Matrix String Theory and its Moduli Space

The correspondence between Matrix String Theory in the strong coupling limit and IIA superstring theory can be shown by means of the instanton solutions of the former. We construct the general instanton solutions of Matrix String Theory which interpolate between given initial and final string configurations. Each instanton is characterized by a Riemann surface of genus h with n punctures, which is realized as a plane curve. We study the moduli space of such plane curves and find out that, at finite N, it is a discretized version of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces: instead of 3h-3+n its complex dimensions are 2h-3+n, the remaining h dimensions being discrete. It turns out that as $N$ tends to infinity, these discrete dimensions become continuous, and one recovers the full moduli space of string interaction theory.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, JHEP.cls class file, minor correction

Complex Matrix Models and Statistics of Branched Coverings of 2D Surfaces

We present a complex matrix gauge model defined on an arbitrary two-dimensional orientable lattice. We rewrite the model's partition function in terms of a sum over representations of the group U(N). The model solves the general combinatorial problem of counting branched covers of orientable Riemann surfaces with any given, fixed branch point structure. We then define an appropriate continuum limit allowing the branch points to freely float over the surface. The simplest such limit reproduces two-dimensional chiral U(N) Yang-Mills theory and its string description due to Gross and Taylor.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, TeX, harvmac.tex, epsf.tex, TeX "big

Ricci surfaces

A Ricci surface is a Riemannian 2-manifold $(M,g)$ whose Gaussian curvature $K$ satisfies $K\Delta K+g(dK,dK)+4K^3=0$. Every minimal surface isometrically embedded in $\mathbb{R}^3$ is a Ricci surface of non-positive curvature. At the end of the 19th century Ricci-Curbastro has proved that conversely, every point $x$ of a Ricci surface has a neighborhood which embeds isometrically in $\mathbb{R}^3$ as a minimal surface, provided $K(x)<0$. We prove this result in full generality by showing that Ricci surfaces can be locally isometrically embedded either minimally in $\mathbb{R}^3$ or maximally in $\mathbb{R}^{2,1}$, including near points of vanishing curvature. We then develop the theory of closed Ricci surfaces, possibly with conical singularities, and construct classes of examples in all genera $g\geq 2$.Comment: 27 pages; final version, to appear in Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa - Classe di Scienz

Large N 2D Yang-Mills Theory and Topological String Theory

We describe a topological string theory which reproduces many aspects of the 1/N expansion of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in two spacetime dimensions in the zero coupling (A=0) limit. The string theory is a modified version of topological gravity coupled to a topological sigma model with spacetime as target. The derivation of the string theory relies on a new interpretation of Gross and Taylor's ``\Omega^{-1} points.'' We describe how inclusion of the area, coupling of chiral sectors, and Wilson loop expectation values can be incorporated in the topological string approach.Comment: 95 pages, 15 Postscript figures, uses harvmac (Please use the "large" print option.) Extensive revisions of the sections on topological field theory. Added a compact synopsis of topological field theory. Minor typos corrected. References adde

Old and new examples of surfaces of general type with pg=0p_g=0

Surfaces of general type with geometric genus $p_g=0$, which can be given as Galois covering of the projective plane branched over an arrangement of lines with Galois group $G=(\mathbb Z/q\mathbb Z)^k$, where $k\geq 2$ and $q$ is a prime number, are investigated. The classical Godeaux surface, Campedelli surfaces, Burniat surfaces, and a new surface $X$ with $K_X^2=6$ and $(\mathbb Z/3\mathbb Z)^3\subset {Tors} (X)$ can be obtained as such coverings. It is proved that the group of automorphisms of a generic surface of the Campedelli type is isomorphic to $(\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z)^3$. The irreducible components of the moduli space containing the Burniat surfaces are described. It is shown that the Burniat surface $S$ with $K_S^2=2$ has the torsion group ${Tors} (S)\simeq (\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z)^3$, (therefore, it belongs to the family of the Campedelli surfaces), i.e., the corresponding statement in the papers of C. Peters "On certain examples of surfaces with $p_g=0$" in Nagoya Math. J. {\bf 66} (1977), and I. Dolgachev "Algebraic surfaces with $q=p_g=0$" in {\it Algebraic surfaces}, Liguori, Napoli (1977), and in the book of W. Barth, C. Peters, A. Van de Ven "Compact complex surfaces", p. 237, about the torsion group of the Burniat surface $S$ with $K_S^2=2$ is not correct