String Theory Journal Club

Algebraic curves play very important roles in mathematical and theoretical physics including topological string theory, Seiberg-Witten theory, matrix models, 2d gravity, and more. For a wide variety of examples, it has been conjectured or even proven that one can compute the partition function and correlation functions of a physical theory without referring to the path integral, but purely in terms of geometric properties of the corresponding algebraic curve. In this introductory talk, I will present an overview of how such algebraic curves arise in physics and also how we can use them to compute invariants in physics. If time permits, I will briefly mention about recent and ongoing results of my research with collaborators.