Connections in low-dimensional topology. This project aims to resolve important open questions in low-dimensional topology, by connecting hyperbolic geometry to invariants arising from quantum topology, cluster algebras, and spinors.
The spaces studied in this project, namely 3-manifolds and knots, arise in applications across engineering and science. The project expects to generate new insights into these spaces by applying tools connecting them to hyperbolic geometry.
Expected outcomes inclu ....Connections in low-dimensional topology. This project aims to resolve important open questions in low-dimensional topology, by connecting hyperbolic geometry to invariants arising from quantum topology, cluster algebras, and spinors.
The spaces studied in this project, namely 3-manifolds and knots, arise in applications across engineering and science. The project expects to generate new insights into these spaces by applying tools connecting them to hyperbolic geometry.
Expected outcomes include efficient techniques to compute important data about 3-manifolds and knots, particularly certain polynomials encoding geometry, and exact calculations of circle packings.
This should provide significant benefits, such as progress on difficult conjectures in hyperbolic geometry.
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Triangulations: linking geometry and topology with combinatorics. Triangulations are the method of choice to represent geometric objects given by a finite sample of points. Prominent examples include the pictures produced by the finite element method, polytopes in optimisation, or surfaces in computer graphics.
Knowledge about the triangulations of an object and how they relate to each other is essential for these applications. Seemingly canonical and straightforward methods perform well - or n ....Triangulations: linking geometry and topology with combinatorics. Triangulations are the method of choice to represent geometric objects given by a finite sample of points. Prominent examples include the pictures produced by the finite element method, polytopes in optimisation, or surfaces in computer graphics.
Knowledge about the triangulations of an object and how they relate to each other is essential for these applications. Seemingly canonical and straightforward methods perform well - or not at all, depending on intricate and highly involved mathematical properties.
In this project we combine geometric and topological viewpoints to tackle high-profile questions about triangulations. This will unlock the full potential of combinatorial methods and practical algorithms in applications.Read moreRead less
Topology in seven dimensions. Aims: The project aims to give a complete classification of a certain class of 7-dimensional spaces; namely simply-connected spin 7-manifolds. We also present related programs classify G_2-structures on 7-manifolds.
Significance: the proposed classification will be a signature achievement in the topology of manifolds, with applications likely in both geometry and mathematical physics.
Expected outcomes: The project will produce a series of papers published in high ....Topology in seven dimensions. Aims: The project aims to give a complete classification of a certain class of 7-dimensional spaces; namely simply-connected spin 7-manifolds. We also present related programs classify G_2-structures on 7-manifolds.
Significance: the proposed classification will be a signature achievement in the topology of manifolds, with applications likely in both geometry and mathematical physics.
Expected outcomes: The project will produce a series of papers published in high quality journals and enhanced scientific collaboration between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Benefits: The project will enhance Australia's research reputation by producing excellent research in a field not historically represented in the country.Read moreRead less
Moduli spaces of geometric structures. One of the most spectacular recent advances in mathematics was Perelman's resolution of Thurston's geometrisation program for three-dimensional spaces. This makes it very important to understand sets of geometric structures on such spaces, called moduli spaces. The challenge of this project is to develop practical methods to compute moduli spaces, understand their global properties, and use them to define new invariants giving insights about shape, geometry ....Moduli spaces of geometric structures. One of the most spectacular recent advances in mathematics was Perelman's resolution of Thurston's geometrisation program for three-dimensional spaces. This makes it very important to understand sets of geometric structures on such spaces, called moduli spaces. The challenge of this project is to develop practical methods to compute moduli spaces, understand their global properties, and use them to define new invariants giving insights about shape, geometry and algebra of a space. This is a key problem as moduli spaces describe whether a space is rigid or can be deformed. They are a central object in several fields of mathematics, including geometry and topology, gauge theory, dynamical systems, mathematical physics and invariant theory.Read moreRead less
Invariants, geometric and discrete structures on manifolds. This project aims to develop practical methods for finding geometric and discrete structures on manifolds in both low and high dimensions and advancing our understanding of the information that physics is providing about these spaces. Recently there have been spectacular advances in understanding 3-D spaces and the interaction between ideas in mathematical physics (quantum invariants, string theory) and such spaces. In this project, the ....Invariants, geometric and discrete structures on manifolds. This project aims to develop practical methods for finding geometric and discrete structures on manifolds in both low and high dimensions and advancing our understanding of the information that physics is providing about these spaces. Recently there have been spectacular advances in understanding 3-D spaces and the interaction between ideas in mathematical physics (quantum invariants, string theory) and such spaces. In this project, the first aim is to construct structures with good geometric properties on 3- and 4-manifolds, using triangulations. The second aim is to study combinatorial decompositions of n-manifolds, using our new technique of multisections and also searching for polyhedral metrics of non-positive curvature. The third aim is to connect quantum invariants and geometric structures, again using triangulations.Read moreRead less
Scale-Multiplicative Semigroups and Geometry. Symmetry is treated mathematically through the algebraic concept of a group. Conversely, geometric representations play a crucial role in group theory. Many classes of groups, such as the connected groups that arise in physics, have useful geometric representations, but such a representation is lacking in the case of general disconnected groups. Certain disconnected groups, closely related in algebraic terms to the connected ones, do have a geometric ....Scale-Multiplicative Semigroups and Geometry. Symmetry is treated mathematically through the algebraic concept of a group. Conversely, geometric representations play a crucial role in group theory. Many classes of groups, such as the connected groups that arise in physics, have useful geometric representations, but such a representation is lacking in the case of general disconnected groups. Certain disconnected groups, closely related in algebraic terms to the connected ones, do have a geometric representation called a 'building'. This project aims to address the lack of a representation for general disconnected groups by extending the notion of a building to create combinatorial structures on which these groups act as symmetries.Read moreRead less
Triangulations in dimensions 3 and 4: discrete and geometric structures. Recently there have been spectacular advances in understanding 3-dimensional spaces and the interaction between ideas in mathematical physics (quantum invariants) and such spaces. This project aims at practical methods for finding geometric structures and advancing our understanding of the information that physics is providing about these spaces.
Geodesic arcs and surfaces for hyperbolic knots and 3-manifolds. This project aims to use recent breakthroughs in mathematics to determine explicit geometric information on mathematical spaces, namely knot complements and 3-manifolds. These spaces arise in applications across science and engineering. They break into pieces that admit geometry, where hyperbolic geometry is the most common. This project expects to generate new knowledge around a number of open questions and conjectures on the hype ....Geodesic arcs and surfaces for hyperbolic knots and 3-manifolds. This project aims to use recent breakthroughs in mathematics to determine explicit geometric information on mathematical spaces, namely knot complements and 3-manifolds. These spaces arise in applications across science and engineering. They break into pieces that admit geometry, where hyperbolic geometry is the most common. This project expects to generate new knowledge around a number of open questions and conjectures on the hyperbolic geometry of knots and 3-manifolds. Expected outcomes include development of theory, and improved geometric tools. It will benefit the mathematical community through new insights and improved methods, and possibly lead to downstream applications in other scientific fields that rely on geometry. Read moreRead less
Enriched higher category theory. At the beginning of 21st century it became clear that further progress in mathematics and physics required a development of a new powerful language, which received the name Higher Category Theory. This project is devoted to the development of this new exciting theory.
From topological Hochschild homology to algebraic K-theory. The project will use methods of algebraic topology, specifically topological Hochschild homology, to study algebraic K-theory. This will increase our understanding of algebraic geometry, number theory, and the geometry of manifolds.