Spectral curves are transcendental (Q2224526)

The aim of this paper is to show that for an integrable system of interest the associated spectral curves are not defined over \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\), the transcendental of the title. This aspect is a manifestation of why it is so difficult to construct specific examples of some systems. The result proven here depends on a number of deep results across several mathematical disciplines and what is novel is bringing them together. For a number theorist, the transcendence of periods is familiar: this paper provides a number of new examples where this is relevant. In this paper some arithmetic properties of spectral curves are discussed: the spectral curve, for example, of a charge \(n\geq2\) Euclidean BPS monopole is not defined over \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\) if smooth. This paper is organized as follows. Section 1, is an introduction to the subject and summarizes the main results. Section 2, deals with the monopole spectral curve and Hitchin's constraints. Section 3, deals with the proof and discussion of the main result and Section 4, with some examples.