Self-Intersection Number of BPS Junctions in Backgrounds of Three and Seven-Branes

In a recent paper DeWolfe et al. have shown how to use the self-intersection number of junctions to constrain the BPS spectrum of N=2, D=4 theories with ADE flavor symmetry arising on a single D3-brane probe in a 7-brane background. Motivated by the existence of more general N=2, D=4 theories arising on the worldvolume of multiple D3-brane probes we show how to compute the self-intersection number of junctions in the presence of 7-branes and multiple D3-branes.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 2 figure

Elliptic CY3folds and Non-Perturbative Modular Transformation

We study the refined topological string partition function of a class of toric elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds. These Calabi-Yau threefolds give rise to five dimensional quiver gauge theories and are dual to configurations of M5-M2-branes. We determine the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants for these threefolds and show that the genus $g$ free energy is given by the weight $2g$ Eisenstein series. We also show that although the free energy at all genera are modular invariant the full partition function satisfies the non-perturbative modular transformation property discussed by Lockhart and Vafa in arXiv:1210.5909 and therefore the modularity of free energy is up to non-perturbative corrections.Comment: 12 page

Del Pezzo Surfaces and Affine 7-brane Backgrounds

A map between string junctions in the affine 7-brane backgrounds and vector bundles on del Pezzo surfaces is constructed using mirror symmetry. It is shown that the lattice of string junctions with support on an affine 7-brane configuration is isomorphic to the K-theory group of the corresponding del Pezzo surface. This isomorphism allows us to construct a map between the states of the N=2, D=4 theories with E_N global symmetry realized in two different ways in Type IIB and Type IIA string theory. A subgroup of the SL(2,Z) symmetry of the \hat{E}_9 7-brane background appears as the Fourier-Mukai transform acting on the D-brane configurations realizing vector bundles on elliptically fibered B_9.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 2 eps figures. v2: minor changes, version to appear in JHE

M-strings, Elliptic Genera and N=4 String Amplitudes

We study mass-deformed N=2 gauge theories from various points of view. Their partition functions can be computed via three dual approaches: firstly, (p,q)-brane webs in type II string theory using Nekrasov's instanton calculus, secondly, the (refined) topological string using the topological vertex formalism and thirdly, M theory via the elliptic genus of certain M-strings configurations. We argue for a large class of theories that these approaches yield the same gauge theory partition function which we study in detail. To make their modular properties more tangible, we consider a fourth approach by connecting the partition function to the equivariant elliptic genus of R^4 through a (singular) theta-transform. This form appears naturally as a specific class of one-loop scattering amplitudes in type II string theory on T^2, which we calculate explicitly.Comment: 65 pages, a section on calculation of partition function using Nekrasov's instanton calculus is adde