The B. and M. Shapiro conjecture in real algebraic geometry and the Bethe ansatz

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We prove the B. and M. Shapiro conjecture that if the Wronskian of a set of polynomials has real roots only, then the complex span of this set of polynomials has a basis consisting of polynomials with real coefficients. This, in particular, implies the following result: If all ramification points of a parametrized rational curve φ: ℂℙ 1 → ℂℙ r lie on a circle in the Riemann sphere ℂℙ 1 , then φ maps this circle into a suitable real subspace ℝℙ r ⊂ ℂℙ r . The proof is based on the Bethe ansatz method in the Gaudin model. The key observation is that a symmetric linear operator on a Euclidean space has real spectrum. In Appendix A, we discuss properties of differential operators associated with Bethe vectors in the Gaudin model. In particular, we prove a statement, which may be useful in complex algebraic geometry; it claims that certain Schubert cycles in a Grassmannian intersect transversally if the spectrum of the corresponding Gaudin Hamiltonians is simple. In Appendix B, we formulate a conjecture on reality of orbits of critical points of master functions and prove this conjecture for master functions associated with Lie algebras of types A r , B r and C r .