A diagrammatic expansion of coefficients in the low-momentum expansion of the genus-one four-particle amplitude in type II superstring theory is developed. This is applied to determine coefficients up to order s^6R^4 (where s is a Mandelstam invariant and R^4 the linearized super-curvature), and partial results are obtained beyond that order. This involves integrating powers of the scalar propagator on a toroidal world-sheet, as well as integrating over the modulus of the torus. At any given order in s the coefficients of these terms are given by rational numbers multiplying multiple zeta values (or Euler--Zagier sums) that, up to the order studied here, reduce to products of Riemann zeta values. We are careful to disentangle the analytic pieces from logarithmic threshold terms, which involves a discussion of the conditions imposed by unitarity. We further consider the compactification of the amplitude on a circle of radius r, which results in a plethora of terms that are power-behaved in r. These coefficients provide boundary `data' that must be matched by any non-perturbative expression for the low-energy expansion of the four-graviton amplitude.
The paper includes an appendix by Don Zagier.
It has long been known that in principle, the genus g vacuum amplitude for bosonic strings or superstrings in 26 or 10 dimensions can be entirely determined from conditions of holomorphy. Moreover, this has been done in practice for bosonic strings of low genus. Here we describe in a unified way how to determine the bosonic string and superstring vacuum amplitude in genus 1 and 2 via holomorphy. The main novelty is the superstring analysis in genus 2, where we use holomorphy to get a new understanding of some of the results that previously have been obtained by more explicit calculations.
A main issue in superstring theory are the superstring measures. D'Hoker and Phong showed that for genus two these reduce to measures on the moduli space of curves which are determined by modular forms of weight eight and the bosonic measure. They also suggested a generalisation to higher genus. We showed that their approach works, with a minor modification, in genus three and we announced a positive result also in genus four. Here we give the modular form in genus four explicitly. Recently S. Grushevsky published this result as part of a more general approach.
Very recently, Grushevsky continued D'Hoker and Phong's program of finding the chiral superstring measure from first principles by constructing modular forms satisfying certain factorization constraints. He has proposed an ansatz in genus 4 and conjectured a possible formula for the superstring measure in any genus, subject to the condition that certain modular forms admit holomorphic roots. In this note we want to give some evidence that Grushevsky's approach seems to be very fruitful.
In the previous paper, the authors pointed out correspondence between a supersymmetric double-well matrix model and two-dimensional type IIA superstring theory on a Ramond-Ramond background from the viewpoint of symmetry and spectrum. This was confirmed by agreement between planar correlation functions in the matrix model and tree-level amplitudes in the superstring theory. In order to investigate the correspondence further, in this paper we compute correlation functions to all order of genus expansion in the double scaling limit of the matrix model. One-point functions of operators protected …
We reexamine genus one super-Green functions with general boundary conditions twisted by $(α, β)$ for $(σ, τ)$ directions in the eigenmode expansion and derive expressions as infinite series of hypergeometric functions. Using these, we compute one-loop superstring amplitudes with non-maximal supersymmetry, taking an example of massless vector emissions of open string type I ${\cal Z}_2$ orbifold.
We show that the higher genus 4-point superstring amplitude is strongly constrained by the geometry of moduli space of Riemann surfaces. A detailed analysis leads to a natural proposal which satisfies several conditions. The result is based on the recently derived Siegel induced metric on the moduli space of Riemann surfaces and on combinatorial products of determinants of holomorphic abelian differentials.
In this paper we continue the program pioneered by D'Hoker and Phong, and recently advanced by Cacciatori, Dalla Piazza, and van Geemen, of finding the chiral superstring measure by constructing modular forms satisfying certain factorization constraints. We give new expressions for their proposed ansätze in genera 2 and 3, respectively, which admit a straightforward generalization. We then propose an ansatz in genus 4 and verify that it satisfies the factorization constraints and gives a vanishing cosmological constant. We further conjecture a possible formula for the superstring amplitudes in…
Currently there are two proposed ansatze for NSR superstring measures: the Grushevsky ansatz and the OPSMY ansatz, which for genera g<=4 are known to coincide. However, neither the Grushevsky nor the OPSMY ansatz leads to a vanishing two point function in genus four, which can be constructed from the genus five expressions for the respective ansatze. This is inconsistent with the known properties of superstring amplitudes. In the present paper we show that the Grushevsky and OPSMY ansatze do not coincide in genus five. Then, by combining these ansatze, we propose a new ansatz for genus five, w…
For a calculation of divergent fermion string amplitudes a regularization procedure invariant under the supermodular group is constructed. By this procedure superstring amplitudes of an arbitrary genus are calculated using both partition functions and superfield vacuum correlators computed early. A finiteness of superstring amplitudes and related topics are discussed.
