Periodic Schur Process, Cylindric Partitions and N=2* Theory

Abstract

Type IIA string theory compactified on an elliptic CY3-fold gives rise to N=2 U(1) gauge theory with an adjoint hypermultiplet. We study the refined open and closed topological string partition functions of this geometry using the refined topological vertex. We show that these partition functions, open and closed, are examples of periodic Schur process and are related to the generating function of the cylindric partitions if the Kahler parameters are quantized in units of string coupling. The level-rank duality appears as the exchange symmetry of the two Kahler parameters of the elliptic CY3-fold.