MS Seminar (Mathematics - String Theory)

Speaker: Mauricio Romo (Kavli IPMU)
Title: Two-Sphere Partition Functions and Gromov-Witten Invariants
Date (JST): Tue, Oct 30, 2012, 13:15 - 14:45
Place: Seminar Room A
Related File: 797.pdf
Abstract: Many N=(2,2) two-dimensional nonlinear sigma models with Calabi-Yau target spaces admit ultraviolet descriptions as N=(2,2) gauge theories (gauged linear sigma models). We conjecture that the two-sphere partition function of such ultraviolet gauge theories -- recently computed via localization by Benini et al. and Doroud et al. -- yields the exact K\"ahler potential on the quantum K\"ahler moduli space for Calabi-Yau threefold target spaces. In particular, this allows one to compute the genus zero Gromov-Witten invariants for any such Calabi-Yau threefold without the use of mirror symmetry. The conjecture can be checked against examples already in the literature and also can be used to make new predictions for GW invariants for Calabi-Yaus whose mirrors are not yet known.