Ravioli and Holomorphic-Topological QFT

Two-dimensional chiral/holomorphic quantum field theories serve as an arena where exact algebraic techniques offer a great deal of control over the spectrum of the theory. The underlying algebraic structure, known as a vertex algebra or vertex operator algebra, has seen countless applications ranging from superstring theory and pure mathematics to statistical and condensed matter physics. In this talk I will describe recent work with B. Williams developing an analogous algebraic structure for three-dimensional QFTs that are partially topological and partially holomorphic, leading to the notion of a raviolo vertex algebra.