Quantum Cohomology

Elementary introduction to stable maps and quantum cohomology presents the problem of counting rational plane curves Viewpoint is mostly that of enumerative geometry Emphasis is on examples, heuristic discussions, and simple applications to best convey the intuition behind the subject Ideal for self-study, for a mini-course in quantum cohomology, or as a special topics text in a standard course in intersection theory

The book gathers the lectures given at the C.I.M.E. summer school "Quantum Cohomology" held in Cetraro (Italy) from June 30th to July 8th, 1997. The lectures and the subsequent updating cover a large spectrum of the subject on the field, from the algebro-geometric point of view, to the symplectic approach, including recent developments of string-branes theories and q-hypergeometric functions.

This text focuses on the extraordinary success of quantum cohomology and its connections with many existing areas of traditional mathematics and new areas such as mirror symmetry. Aimed at graduate students in mathematics as well as theoretical physicists, the text assumes basic familiarity with differential equations and cohomology.

$J$-holomorphic curves revolutionized the study of symplectic geometry when Gromov first introduced them in 1985. Through quantum cohomology, these curves are now linked to many of the most exciting new ideas in mathematical physics. This book presents the first coherent and full account of the theory of $J$-holomorphic curves, the details of which are presently scattered in various research papers. The first half of the book is an expository account of the field, explaining the main technical aspects. McDuff and Salamon give complete proofs of Gromov's compactness theorem for spheres and of the existence of the Gromov-Witten invariants. The second half of the book focuses on the definition of quantum cohomology. The authors establish that this multiplication exists, and give a new proof of the Ruan-Tian result that is associative on appropriate manifolds. They then describe the Givental-Kim calculation of the quantum cohomology of flag manifolds, leading to quantum Chern classes and Witten's calculation for Grassmannians, which relates to the Verlinde algebra. The Dubrovin connection, Gromov-Witten potential on quantum cohomology, and curve counting formulas are also discussed. The book closes with an outline of connections to Floer theory.

Quantum cohomology has its origins in symplectic geometry and algebraic geometry, but is deeply related to differential equations and integrable systems. This text explains what is behind the extraordinary success of quantum cohomology, leading to its connections with many existing areas of mathematics as well as its appearance in new areas such as mirror symmetry. Certain kinds of differential equations (or D-modules) provide the key links between quantum cohomology and traditional mathematics; these links are the main focus of the book, and quantum cohomology and other integrable PDEs such as the KdV equation and the harmonic map equation are discussed within this unified framework. Aimed at graduate students in mathematics who want to learn about quantum cohomology in a broad context, and theoretical physicists who are interested in the mathematical setting, the text assumes basic familiarity with differential equations and cohomology.

Aimed at graduate students in physics and mathematics, this book provides an introduction to recent developments in several active topics at the interface between algebra, geometry, topology and quantum field theory. The first part of the book begins with an account of important results in geometric topology. It investigates the differential equation aspects of quantum cohomology, before moving on to noncommutative geometry. This is followed by a further exploration of quantum field theory and gauge theory, describing AdS/CFT correspondence, and the functional renormalization group approach to quantum gravity. The second part covers a wide spectrum of topics on the borderline of mathematics and physics, ranging from orbifolds to quantum indistinguishability and involving a manifold of mathematical tools borrowed from geometry, algebra and analysis. Each chapter presents introductory material before moving on to more advanced results. The chapters are self-contained and can be read independently of the rest.