We study the modular graph functions introduced by Green, Russo, Vanhove in the context of type II superstring scattering amplitudes of 4 gravitons on a torus. In particular we describe a method to algorithmically compute the coefficients in their expansion at the cusp in terms of conical sums. We perform explicit computations for 3-graviton functions, which naturally suggest to conjecture that only single-valued multiple zeta values appear.
We explicitly show how the chiral superstring amplitudes can be obtained through factorisation of the higher genus chiral measure induced by suitable degenerations of Riemann surfaces. This powerful tool also allows to derive, at any genera, consistency relations involving the amplitudes and the measure. A key point concerns the choice of the local coordinate at the node on degenerate Riemann surfaces that greatly simplifies the computations. As a first application, starting from recent ansaetze for the chiral measure up to genus five, we compute the chiral two-point function for massless Neve…
We consider double-scaling limits of multicut solutions of certain one matrix models that are related to Calabi-Yau singularities of type A and the respective topological B model via the Dijkgraaf-Vafa correspondence. These double-scaling limits naturally lead to a bosonic string with c $\leq$ 1. We argue that this non-critical string is given by the topologically twisted non-critical superstring background which provides the dual description of the double-scaled little string theory at the Calabi-Yau singularity. The algorithms developed recently to solve a generic multicut matrix model by me…
In this PhD thesis we study holomorphic and non-holomorphic elliptic analogues of multiple zeta values, namely elliptic multiple zeta values and modular graph functions. Both classes of functions have been discovered very recently, and are involved in the computation of genus one superstring amplitudes. In particular, we obtain new results on the asymptotic expansion of these functions that allow us to perform explicit computations and point out analogies between genus zero and genus one amplitudes.
Combining certain identities for modular forms due to Igusa with Schottky-Jung relations, we study the cosmological constant for the recently proposed ansatz for the chiral superstring measure in genus 5. The vanishing of this cosmological constant turns out to be equivalent to the long-conjectured vanishing of a certain explicit modular form of genus 5 on the moduli of curves M_5, and we disprove this conjecture, thus showing that the cosmological constant for the proposed ansatz does not vanish identically. We exhibit an easy modification of the genus 5 ansatz satisfying factorization constr…
Superstring amplitudes of an arbitrary genus are calculated through super-Schottky parameters by a summation over the fermion strings. For a calculation of divergent multi-loop fermion string amplitudes a supermodular invariant regularization procedure is used. A cancellation of divergences in the superstring amplitudes is established. Grassmann variables are integrated, the superstring amplitudes are obtained to be explicitly finite and modular invariant.
We study a proposal of D'Hoker and Phong for the chiral superstring measure for genus three. A minor modification of the constraints they impose on certain Siegel modular forms leads to a unique solution. We reduce the problem of finding these modular forms, which depend on an even spin structure, to finding a modular form of weight 8 on a certain subgroup of the modular group. An explicit formula for this form, as a polynomial in the even theta constants, is given. We checked that our result is consistent with the vanishing of the cosmological constant. We also verified a conjecture of D'Hoke…
The tree-level operator product expansion coefficients of the matter currents are calculated in the pure spinor formalism for type IIB superstring in the AdS(5)*S(5) background.
