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We consider the Einstein/Yang-Mills equations in 3+ 1 space time dimensions with SU (2) gauge group and prove rigorously the existence of a globally defined smooth static solution. We show that the associated Einstein metric is asymptotically flat and the total mass is finite. Thus, for non-abelian gauge fields the Yang/Mills repulsive force can balance the gravitational attractive force and prevent the formation of singularities in spacetime.

We study the degeneration and the gluing of Kuranishi structures in Gromov-Witten theory under a symplectic cut. This leads us to a degeneration axiom and a gluing axiom for open Gromov-Witten invariants. They provide then a route to the construction of virtual fundamental chains via specialization. Comments on the equivalence of the degeneration formula of closed Gromov-Witten invariants by Li-Ruan/Li versus Ionel-Parker are given in the Appendix.

In this short survey paper, we shall discuss certain recent results in classical gravity. Our main attention will be restricted to two topics in which we have been involved; the positive mass conjecture and its extensions to the case with horizons, including the Penrose conjecture (Part I), and the interaction of gravity with other force fields and quantum-mechanical particles (Part II).

In this sequel to [L-Y1],[LLSY], and [L-Y2](respectively arXiv: 0709.1515 [math. AG], arXiv: 0809.2121 [math. AG], and arXiv: 0901.0342 [math. AG]), we study a D-brane probe on a conifold from the viewpoint of the Azumaya structure on D-branes and toric geometry. The details of how deformations and resolutions of the standard toric conifold Y can be obtained via morphisms from Azumaya points are given. This should be compared with the quantum-field-theoretic/D-brany picture of deformations and resolutions of a conifold via a D-brane probe sitting at the conifold singularity in the work of Klebanov and Witten [KW](arXiv: hep-th/9807080) and Klebanov and Strasser [KS](arXiv: hep-th/0007191). A comparison with resolutions via noncommutative desingularizations is given in the end.