2005/04/27 by Jan de Boer, Asad Naqvi, Assaf Shomer · 1 voice · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/prop.200510214
76 pages, 1 figure, typos corrected
openalex publication_date 2005/04/27 · arxiv published 2005/06/24 · arxiv created 2006/03/20 · arxiv updated 2006/03/20 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We construct new topological theories related to sigma models whose target space is a seven dimensional manifold of G2 holonomy. We define a new type of topological twist and identify the BRST operator and the physical states. Unlike the more familiar six dimensional case, our topological model is defined in terms of conformal blocks and not in terms of local operators of the original theory. We also present evidence that one can extend this definition to all genera and construct a seven-dimensional topological string theory. We compute genus zero correlation functions and relate these to Hitchin's functional for three-forms in seven dimensions. Along the way we develop the analogue of special geometry for G2 manifolds. When the seven dimensional topological twist is applied to the product of a Calabi-Yau manifold and a circle, the result is an interesting combination of the six dimensional A- and B-models.