The aim of this CIME Session was to review the state of the art in the recent development of the theory of integrable systems and their relations with quantum groups. The purpose was to gather geometers and mathematical physicists to allow a broader and more complete view of these attractive and rapidly developing fields. The papers contained in this volume have at the same time the character of survey articles and of research papers, since they contain both a survey of current problems and a number of original contributions to the subject.

In many ways the last decade has witnessed a surge of interest in the interplay between theoretical physics and some traditional areas of pure mathematics. This book contains the lectures delivered at the NATO-ASI Summer School on `Recent Problems in Mathematical Physics' held at Salamanca, Spain (1992), offering a pedagogical and updated approach to some of the problems that have been at the heart of these events. Among them, we should mention the new mathematical structures related to integrability and quantum field theories, such as quantum groups, conformal field theories, integrable statistical models, and topological quantum field theories, that are discussed at length by some of the leading experts on the areas in several of the lectures contained in the book. Apart from these, traditional and new problems in quantum gravity are reviewed. Other contributions to the School included in the book range from symmetries in partial differential equations to geometrical phases in quantum physics. The book is addressed to researchers in the fields covered, PhD students and any scientist interested in obtaining an updated view of the subjects.

This book introduces the reader to basic notions of integrable techniques for one-dimensional quantum systems. In a pedagogical way, a few examples of exactly solvable models are worked out to go from the coordinate approach to the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz, with some discussion on the finite temperature thermodynamics. The aim is to provide the instruments to approach more advanced books or to allow for a critical reading of research articles and the extraction of useful information from them. We describe the solution of the anisotropic XY spin chain; of the Lieb-Liniger model of bosons with contact interaction at zero and finite temperature; and of the XXZ spin chain, first in the coordinate and then in the algebraic approach. To establish the connection between the latter and the solution of two dimensional classical models, we also introduce and solve the 6-vertex model. Finally, the low energy physics of these integrable models is mapped into the corresponding conformal field theory. Through its style and the choice of topics, this book tries to touch all fundamental ideas behind integrability and is meant for students and researchers interested either in an introduction to later delve in the advance aspects of Bethe Ansatz or in an overview of the topic for broadening their culture.

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.

A 1996 introduction to integrability and conformal field theory in two dimensions using quantum groups.

This book start with an introduction to quantum groups for the beginner and continues as a textbook for graduate students in physics and in mathematics. It can also be used as a reference by more advanced readers. The authors cover a large but well-chosen variety of subjects from the theory of quantum groups (quantized universal enveloping algebras, quantized algebras of functions) and q-deformed algebras (q-oscillator algebras), their representations and corepresentations, and noncommutative differential calculus. The book is written with potential applications in physics and mathematics in mind. The basic quantum groups and quantum algebras and their representations are given in detail and accompanied by explicit formulas. A number of topics and results from the more advanced general theory are developed and discussed.