Orbifolds in Mathematics and Physics

Orbifolds in Mathematics and Physics
Author: Alejandro Adem
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2002
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821829904

This book publishes papers originally presented at a conference on the Mathematical Aspects of Orbifold String Theory, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It contains a great deal of information not fully covered in the published literature and showcases the current state of the art in orbital string theory. The subject of orbifolds has a long prehistory, going back to the work of Thurston and Haefliger, with roots in the theory of manifolds, group actions, and foliations. The recent explosion of activity on the topic has been powered by applications of orbifolds to moduli problems and quantum field theory. The present volume presents an interdisciplinary look at orbifold problems. Topics such as stacks, vertex operator algebras, branes, groupoids, K-theory and quantum cohomology are discussed. The book reflects the thinking of distinguished investigators working in the areas of mathematical physics, algebraic geometry, algebraic topology, symplectic geometry and representation theory. By presenting the work of a broad range of mathematicians and physicists who use and study orbifolds, it familiarizes readers with the various points of view and types of results the researchers bring to the subject.

Orbifolds and Stringy Topology

Orbifolds and Stringy Topology
Author: Alejandro Adem
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2007-05-31
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1139464485

An introduction to the theory of orbifolds from a modern perspective, combining techniques from geometry, algebraic topology and algebraic geometry. One of the main motivations, and a major source of examples, is string theory, where orbifolds play an important role. The subject is first developed following the classical description analogous to manifold theory, after which the book branches out to include the useful description of orbifolds provided by groupoids, as well as many examples in the context of algebraic geometry. Classical invariants such as de Rham cohomology and bundle theory are developed, a careful study of orbifold morphisms is provided, and the topic of orbifold K-theory is covered. The heart of this book, however, is a detailed description of the Chen-Ruan cohomology, which introduces a product for orbifolds and has had significant impact. The final chapter includes explicit computations for a number of interesting examples.

Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory

Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory
Author: Sylvie Paycha
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821840622

This volume, based on lectures and short communications at a summer school in Villa de Leyva, Colombia (July 2005), offers an introduction to some recent developments in several active topics at the interface between geometry, topology and quantum field theory. It is aimed at graduate students in physics or mathematics who might want insight in the following topics (covered in five survey lectures): Anomalies and noncommutative geometry, Deformation quantisation and Poisson algebras, Topological quantum field theory and orbifolds. These lectures are followed by nine articles on various topics at the borderline of mathematics and physics ranging from quasicrystals to invariant instantons through black holes, and involving a number of mathematical tools borrowed from geometry, algebra and analysis.

Three-dimensional Orbifolds and Their Geometric Structures

Three-dimensional Orbifolds and Their Geometric Structures
Author: Michel Boileau
Publisher:
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2003
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN:

Orbifolds locally look like quotients of manifolds by finite group actions. They play an important role in the study of proper actions of discrete groups on manifolds. This monograph presents recent fundamental results on the geometry and topology of 3-dimensional orbifolds, with an emphasis on their geometric properties. It is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in geometry and topology.

Vertex Operator Algebras in Mathematics and Physics

Vertex Operator Algebras in Mathematics and Physics
Author: Stephen Berman
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 268
Release:
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780821871447

Vertex operator algebras are a class of algebras underlying a number of recent constructions, results, and themes in mathematics. These algebras can be understood as ''string-theoretic analogues'' of Lie algebras and of commutative associative algebras. They play fundamental roles in some of the most active research areas in mathematics and physics. Much recent progress in both physics and mathematics has benefited from cross-pollination between the physical and mathematical points of view. This book presents the proceedings from the workshop, ''Vertex Operator Algebras in Mathematics and Physics'', held at The Fields Institute. It consists of papers based on many of the talks given at the conference by leading experts in the algebraic, geometric, and physical aspects of vertex operator algebra theory. The book is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in the major themes and important developments on the frontier of research in vertex operator algebra theory and its applications in mathematics and physics.

Strings and Geometry

Strings and Geometry
Author: Clay Mathematics Institute. Summer School
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2004
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780821837153

Contains selection of expository and research article by lecturers at the school. Highlights current interests of researchers working at the interface between string theory and algebraic supergravity, supersymmetry, D-branes, the McKay correspondence andFourer-Mukai transform.

Noncommutative Geometry and Number Theory

Noncommutative Geometry and Number Theory
Author: Caterina Consani
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3834803529

In recent years, number theory and arithmetic geometry have been enriched by new techniques from noncommutative geometry, operator algebras, dynamical systems, and K-Theory. This volume collects and presents up-to-date research topics in arithmetic and noncommutative geometry and ideas from physics that point to possible new connections between the fields of number theory, algebraic geometry and noncommutative geometry. The articles collected in this volume present new noncommutative geometry perspectives on classical topics of number theory and arithmetic such as modular forms, class field theory, the theory of reductive p-adic groups, Shimura varieties, the local L-factors of arithmetic varieties. They also show how arithmetic appears naturally in noncommutative geometry and in physics, in the residues of Feynman graphs, in the properties of noncommutative tori, and in the quantum Hall effect.

Global Homotopy Theory

Global Homotopy Theory
Author: Stefan Schwede
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 847
Release: 2018-09-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 110842581X

A comprehensive, self-contained approach to global equivariant homotopy theory, with many detailed examples and sample calculations.

Gromov-Witten Theory of Spin Curves and Orbifolds

Gromov-Witten Theory of Spin Curves and Orbifolds
Author: Tyler Jamison Jarvis
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2006
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821835343

This volume is a collection of articles on orbifolds, algebraic curves with higher spin structures, and related invariants of Gromov-Witten type. Orbifold Gromov-Witten theory generalizes quantum cohomology for orbifolds, whereas spin cohomological field theory is based on the moduli spaces of higher spin curves and is related by Witten's conjecture to the Gelfand-Dickey integrable hierarchies. A common feature of these two very different looking theories is the central role played by orbicurves in both of them. Insights in one theory can often yield insights into the other. This book brings together for the first time papers related to both sides of this interaction. The articles in the collection cover diverse topics, such as geometry and topology of orbifolds, cohomological field theories, orbifold Gromov-Witten theory, $G$-Frobenius algebra and singularities, Frobenius manifolds and Givental's quantization formalism, moduli of higher spin curves and spin cohomological field theory.

Geometry, Topology and Physics

Geometry, Topology and Physics
Author: Mikio Nakahara
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 596
Release: 2018-10-03
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1420056948

Differential geometry and topology have become essential tools for many theoretical physicists. In particular, they are indispensable in theoretical studies of condensed matter physics, gravity, and particle physics. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition introduces the ideas and techniques of differential geometry and topology at a level suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in these fields. The second edition of this popular and established text incorporates a number of changes designed to meet the needs of the reader and reflect the development of the subject. The book features a considerably expanded first chapter, reviewing aspects of path integral quantization and gauge theories. Chapter 2 introduces the mathematical concepts of maps, vector spaces, and topology. The following chapters focus on more elaborate concepts in geometry and topology and discuss the application of these concepts to liquid crystals, superfluid helium, general relativity, and bosonic string theory. Later chapters unify geometry and topology, exploring fiber bundles, characteristic classes, and index theorems. New to this second edition is the proof of the index theorem in terms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The final two chapters are devoted to the most fascinating applications of geometry and topology in contemporary physics, namely the study of anomalies in gauge field theories and the analysis of Polakov's bosonic string theory from the geometrical point of view. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition is an ideal introduction to differential geometry and topology for postgraduate students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics.