The string dual to two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory

We propose that chiral two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a Riemann surface is dual to a deformed stationary subsector of the Gromov-Witten theory of that surface. Firstly, we argue that the algebraic structure that underlies the large N limit of the chiral gauge theory is a partial permutation algebra of observables which codes covering maps of all degrees simultaneously. Secondly, we exploit the Gromov-Witten/Hurwitz correspondence to interpret chiral Yang-Mills theory as a finite deformation of a Gromov-Witten theory by an area-dependent transposition interaction and an operator that codes a compactification of Hurwitz space. The proposed string dual manifestly includes an integral over the moduli space of Riemann surfaces as well as the identification of closed string states as completed cycles.