of wave equations are an energy estimate used to show the absence of bound states and zero energy resonance and the analysis of the spectral representation of the solutions. The proof of asymptotic behavior for the solutions of the second set of wave equations relies on careful analysis of the Green’s functions for time independent Schrödinger equations associated with these wave equations.