Maps on surfaces and Galois groups

A brief survey of some of the connections between maps on surfaces, permutations, Riemann surfaces, algebraic curves and Galois groups is given

Permutation combinatorics of worldsheet moduli space

52 pages, 21 figures52 pages, 21 figures; minor corrections, "On the" dropped from title, matches published version52 pages, 21 figures; minor corrections, "On the" dropped from title, matches published versio

Matrix strings from generalized Yang-Mills theory on arbitrary Riemann surfaces

We quantize pure 2d Yang-Mills theory on an arbitrary Riemann surface in the gauge where the field strength is diagonal. Twisted sectors originate, as in Matrix string theory, from permutations of the eigenvalues around homotopically non-trivial loops. These sectors, that must be discarded in the usual quantization due to divergences occurring when two eigenvalues coincide, can be consistently kept if one modifies the action by introducing a coupling of the field strength to the space-time curvature. This leads to a generalized Yang-Mills theory whose action reduces to the usual one in the limit of zero curvature. After integrating over the non-diagonal components of the gauge fields, the theory becomes a free string theory (sum over unbranched coverings) with a U(1) gauge theory on the world-sheet. This is shown to be equivalent to a lattice theory with a gauge group which is the semi-direct product of S_N and U(1)^N. By using well known results on the statistics of coverings, the partition function on arbitrary Riemann surfaces and the kernel functions on surfaces with boundaries are calculated. Extensions to include branch points and non-abelian groups on the world-sheet are briefly commented upon.Comment: Latex2e, 29 pages, 2 .eps figure

Branching Data for Algebraic Functions and Representability by Radicals

The branching data of an algebraic function is a list of orders of local monodromies around branching points. We present branching data that ensure that the algebraic functions having them are representable by radicals. This paper is a review of recent work by the authors and of closely related classical work by Ritt.Comment: Submitted for publication to Banach Center Publications on April 1st, 201

On semiconjugate rational functions

We investigate semiconjugate rational functions, that is rational functions $A,$ $B$ related by the functional equation $A\circ X=X\circ B$, where $X$ is a rational function of degree at least two. We show that if $A$ and $B$ is a pair of such functions, then either $B$ can be obtained from $A$ by a certain iterative process, or $A$ and $B$ can be described in terms of orbifolds of non-negative Euler characteristic on the Riemann sphere.Comment: Final version, accepted by Geom. Funct. Ana

General Solution of 7D Octonionic Top Equation

The general solution of a 7D analogue of the 3D Euler top equation is shown to be given by an integration over a Riemann surface with genus 9. The 7D model is derived from the 8D $Spin(7)$ invariant self-dual Yang-Mills equation depending only upon one variable and is regarded as a model describing self-dual membrane instantons. Several integrable reductions of the 7D top to lower target space dimensions are discussed and one of them gives 6, 5, 4D descendants and the 3D Euler top associated with Riemann surfaces with genus 6, 5, 2 and 1, respectively.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 3 eps.files. Minor changes, eq.(4) adde