In the previous papers, it is pointed out that a supersymmetric double-well matrix model corresponds to a two-dimensional type IIA superstring theory on a Ramond-Ramond background at the level of correlation functions. This was confirmed by agreement between their planar correlation functions. The supersymmetry in the matrix model corresponds to the target space supersymmetry and it is shown to be spontaneously broken by nonperturbative effect. Furthermore, in the matrix model we computed one-point functions of single-trace operators to all order of genus expansion in its double scaling limit.…
The contribution from even spin structures to the genus-two amplitude for five massless external NS states in Type II and Heterotic superstrings is evaluated from first principles in the RNS formulation. Using chiral splitting with the help of loop momenta this problem reduces to the evaluation of the corresponding chiral amplitude, which is carried out using the same techniques that were used for the genus-two amplitude with four external NS states. The results agree with the parity-even NS components of a construction using chiral splitting and pure spinors given in earlier companion papers …
The full two-loop amplitudes for five massless states in Type~II and Heterotic superstrings are constructed in terms of convergent integrals over the genus-two moduli space of compact Riemann surfaces and integrals of Green functions and Abelian differentials on the surface. The construction combines elements from the BRST cohomology of the pure spinor formulation and from chiral splitting with the help of loop momenta and homology invariance. The $α' \to 0$ limit of the resulting superstring amplitude is shown to be in perfect agreement with the previously known amplitude computed in Type~II …
The genus-dependence of multi-loop superstring amplitudes is bounded at large orders in perturbation theory using the super-Schottky group parametrization of supermoduli space. Partial estimates of supermoduli space integrals suggest an exponential dependence on the genus when the integration region is restricted to a single fundamental domain of the super-modular group in the super-Schottky parameter space. Bounds for N-point superstring scattering amplitudes are obtained for arbitrary N and are shown to be consistent with exact results recently obtained for special type II string amplitudes …
We study the fatgraph expansion for the Complex Matrix Quantum Mechanics (CMQM) with a Chern-Simons coupling. In the double-scaling limit this model is believed to describe Type 0A superstrings in 1+1 dimensions in a Ramond-Ramond electric field. With Euclidean time compactified, we show that the RR electric field acts as a chemical potential for vortices living on the Feynman diagrams of the CMQM. We interpret it as evidence that the CMQM Feynman diagrams discretize the NSR formulation of the noncritical Type 0A superstring. We also study T-duality for the CMQM diagrams and propose that a cer…
The modular transformations of the $(1|1)$ complex supermanifolds in the like-Schottky modular parameterization are discussed. It is shown that these "supermodular" transformations depend on the spinor structure of the supermanifold by terms proportional to the odd modular parameters. The above terms are calculated in the explicit form. They are urgent for the divergency problem in the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz superstring theory and for calculating the fundamental domain in the modular space. The supermodular transformations of the multi-loop superstring partition functions calculated by the solut…
We suggest a method to compute leading contribution at Planckian energies for superstring scattering amplitudes of any genus. In particular we test the method at one-loop level by comparison with previous result for the Regge trajectory renormalization. Modular invariance of these asymptotic terms are also discussed.
In this paper we describe how representation theory of groups can be used to shorten the derivation of two loop partition functions in string theory, giving an intrinsic description of modular forms appearing in the results of D'Hoker and Phong [1]. Our method has the advantage of using only algebraic properties of modular functions and it can be extended to any genus g.
We use the recently found matrix description of noncritical superstring theory of Type 0A to compute tachyon scattering amplitudes in a background with a RR flux. We find that after the string coupling is multiplicatively renormalized, the amplitudes in any genus become polynomial in the RR flux. We propose that in the limit where both the string coupling and the RR flux go to infinity, the theory has a weakly-coupled description in terms of another superstring theory with a vanishingly small RR flux. This duality exchanges the inverse string coupling and the 0-brane charge. The dual superstri…
We study the level-expansion structure of the NS string field theory actions, mainly focusing on the modified (i.e. 0-picture in the NS sector) cubic superstring field theory. This theory has a non-trivial structure already at the quadratic level due to presence of the picture-changing operator. It is explicitly shown how the usual Maxwell and tachyon actions can be obtained after integrating out the auxiliary fields. We then discuss the reality of the action in the CFT language for all of modified cubic, Witten's cubic and Berkovits' non-polynomial theories. The tachyon condensation problems …
We examine the dual correspondence between holographic IIB superstring theory and N=4 super Yang-Mills theory at finite values of the coupling constants. In particular we analyze a field theory strong-coupling expansion which is the S-dual of the planar expansion. This expansion arises naturally as the AdS/CFT dual of the IIB superstring scattering amplitudes given a genus truncation property due to modular invariance. The space-time structure of the contributions to the field theory four-point correlation functions obtained from the IIB scattering elements is investigated in the example of th…
A simple recursive expansion algorithm for the integrals of tree level superstring five point amplitudes in a flat background is given which reduces the expansion to simple symbol(ic) manipulations. This approach can be used for instance to prove the expansion is maximally transcendental to all orders and to verify several conjectures made in recent literature to high order. Closed string amplitudes follow from these open string results by the KLT relations. To obtain insight into these results in particular the maximal R-symmetry violating amplitudes (MRV) in type IIB superstring theory are s…
We consider how to normalize the scattering amplitudes of 4D heterotic superstrings in a Minkowski background. We fix the normalization of the vacuum amplitude (the string partition function) at each genus, and of every vertex operator describing a physical external string state in a way consistent with unitarity of the $S$-matrix. We also provide an explicit expression for the map relating the vertex operator of an incoming physical state to the vertex operator describing the same physical state, but outgoing. This map is related to hermitean conjugation and to the hermiticity properties of t…
The one-loop four-graviton amplitude in either of the type II superstring theories is expanded in powers of the external momenta up to and including terms of order s^4 log s R^4, where R^4 denotes a specific contraction of four linearized Weyl tensors and s is a Mandelstam invariant. Terms in this series are obtained by integrating powers of the two-dimensional scalar field theory propagator over the toroidal world-sheet as well as the moduli of the torus. The values of these coefficients match expectations based on duality relations between string theory and eleven-dimensional supergravity.
