Abstract
I survey recent ideas in physics concentrating on their effect on mathematics. Yang-Mills theory has led to results by Donaldson on 4-manifolds and by Floer on 3-manifolds. Solvable models in statistical mechanics have been used by Vaughan Jones to construct polynomial invariants of knots. String theory has produced a new connection between manifolds and modular forms. In all cases it is quantum theory that ties in with topology.
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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Atiyah, M. (1988). The Impact of Physics on Geometry. In: Bleuler, K., Werner, M. (eds) Differential Geometrical Methods in Theoretical Physics. NATO ASI Series, vol 250. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7809-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7809-7_1
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