The resurgence of instantons in string theory (Q2392090)

Non-perturbative series abound in theoretical physics and in mathematics. In the study of quantum field theories, while Feynmann diagrams offer an order-by-order perturbative expansion in terms of some suitably small coupling constant, objects such as instantons, associated to the inverse of such couplings, will defy this methodology. Mathematically, we are naturally led to the realm of re-summations and formally divergent series and the present paper is a wonderful and, in many ways, pedagogical treatment of the applications of so-called resurgent analysis to gauge theory and string theory, especially in the context of D-branes. Over 100 pages, the paper is indeed a comprehensive study, beginning in Section 2 on the requisite mathematics, before moving on to a range of explicit applications. In Section 2, we are introduced to the standard notion of the Borel transform \[ {\mathcal B}\left[ z^{-a-1}\right](s) = \frac{s^a}{\Gamma(a+1)} \;, \] which is designed to aid the study of the series \(F(z) \sim \sum_{g=0}^\infty G_g z^{-g-1}\) archetypal to instanton expansions. Less familiar, perhaps, is the framework of J.~Écalle, on resurgent functions (whose Borel transform contains no worse than simple poles or logarithmic branches), ``alien'' calculus, transeries and ``bridge'' equations; these are introduced in illustrative detail. The upshot is that for these resurgent series, Écalle's analysis gives control over the expression for the resummed function, culminating in Eq. (2.58). This is generalized to allow for multiple parametres in section 4. The first application, in Section 3, is the well-known free energy expansion of the A-model topological string on a Calabi-Yau threefold, whose coefficients are the Gromov-Witten invariants. The aforementioned method now gives Eq. (3.18), which indeed gives the leading-order behaviour. The next application, involving the multi-parametre treatment of Section 4, is that of minimal models in conformal field theory, whose free energy should describe two-dimensional pure gravity and which, for special values, obey the famous Painlevé I differential equation. In addition to perturbative series solutions, the analysis now gives transeries solutions; this constitutes Section 5. Incidentally, this relation to Painlevé was addressed in [\textit{S. Garoufalidis} et al., Int. Math. Res. Not. 2012, No. 3, 561--606 (2012; Zbl 1245.34087)], which in a way prepares for the systematic investigations of the present paper. Finally, in Section 6, they move onto the last and also important application, that to matrix models. Here, we know that to evaluate the partition function, one needs to understand the cut-structure of a resolvent, which can be determined from the spectral curve. Again, the resurgent analysis is useful, demonstrated with the detailed example of the quadratic model. The interested reader will also find the ``Literature overview'' subsection in the Introduction helpful. Furthermore, the plenitude of calculations and algorithms, in the form of \textit{Mathematica} notebooks can be obtained upon requesting the authors.