Hello. As you probably know, one of the activities at the Institute for Advanced Study this coming year is a special program on quantum field theory. This program will feature a series of lectures designed to teach mathematicians how physicists think about some of the fundamental tools of their subject. We thought it would be useful to accompany the lecture series with some kind of "study group": an informal meeting once or twice a week during which the lectures could be discussed by the participants in this special program. The goal (for us at least) is to really learn this stuff, not just let it float by in a lecture setting. We are writing to a group of the 1996-97 members in the School of Math which we hope includes everyone who might be interested in this study group. We want to get the group organized now, so that we can "hit the ground running". We also want to find out when the group members are planning to arrive in Princeton, so that we can advise Deligne, Kazhdan and Witten about the scheduling of the lectures. The first series of lectures will be delivered by Joseph Bernstein, on super-geometry (how to write Lagrangians with fermionic variables). Bernstein will be in Princeton Sept. 1 - Oct. 15, and there has been some discussion of starting his lectures on Sept. 16, or perhaps even earlier. Undoubtedly there are some people receiving this who are not interested; if that applies to you, please ignore the message. If you *are* interested in the special program and this study group, please send a brief reply to that effect, also mentioning when you plan to arrive in Princeton. We realize that a few of you won't arrive until the spring semester; nevertheless, you might wish to remain on this mailing list to be apprised of what is going on. For those who haven't seen it, we append to the end of this message a letter sent by MacPherson last December which describes the goals and aims of the program. (Of course the last few paragraphs are now obsolete.) We look forward to seeeing you in the fall. Dave Morrison and Dan Freed Letter of December 15, 1995 from R. MacPherson: Dear Colleagues, The Institute for Advanced Study will have a special program during the academic year 1996-97 on quantum field theory, directed by P. Deligne, D. Kazhdan and E. Witten. It will be sponsored jointly by the School of Mathematics and the School of Natural Sciences. The goal is to create and convey an understanding, in terms congenial to mathematicians, of some fundamental notions of physics, such as quantum field theory, supersymmetry and string theory. The emphasis will be on developing the intuition stemming from functional integrals. One way to define the goals of the program is by negation, excluding certain important subjects commonly pursued by mathematicians whose work is motivated by physics. In this spirit, it is not planned to treat except periferally the magnificent new applications of field theory, such as Seiberg-Witten equations to Donaldson theory. Nor is the plan to consider fundamental new constructions within mathematics that were inspired by physics, such as quantum groups or vertex operator algebras. Nor is the aim to discuss how to provide mathematical rigor for physical theories. Rather, the goal is to develop the sort of intuition common among physicists for those who are used to thought processes stemming from geometry and algebra. During the year there will be several series of lectures, including: Quantum field theory including Yang-Mills theory and renormalization, by L. Faddeev Conformal field theories from the point of view of functional integrals, by K. Gawedzki Super-symmetry, by D. Kazhdan String theory leading to Yang-Mills theory and super-symmetry, by E. D'Hoker S-duality, by E. Witten. The Institute will have funds to support a limited number of mathematicians and physicists at the postdoctoral level. Traditionally our application deadline is December 1. However, we will be considering candidates for this special program until February 1. Application materials may be requested from Mr. Richard Lloyd, School of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study, Olden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540, (609) 734-8112. His e-mail address is: lloyd@math.ias.edu. Also, forms may be accessed via a "gopher" connection to: gopher.math.ias.edu, or via a "web" connection to: http://www.math.ias.edu/. If you know any outstanding recent Ph.D. who might be in a position to benefit from this program, please give them this information and encourage them to apply. It would be helpful to both the applicant and to us to have letters of recommendation which focus on the ability of the applicant to benefit from being at the Institute during this special program. Sincerely, Robert MacPherson