Spectral theory and mirror curves of higher genus (Q507734)

The paper continues the investigation of the recently established correspondence between spectral theory and topological strings [the last two authors et al., Ann. Henri Poincaré 17, No. 11, 3177--3235 (2016; Zbl 1365.81094)]. The correspondence postulates that the Weyl quantization of mirror curves to toric Calabi-Yau three-folds lead to trace class operators whose spectral determinant is captured by the topological string amplitudes on the underlying Calabi-Yau. Extending the results of [loc. cit.], the authors investigate this correspondence for mirror curves of higher genus g, not to be confused with the genus of the world-sheet perturbative expansion. The quantization scheme leads to g different trace class operators, whose spectral properties are encoded by a generalized spectral determinant. By expanding the spectral determinant one defines fermionic spectral traces, which the authors conjecture provide a non-perturbative definition of topological string amplitudes. Indeed, by taking a suitable t'Hooft limit of the spectral traces the authors recover the usual perturbative higher genus expansion of the topological string. As an illustrative example the authors study the resolved \(C^3/Z_5\) orbifold in detail, the simplest toric Calabi-Yau with a genus \(2\) mirror curve. The paper is well written and mostly self-contained. It provides a great step forward in our understanding of the non-perturbative topological string and local mirror symmetry.