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\(K\)-homology and D-branes. (English) Zbl 1210.81079

Doran, Robert S. (ed.) et al., Superstrings, geometry, topology, and \(C^*\)-algebras. Collected papers based on the presentations at the NDF-CBMS regional conference on mathematics on topology, \(C^*\)-algebras, and string duality, Fort Worth, TX, USA, May 18–22, 2009. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (ISBN 978-0-8218-4887-6/hbk). Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics 81, 81-94 (2010).
From the introduction: The D-branes of string theory [E. Witten, J. High Energy Phys. 1998, No. 12, Paper No. 19, 41 p., electronic only (1998; Zbl 0959.81070)] are twisted geometric \(K\)-cycles which are endowed with some additional structure. The charge of a D-brane is the element in the twisted \(K\)-homology of space-time determined by the underlying twisted \(K\)-cycle of the D-brane. Essentially, the Baum-Douglas theory [the author and R. G. Douglas, in: Operator algebras and applications, Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 38, Part 1, Kingston/Ont. 1980, 117–173 (1982; Zbl 0532.55004)] was rediscovered in terms of constraints on open strings. The aim of this expository note is to briefly describe this development.
For the entire collection see [Zbl 1201.81004].

MSC:

81T30 String and superstring theories; other extended objects (e.g., branes) in quantum field theory
53D40 Symplectic aspects of Floer homology and cohomology
55N15 Topological \(K\)-theory
19K33 Ext and \(K\)-homology
13D15 Grothendieck groups, \(K\)-theory and commutative rings
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