Seiberg-Witten integrable systems

Abstract

This is a survey of the work of Seiberg and Witten on 4-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and of some of its recent extensions, written for mathematicians. The point of view is that of algebraic geometry and integrable systems. An introductory chapter tries to describe some of the relevant physics for a reader with no physics background. This is followed by a review of the relevant properties of integrable systems. The remaining chapters describe the specific integrable systems used, and include a detailed study of the applications to quantum field theory.