[Binghamton Geometry/Topology Seminar] gemetry-topology seminar

[Ross Geoghegan]

                   BINGHAMTON GEOMETRY/TOPOLOGY SEMINAR


   Date: Thursday  October 28 

   Time:  2.50 pm

   Place: Library North 2205 followed by coffee/tea in the Anderson
          Reading Room.

   Speaker: David Fisher (CUNY-Lehman) 

   Title: Local Rigidity of Group Actions 

Abstract:  
In joint work with G.A.Margulis, we have proven many results showing
that smooth actions of "large groups" on compact manifolds are locally
rigid. By local rigidity we mean that any perturbation of the action is
conjugate back to the original action by a diffeomorphism.
I will begin by describing our general results and discussing the context
and motivation for this work. Then, in order to be able to describe some
of the ideas in the proof, I will concentrate on the following:
Theorem. Let G be a group with property (T) of Kazhdan. Then any isometric
action of G on a compact Riemannian manifold is locally rigid.


There will also be a colloquium talk by David Fisher at 4.30:  Title:
Local Rigidity and Implicit Function Theorems: Hamilton's Theorem and
Diffeomorphism groups.  

NOTE:  The seminar has a webpage where the
semester's program is listed:

http://math.binghamton.edu/MATH/dept/topsem/index.html

It can also be linked from the Department's Home Page.