[Binghamton Geometry/Topology Seminar] Topology/Geometry Seminar this Thursday

[Tam Nguyen Phan]

  BINGHAMTON GEOMETRY/TOPOLOGY SEMINAR


   Date: Thursday, February 5, 2015

   Time:  2.50 pm

   Place: Whitney Hall, Room 100E,  followed by coffee/tea in the
      Hilton Reading Room. Note the new location of the math department.


   Speaker: Ivan Izmestiev (Freie Universität Berlin)
   Title: Variational properties of the discrete Hilbert-Einstein functional


Abstract:
The discrete Hilbert-Einstein functional (also known as Regge action) for a
3-manifold glued from euclidean simplices is the sum of edge lengths
multiplied with angular defects at the edges. There is an analog for
hyperbolic cone-manifolds; a discrete total mean curvature term appears if
the manifold has a non-empty boundary. Variational properties of this
functional are similar to those of its smooth counterpart. In particular,
critical points correspond to vanishing angular defects, i.e. to metrics of
constant curvature. We give a survey on isometric embeddings and rigidity
results that can be obtained by studying the second derivative of the
discrete Hilbert-Einstein and speak about possible future developments.

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

http://www2.math.binghamton.edu/p/seminars/topsem

It can also be linked from the Department's Home Page.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www1.math.binghamton.edu/pipermail/topsem/attachments/20150203/2b11abda/attachment.html