arXiv subjects

Shamil Shakirov

Publications and source records attributed to Shamil Shakirov.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Refined Chern-Simons Theory and Topological String

We show that refined Chern-Simons theory and large N duality can be used to study the refined topological string with and without branes. We derive the refined topological vertex of hep-th/0701156 and hep-th/0502061 from a link invariant of the refined SU(N) Chern-Simons theory on S^3, at infinite N. Quiver-like Chern-Simons theories, arising from Calabi-Yau manifolds with branes wrapped on several minimal S^3's, give a dual description of a large class of toric Calabi-Yau. We use this to derive the refined topological string amplitudes on a toric Calabi-Yau containing a shrinking P^2 surface. The result is suggestive of the refined topological vertex formalism for arbitrary toric Calabi-Yau manifolds in terms of a pair of vertices and a choice of a Morse flow on the toric graph, determining the vertex decomposition. The dependence on the flow is reminiscent of the approach to the refined topological string in upcoming work of Nekrasov and Okounkov. As a byproduct, we show that large N duality of the refined topological string explains the ``mirror symmetry`` of the refined colored HOMFLY invariants of knots.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Knot Homology from Refined Chern-Simons Theory

We formulate a refinement of SU(N) Chern-Simons theory on a three-manifold via the refined topological string and the (2,0) theory on N M5 branes. The refined Chern-Simons theory is defined on any three-manifold with a semi-free circle action. We give an explicit solution of the theory, in terms of a one-parameter refinement of the S and T matrices of Chern-Simons theory, related to the theory of Macdonald polynomials. The ordinary and refined Chern-Simons theory are similar in many ways; for example, the Verlinde formula holds in both. We obtain new topological invariants of Seifert three-manifolds and torus knots inside them. We conjecture that the knot invariants we compute are the Poincare polynomials of the sl(n) knot homology theory. The latter includes the Khovanov-Rozansky knot homology, as a special case. The conjecture passes a number of nontrivial checks. We show that, for a large number of torus knots colored with the fundamental representation of SU(N), our knot invariants agree with the Poincare polynomials of Khovanov-Rozansky homology. As a byproduct, we show that our theory on S^3 has a large-N dual which is the refined topological string on X=O(-1)+O(-1)->P^1; this supports the conjecture by Gukov, Schwarz and Vafa relating the spectrum of BPS states on X to sl(n) knot homology. We also provide a matrix model description of some amplitudes of the refined Chern-Simons theory on S^3.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Refined Chern-Simons Theory and Knot Homology

The refined Chern-Simons theory is a one-parameter deformation of the ordinary Chern-Simons theory on Seifert manifolds. It is defined via an index of the theory on N M5 branes, where the corresponding one-parameter deformation is a natural deformation of the geometric background. Analogously with the unrefined case, the solution of refined Chern-Simons theory is given in terms of S and T matrices, which are the proper Macdonald deformations of the usual ones. This provides a direct way to compute refined Chern-Simons invariants of a wide class of three-manifolds and knots. The knot invariants of refined Chern-Simons theory are conjectured to coincide with the knot superpolynomials -- Poincare polynomials of the triply graded knot homology theory. This conjecture is checked for a large number of torus knots in S^3, colored by the fundamental representation. This is a short, expository version of arXiv:1105.5117, with some new results included.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Beta Deformation and Superpolynomials of (n,m) Torus Knots

Recent studies in several interrelated areas -- from combinatorics and representation theory in mathematics to quantum field theory and topological string theory in physics -- have independently revealed that many classical objects in these fields admit a relatively novel one-parameter deformation. This deformation, known in different contexts under the names of Omega-background, refinement, or beta-deformation, has a number of interesting mathematical implications. In particular, in Chern-Simons theory beta-deformation transforms the classical HOMFLY invariants into Dunfield-Gukov-Rasmussen superpolynomials -- Poincare polynomials of a triply graded knot homology theory. As shown in arXiv:1106.4305, these superpolynomials are particular linear combinations of rational Macdonald dimensions, distinguished by the polynomiality, integrality and positivity properties. We show that these properties alone do not fix the superpolynomials uniquely, by giving an example of a combination of Macdonald dimensions, that is always a positive integer polynomial but generally is not a superpolynomial.

math-ph↗