We compute one-loop correction to the string field theory action of the tachyon for unstable D-branes in the framework of the boundary superstring field theory. We would expect that the one-loop correction comes from the partition function of the two-dimensional world-sheet theory on the annulus. The annulus correction suggests that the genus expansion is, somehow, governed by the effective string coupling defined in terms of the tachyon λ=g_s exp(-T^2/4).
Invariance of Type IIB superstring theory under SL(2,Z) or S-duality implies dependence on the complex coupling T through real and complex modular forms in T. Their structure may be understood explicitly in an expansion of superstring corrections to Einstein's equations of gravity, in powers of derivatives D and curvature R. The perturbative loop expansion in the string coupling for the 4-string amplitude governs corrections of the form D^{2p} R^4 for all p. We show that, at two-loop order, the D^6 R^4 term is proportional to the integral of a modular invariant introduced by Zhang and Kawazumi…
The analytic contribution to the low energy expansion of Type II string amplitudes at genus-one is a power series in space-time derivatives with coefficients that are determined by integrals of modular functions over the complex structure modulus of the world-sheet torus. These modular functions are associated with world-sheet vacuum Feynman diagrams and given by multiple sums over the discrete momenta on the torus. In this paper we exhibit exact differential and algebraic relations for a certain infinite class of such modular functions by showing that they satisfy Laplace eigenvalue equations…
We propose a procedure to determine the moduli-space integrands of loop-level superstring amplitudes for massless external states in terms of the field theory limit. We focus on the type II superstring. The procedure is to: (i) take a supergravity loop integrand written in a BCJ double-copy representation, (ii) use the loop-level scattering equations to translate that integrand into the ambitwistor string moduli-space integrand, localised on the nodal Riemann sphere, and (iii) uplift that formula to one on the higher-genus surface valid for the superstring, guided by modular invariance. We sho…
The string corrections of tree-level open-string amplitudes can be described by Selberg integrals satisfying a Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ) equation. This allows for a recursion of the $α'$-expansion of tree-level string corrections in the number of external states using the Drinfeld associator. While the feasibility of this recursion is well-known, we provide a mathematical description in terms of twisted de Rham theory and intersection numbers of twisted forms. In particular, this leads to purely combinatorial expressions for the matrix representation of the Lie algebra generators appearing i…
The relation between superholomorphicity and holomorphicity of chiral superstring N-point amplitudes for NS bosons on a genus 2 Riemann surface is shown to be encoded in a hybrid cohomology theory, incorporating elements of both de Rham and Dolbeault cohomologies. A constructive algorithm is provided which shows that, for arbitrary N and for each fixed even spin structure, the hybrid cohomology classes of the chiral amplitudes of the N-point function on a surface of genus 2 always admit a holomorphic representative. Three key ingredients in the derivation are a classification of all kinematic …
We investigate a Gepner-like superstring model described by a combination of multiple minimal models and an N=2 Liouville theory. This model is thought to be equivalent to the superstring theory on a singular noncompact Calabi-Yau manifold. We construct the modular invariant partition function of this model, and confirm the validity of an appropriate GSO projection. We also calculate the elliptic genus and Witten index of the model. We find that the elliptic genus factorises into a rather trivial factor and a non-trivial one, and the non-trivial one has the information on the positively curved…
We study open and closed string amplitudes at tree-level in string perturbation theory using the methods of single-valued integration which were developed in the prequel to this paper. Using dihedral coordinates on the moduli spaces of curves of genus zero with marked points, we define a canonical regularisation of both open and closed string perturbation amplitudes at tree level, and deduce that they admit a Laurent expansion in Mandelstam variables whose coefficients are multiple zeta values (resp. single-valued multiple zeta values). Furthermore, we prove the existence of a motivic Laurent …
