Mirror symmetry, topological strings and gauge theory

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String theory embodies the research efforts of theoretical physicists working at the high-energy frontier to invent a quantum theory of gravity, and to unify the fundamental interactions. The mathematical sophistication of the string theory community is commensurate with the impact it has had in certain areas of pure mathematics, and has led to the creation of a new branch of mathematical physics. Topological gauge theories and the topological string are at the center of these developments, extending their reach further and further thanks to an intricate web of dualities such as mirror symmetry, and an intimate relation with the physics of string theory, such as its vacuum structure or the properties of black holes. A cross-disciplinary endeavour, the ambition of this proposal is to establish research on geometrical questions stemming from high-energy physics at McGill University.