# A String Dual for Partially Topological Chern-Simons-Matter Theories

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a string dual for a partially topological Chern-Simons-matter theory, testing the duality through amplitude calculations and discussing discrepancies with field theory results.

## Contribution

It introduces a duality between a partially topological Chern-Simons-matter theory and a topological string setup with coisotropic branes, supported by explicit amplitude computations.

## Key findings

- Agreement in annulus and disc amplitude calculations
- Identification of a discrepancy in partition function comparison
- Discussion of potential reasons for the mismatch

## Abstract

We consider a string dual of a partially topological $U(N)$ Chern-Simons-matter (PTCSM) theory recently introduced by Aganagic, Costello, McNamara and Vafa. In this theory, fundamental matter fields are coupled to the Chern-Simons theory in a way that depends only on a transverse holomorphic structure on a manifold; they are not fully dynamical, but the theory is also not fully topological. One description of this theory arises from topological strings on the deformed conifold $T^* S^3$ with $N$ Lagrangian 3-branes and additional coisotropic `flavor' 5-branes. Applying the idea of the Gopakumar-Vafa duality to this setup, we suggest that this has a dual description as a topological string on the resolved conifold ${\cal O} \left( - 1 \right) \oplus {\cal O} \left( - 1 \right) \rightarrow \mathbb{CP}^1$, in the presence of coisotropic 5-branes. We test this duality by computing the annulus amplitude on the deformed conifold and the disc amplitude on the resolved conifold via equivariant localization, and we find an agreement between the two. We find a small discrepancy between the topological string results and the large $N$ limit of the partition function of the PTCSM theory arising from the deformed conifold, computed via field theory localization by a method proposed by Aganagic et al. We discuss possible origins of the mismatch.