The class of effectively closed infinite-genus surfaces, defining the completion of the domain of string perturbation theory, can be included in the category $O_G$, which is characterized by the vanishing capacity of the ideal boundary. The cardinality of the maximal set of endpoints is shown to be $2^{\mit N}$. The product of the coefficient of the genus-g superstring amplitude in four dimensions by $2^g$ in the $g\to \infty$ limit is an exponential function of the genus with a base comparable in magnitude to the unified gauge coupling. The value of the string coupling is consistent with the …
Superstrings and topological strings with supermanifolds as target space play a central role in the recent developments in string theory. Nevertheless the rules for higher-genus computations are still unclear or guessed in analogy with bosonic and fermionic strings. Here we present a common geometrical setting to develop systematically the prescription for amplitude computations. The geometrical origin of these difficulties is the theory of integration of superforms. We provide a translation between the theory of supermanifolds and topological strings with supertarget space. We show how in thi…
We derive a recursive formula for the alpha'-expansion of superstring tree amplitudes involving any number N of massless open string states. String corrections to Yang-Mills field theory are shown to enter through the Drinfeld associator, a generating series for multiple zeta values. Our results apply for any number of spacetime dimensions or supersymmetries and chosen helicity configurations.
In the low-energy effective action of string theories, non-abelian gauge interactions and supergravity are augmented by infinite towers of higher-mass-dimension operators. We propose a new method to construct one-loop matrix elements with insertions of operators $D^{2k} F^n$ and $D^{2k} R^n$ in the tree-level effective action of type-I and type-II superstrings. Inspired by ambitwistor string theories, our method is based on forward limits of moduli-space integrals using string tree-level amplitudes with two extra points, expanded in powers of the inverse string tension $α'$. Similar to one-loo…
In this paper we study the expressions of the superstring chiral measures for $g\leq 5$. We obtain certain new expressions which are functions of higher powers of theta constants. For $g=3$ we show that the measures can be written in terms of fourth power of theta constants and for $g=4$ in terms of squares of theta constants. In both cases the forms $Ξ_8^{(g)}[0^{(g)}]$ appearing in the expression of the measures are defined on the whole Siegel upper half space. Instead, for $g=5$ we find a form $Ξ_8^{(5)}[0^{(5)}]$ which is a polynomial in the classical theta constants, well defined on the S…
In type II superstring theory, the vacuum amplitude at a given loop order $g$ can receive contributions from the boundary of the compactified, genus $g$ supermoduli space of curves $\overline{\mathfrak M}_g$. These contributions capture the long distance or infrared behaviour of the amplitude. The boundary parametrises degenerations of genus $g$ super Riemann surfaces. A holomorphic projection of the supermoduli space onto its reduced space would then provide a way to integrate the holomorphic, superstring measure and thereby give the superstring vacuum amplitude at $g$-loop order. However, su…
A systematic formulation of the higher genus expansion in topological string theory is considered. We also develop a simple way of evaluating genus zero correlation functions. At higher genera we derive some interesting formulas for the free energy in the $A_1$ and $A_2$ models. We present some evidence that topological minimal models associated with Lie algebras other than the A-D-E type do not have a consistent higher genus expansion beyond genus one. We also present some new results on the $CP^1$ model at higher genera.
We evaluate the vacuum energy of a simple tachyon vacuum solution using the level truncation scheme in cubic superstring field theory. By truncating the standard Virasoro $L_0$ level expansion of the solution, we obtain a value of the vacuum energy in agreement with Sen's first conjecture.
