Mikhail V. Saveliev - Böcker

This book introduces the use of Lie algebra and differential geometry methods to study nonlinear integrable systems of Toda type. Many challenging problems in theoretical physics are related to the solution of nonlinear systems of partial differential equations. One of the most fruitful approaches in recent years has resulted from a merging of group algebraic and geometric techniques. The book gives a comprehensive introduction to this exciting branch of science. Chapters 1 and 2 review basic notions of Lie algebras and differential geometry with an emphasis on further applications to integrable nonlinear systems. Chapter 3 contains a derivation of Toda type systems and their general solutions based on Lie algebra and differential geometry methods. The last chapter examines explicit solutions of the corresponding equations. The book is written in an accessible 'lecture note' style with many examples and exercises to illustrate key points and to reinforce understanding.

The book reviews a large number of 1- and 2-dimensional equations that describe nonlinear phenomena in various areas of modern theoretical and mathematical physics. It is meant, above all, for physicists who specialize in the field theory and physics of elementary particles and plasma, for mathe­ maticians dealing with nonlinear differential equations, differential geometry, and algebra, and the theory of Lie algebras and groups and their representa­ tions, and for students and post-graduates in these fields. We hope that the book will be useful also for experts in hydrodynamics, solid-state physics, nonlinear optics electrophysics, biophysics and physics of the Earth. The first two chapters of the book present some results from the repre­ sentation theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras and their counterpart on supermanifolds in a form convenient in what follows. They are addressed to those who are interested in integrable systems but have a scanty vocabulary in the language of representation theory. The experts may refer to the first two chapters only occasionally. As we wanted to give the reader an opportunity not only to come to grips with the problem on the ideological level but also to integrate her or his own concrete nonlinear equations without reference to the literature, we had to expose in a self-contained way the appropriate parts of the representation theory from a particular point of view.