Gromov-Witten, Gopakumar-Vafa, and Donaldson-Thomas invariants of Calabi-Yau threefolds

Abstract

Gromov-Witten, Gopakumar-Vafa, and Donaldson-Thomas invariants of Calabi-Yau threefolds are compared. In certain situations, the Donaldson-Thomas invariants are very easy to handle, sometimes easier than the other invariants. This point is illustrated in several ways, especially by revisiting computations of Gopakumar-Vafa invariants by Katz, Klemm, and Vafa in a rigorous mathematical framework. This note is based on my talk at the 2004 Snowbird Conference on String Geometry.

14 pages, LaTeX2e, talk at the Snowbird Conference on String Geometry, minor typos fixed