Seminar

I will discuss a class of integrable connections associated to root systems and describe their monodromy in terms of quantum groups. These connections come in three forms, rational form, trigonometric form, and the elliptic form, which lead to representations of braid groups, affine braid groups, and elliptic braid group respectively.

For the rational connection, I will discuss in detail two concrete incarnations: the (Coxeter) Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection and the Casimir connection.

The first takes values in the Weyl group W. Its monodromy gives rise to an isomorphism between the Hecke algebra (with generic parameters) of W and the group algebra C[W] of the Weyl group. The second is associated to the semisimple Lie algebra g, and takes values in the universal enveloping algebra of g. Its monodromy is described by the quantum Weyl group operators of the quantum group. The trigonometric and the elliptic analog will also be discussed.

The elliptic part is joint work with Valerio Toledano Laredo.