D-branes and normal functions

We explain the B-model origin of extended Picard-Fuchs equations satisfied by the D-brane superpotential on compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. The domainwall tension is identified with a Poincar´e normal function - a transversal holomorphic section of the Griffiths intermediate Jacobian - via the Abel-Jacobi map. Within this formalism, we derive the extended Picard-Fuchs equation associated with the mirror of the real quintic.

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Published 1 January 2009