We derive an effective recursion for Witten's r-spin intersection numbers, using Witten's conjecture relating r-spin numbers to the Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy (Theorem 4.1). Consequences include closed-form descriptions of the intersection numbers (for example, in terms of gamma functions: Propositions 5.2 and 5.4, Corollary 5.5). We use these closed-form descriptions to prove Harer-Zagier's formula for the Euler characteristic of M_ {g, 1}. Finally in Section 6, we extend Witten's series expansion formula for the Landau-Ginzburg potential to study r-spin numbers in the small phase space in genus zero. Our key tool is the calculus of formal pseudodifferential operators, and is partially motivated by work of Brezin and Hikami.

We survey the theory of complex manifolds that are related to Riemann surface, Hodge theory, Chern class, Kodaira embedding and HirzebruchRiemannRoch, and some modern development of uniformization theorems, KhlerEinstein metric and the theory of DonaldsonUhlenbeckYau on Hermitian YangMills connections. We emphasize mathematical ideas related to physics. At the end, we identify possible future research directions and raise some important open questions.

Let Λ be a numerical semigroup, C⊆An the monomial curve singularity associated to Λ, and T its tangent cone. In this paper we provide a sharp upper bound for the least positive integer in Λ in terms of the codimension and the maximum degree of the equations of T, when T is not a complete intersection. A special case of this result settles a question of J. Herzog and D. Stamate.

In [LL-Y1, III: Sec. 5.4] on mirror principle, a method was developed to compute the integral \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d for a flag manifold $ X=\Fl_ {r_1,..., r_I}({\Bbb C}^ n) $ via an extended mirror principle diagram. This method turns the required localization computation on the augmented moduli stack $\bar {\cal M} _ {0, 0}(\CP^ 1\times X) $ of stable maps to a localization computation on a hyper-Quot-scheme $\HQuot ({\cal E}^ n) $. In this article, the detail of this localization computation on $\HQuot ({\cal E}^ n) $ is carried out. The necessary ingredients in the computation, notably, the \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d -fixed-point components and the distinguished ones \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d in $\HQuot ({\cal E}^ n) $, the \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d -equivariant Euler class of \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d in $\HQuot ({\cal E}^ n) $, and a push-forward formula of cohomology classes involved in the problem from the total space of a restrictive flag manifold bundle to its base manifold are given. With these, an exact expression of \int_ {X} ^{st} e^{H\cdot t}\cap {\mathbf 1} _d is obtained. Comments on the Hori-Vafa conjecture are given in the end.

In this paper, we study effective recursion formulae for computing intersection numbers of mixed \psi and \psi classes on moduli spaces of curves. By using the celebrated WittenKontsevich theorem, we generalize MulaseSafnuk form of Mirzakhani's recursion and prove a recursion formula of higher WeilPetersson volumes. We also present recursion formulae to compute intersection pairings in the tautological rings of moduli spaces of curves.