Dispersionless Limit of Hirota Equations in Some Problems of Complex Analysis

We study the integrable structure recently revealed in some classical problems in the theory of functions in one complex variable. Given a simply connected domain bounded by a simple analytic curve in the complex plane, we consider the conformal mapping problem, the Dirichlet boundary problem, and the 2D inverse potential problem associated with the domain. A remarkable family of real-valued functionals on the space of such domains is constructed. Regarded as a function of infinitely many variables, which are properly defined moments of the domain, any functional in the family gives a formal solution of the above problems. These functions satisfy an infinite set of dispersionless Hirota equations and are therefore tau-functions of an integrable hierarchy. The hierarchy is identified with the dispersionless limit of the 2D Toda chain. In addition to our previous studies, we show that within a more general definition of the moments, this connection pertains not to a particular solution of the Hirota equations but to the hierarchy itself.