Integrable Systems And Algebraic Geometry Volume 1

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

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

Integrable systems are related to algebraic geometry in many different ways. This book deals with some aspects of this relation, the main focus being on the algebraic geometry of the level manifolds of integrable systems and the construction of integrable systems, starting from algebraic geometric data. For a rigorous account of these matters, integrable systems are defined on affine algebraic varieties rather than on smooth manifolds. The exposition is self-contained and is accessible at the graduate level; in particular, prior knowledge of integrable systems is not assumed.

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.

Since the time of Lagrange and Euler, it has been well known that an understanding of algebraic curves can illuminate the picture of rigid bodies provided by classical mechanics. A modern view of the role played by algebraic geometry has been established iby many mathematicians. This book presents some of these techniques, which fall within the orbit of finite dimensional integrable systems. The main body of the text presents a rich assortment of methods and ideas from algebraic geometry prompted by classical mechanics, whilst in appendices the general, abstract theory is described. The methods are given a topological application to the study of Liouville tori and their bifurcations. The book is based on courses for graduate students given by the author at Strasbourg University but the wealth of original ideas will make it also appeal to researchers.

This textbook is designed to give graduate students an understanding of integrable systems via the study of Riemann surfaces, loop groups, and twistors. The book has its origins in a series of lecture courses given by the authors, all of whom are internationally known mathematicians and renowned expositors. It is written in an accessible and informal style, and fills a gap in the existing literature. The introduction by Nigel Hitchin addresses the meaning of integrability: how do we recognize an integrable system? His own contribution then develops connections with algebraic geometry, and includes an introduction to Riemann surfaces, sheaves, and line bundles. Graeme Segal takes the Kortewegde Vries and nonlinear Schrödinger equations as central examples, and explores the mathematical structures underlying the inverse scattering transform. He explains the roles of loop groups, the Grassmannian, and algebraic curves. In the final part of the book, Richard Ward explores the connection between integrability and the self-dual Yang-Mills equations, and describes the correspondence between solutions to integrable equations and holomorphic vector bundles over twistor space.

This Ergebnisse volume is aimed at a wide readership of mathematicians and physicists, graduate students and professionals. The main thrust of the book is to show how algebraic geometry, Lie theory and Painlevé analysis can be used to explicitly solve integrable differential equations and construct the algebraic tori on which they linearize; at the same time, it is, for the student, a playing ground to applying algebraic geometry and Lie theory. The book is meant to be reasonably self-contained and presents numerous examples. The latter appear throughout the text to illustrate the ideas, and make up the core of the last part of the book. The first part of the book contains the basic tools from Lie groups, algebraic and differential geometry to understand the main topic.

This volume is the result of two international workshops; Infinite Analysis 11 – Frontier of Integrability – held at University of Tokyo, Japan in July 25th to 29th, 2011, and Symmetries, Integrable Systems and Representations held at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France in December 13th to 16th, 2011. Included are research articles based on the talks presented at the workshops, latest results obtained thereafter, and some review articles. The subjects discussed range across diverse areas such as algebraic geometry, combinatorics, differential equations, integrable systems, representation theory, solvable lattice models and special functions. Through these topics, the reader will find some recent developments in the field of mathematical physics and their interactions with several other domains.