In this paper, we demonstrate that locally, the $α^{\prime}$ expansion of a string propagating in AdS can be summed into a closed expression, where the $α'$ dependence is manifested. The T-dual of this sum exactly matches the expression controlling all genus expansion in the Goparkumar-Vafa formula, which in turn also matches the loop expansion of the Chern-Simons gauge theory. We therefore find an exact correspondence between the $α^{\prime}$ expansion for a string moving in AdS and the genus expansion of a string propagating in four dimensional flat spacetime. We are then able to give a clos…
The high-temperature expansion for closed superstring one-loop free energy is studied. The Laurent series representation is obtained and its sum is analytically continued in order to investigate the nature of the critical (Hagedorn) temperature. It is found that beyond this critical temperature the statistical sum contribution of the free energy is finite but has an imaginary part, signalling a possible metastability of the system.
We consider the world surface in AdS_5 that ends on two intersecting null lines at the boundary. The corresponding string partition function describes the expectation value of the Wilson line with a null cusp in dual large N maximally supersymmetric gauge theory and thus determines the cusp anomaly function f(λ) of the gauge coupling. The first two coefficients in its strong-coupling or string inverse tension expansion were determined in hep-th/0210115 (a_1=1) and in arXiv:0707.4254 (a_2=- 3 log 2). Here we find that the 2-loop coefficient is a_2 = - K where K is the Catalan's constant. This i…
We derive the complete five-gluon scattering amplitude at tree level, within the context of Open Superstring theory. We find the general expression in terms of kinematic factors, and also find its complete expansion up to ${\cal O}({α'}^3)$ terms. We use our scattering amplitude to test three non-equivalent ${\cal O}({α'}^3)$ effective lagrangians that have recently been matter of some controversy.
We derive the actions for type II Green-Schwarz strings up to second order in the fermions, for general bosonic backgrounds. We base our work on the so-called normal coordinate expansion. The resulting actions are $κ$-symmetric and, for the case of surviving background supersymmetries, supersymmetric. We first obtain the type IIa superstring action from the 11D supermembrane by double dimensional reduction. Then, by means of a generalization of T-duality we derive the type IIb superstring action. The resulting actions are surprisingly simple and elegant.
It is well known that the low energy expansion of tree-level superstring scattering amplitudes satisfies a suitably defined version of maximum transcendentality. In this paper it is argued that there is a natural extension of this definition that applies to the genus-one four-graviton Type II superstring amplitude to all orders in the low-energy expansion. To obtain this result, the integral over the genus-one moduli space is partitioned into a region ${\cal M}_R$ surrounding the cusp and its complement ${\cal M}_L$, and an exact expression is obtained for the contribution to the amplitude fro…
We show that certain heterotic string amplitudes are given in terms of correlators of the twisted topological (2,0) SCFT, corresponding to the internal sector of the N=1 spacetime supersymmetric background. The genus g topological partition function $F^g$ corresponds to a term in the effective action of the form $W^{2g}$, where W is the gauge or gravitational superfield. We study also recursion relations related to holomorphic anomalies, showing that, contrary to the type II case, they involve correlators of anti-chiral superfields. The corresponding terms in the effective action are of the fo…
We study the correspondence between four-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and two-dimensional conformal field theories in the case of N=2* gauge theory. We emphasize the genus expansion on the gauge theory side, as obtained via geometric engineering from the topological string. This point of view uncovers modular properties of the one-point conformal block on a torus with complexified intermediate momenta: in the large intermediate weight limit, it is a power series whose coefficients are quasi-modular forms. The all-genus viewpoint that the conformal field theory approach lends to th…
A careful gauge fixing of the conformal killing group (CKG) on genus zero surfaces in bosonic string theory gives non-vanishing two point amplitudes that match the corresponding field theory expressions arXiv:1906.06051, arXiv:1909.03672 . An important ingredient for gauge fixing two point amplitudes in arXiv:1909.03672 was the mostly BRST (mBRST) exact operator. The utility of this operator in gauge fixing CKG perhaps is not just limited to two point amplitudes - we can insert a mBRST exact operator to fix a conformal killing vector (CKV) instead of fixing the position of a vertex operator in…
We analyze the partition function of two dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a family of surfaces of infinite genus. These surfaces have a recursive structure, which was used by one of us to compute the partition function that results in a generalized Migdal formula. In this paper we study the `small area' (weak coupling) expansion of the partition function, by exploiting the fact that the generalized Migdal formula is analytic in the (complexification of the) Euler characteristic. The structure of the perturbative part of the weak coupling expansion suggests that the moduli space of flat connect…
