Differential Geometry And Integrable Systems

Ideas and techniques from the theory of integrable systems are playing an increasingly important role in geometry. Thanks to the development of tools from Lie theory, algebraic geometry, symplectic geometry, and topology, classical problems are investigated more systematically. New problems are also arising in mathematical physics. A major international conference was held at the University of Tokyo in July 2000. It brought together scientists in all of the areas influenced by integrable systems. This book is the first of three collections of expository and research articles. This volume focuses on differential geometry. It is remarkable that many classical objects in surface theory and submanifold theory are described as integrable systems. Having such a description generally reveals previously unnoticed symmetries and can lead to surprisingly explicit solutions.Surfaces of constant curvature in Euclidean space, harmonic maps from surfaces to symmetric spaces, and analogous structures on higher-dimensional manifolds are some of the examples that have broadened the horizons of differential geometry, bringing a rich supply of concrete examples into the theory of integrable systems. Many of the articles in this volume are written by prominent researchers and will serve as introductions to the topics. It is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in integrable systems and their relations to differential geometry, topology, algebraic geometry, and physics. The second volume from this conference, also available from the 'AMS', is ""Integrable Systems, Topology, and Physics, Volume 309"" in the ""Contemporary Mathematics"" series. The forthcoming third volume will be published by the Mathematical Society of Japan and will be available outside of Japan from the 'AMS' in the ""Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics"" series.

The articles in this volume are based on lectures from a program on integrable systems and differential geometry held at Taiwan's National Center for Theoretical Sciences. As is well-known, for many soliton equations, the solutions have interpretations as differential geometric objects, and thereby techniques of soliton equations have been successfully applied to the study of geometric problems. The article by Burstall gives a beautiful exposition on isothermic surfaces and theirrelations to integrable systems, and the two articles by Guest give an introduction to quantum cohomology, carry out explicit computations of the quantum cohomology of flag manifolds and Hirzebruch surfaces, and give a survey of Givental's quantum differential equations. The article by Heintze, Liu,and Olmos is on the theory of isoparametric submanifolds in an arbitrary Riemannian manifold, which is related to the n-wave equation when the ambient manifold is Euclidean. Mukai-Hidano and Ohnita present a survey on the moduli space of Yang-Mills-Higgs equations on Riemann surfaces. The article by Terng and Uhlenbeck explains the gauge equivalence of the matrix non-linear Schrödinger equation, the Schrödinger flow on Grassmanian, and the Heisenberg Feromagnetic model. The bookprovides an introduction to integrable systems and their relation to differential geometry. It is suitable for advanced graduate students and research mathematicians. Information for our distributors: Titles in this series are copublished with International Press, Cambridge, MA.

Based on lectures given at an advanced course on integrable systems at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica in Barcelona, these lecture notes address three major aspects of integrable systems: obstructions to integrability from differential Galois theory; the description of singularities of integrable systems on the basis of their relation to bi-Hamiltonian systems; and the generalization of integrable systems to the non-Hamiltonian settings. All three sections were written by top experts in their respective fields. Native to actual problem-solving challenges in mechanics, the topic of integrable systems is currently at the crossroads of several disciplines in pure and applied mathematics, and also has important interactions with physics. The study of integrable systems also actively employs methods from differential geometry. Moreover, it is extremely important in symplectic geometry and Hamiltonian dynamics, and has strong correlations with mathematical physics, Lie theory and algebraic geometry (including mirror symmetry). As such, the book will appeal to experts with a wide range of backgrounds.

"An emerging field of discrete differential geometry aims at the development of discrete equivalents of notions and methods of classical differential geometry. The latter appears as a limit of a refinement of the discretization. Current interest in discrete differential geometry derives not only from its importance in pure mathematics but also from its applications in computer graphics, theoretical physics, architecture, and numerics. Rather unexpectedly, the very basic structures of discrete differential geometry turn out to be related to the theory of Integrable systems. One of the main goals of this book Is to reveal this integrable structure of discrete differential geometry." "The intended audience of this book is threefold. It is a textbook on discrete differential geometry and integrable systems suitable for a one semester graduate course. On the other hand, it is addressed to specialists in geometry and mathematical physics. It reflects the recent progress in discrete differential geometry and contains many original results. The third group of readers at which this book is targeted is formed by specialists in geometry processing, computer graphics, architectural design, numerical simulations, and animation. They may find here answers to the question "How do we discretize differential geometry?" arising in their specific field."--BOOK JACKET.

Blending control theory, mechanics, geometry and the calculus of variations, this book is a vital resource for graduates and researchers in engineering, mathematics and physics.

Ideas and techniques from the theory of integrable systems are playing an increasingly important role in geometry. Thanks to the development of tools from Lie theory, algebraic geometry, symplectic geometry, and topology, classical problems are investigated more systematically. New problems are also arising in mathematical physics. A major international conference was held at the University of Tokyo in July 2000. It brought together scientists in all of the areas influenced by integrable systems. This book is the second of three collections of expository and research articles. This volume focuses on topology and physics. The role of zero curvature equations outside of the traditional context of differential geometry has been recognized relatively recently, but it has been an extraordinarily productive one, and most of the articles in this volume make some reference to it. Symplectic geometry, Floer homology, twistor theory, quantum cohomology, and the structure of special equations of mathematical physics, such as the Toda field equations--all of these areas have gained from the integrable systems point of view and contributed to it. Many of the articles in this volume are written by prominent researchers and will serve as introductions to the topics. It is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in integrable systems and their relations to differential geometry, topology, algebraic geometry, and physics. The first volume from this conference also available from the AMS is Differential Geometry and Integrable Systems, Volume 308 CONM/308 in the Contemporary Mathematics series. The forthcoming third volume will be published by the Mathematical Society of Japan and will be available outside of Japan from the AMS in the Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics series.

A collection of articles discussing integrable systems and algebraic geometry from leading researchers in the field.

A collection of five surveys on dynamical systems, indispensable for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and theoretical physics. Written in the modern language of differential geometry, the book covers all the new differential geometric and Lie-algebraic methods currently used in the theory of integrable systems.