Geometry of manifolds of non-negative scalar curvature. This proposal will benefit Australia in several ways: Its outcomes will make Australia a world leader in research on scalar curvature, and consequently help Australia secure its position among world leaders in research on differential geometry and differential equations; Overseas world-class experts will be attracted to Australia by the impact of this research to develop further collaboration; More and more talented Australian students will ....Geometry of manifolds of non-negative scalar curvature. This proposal will benefit Australia in several ways: Its outcomes will make Australia a world leader in research on scalar curvature, and consequently help Australia secure its position among world leaders in research on differential geometry and differential equations; Overseas world-class experts will be attracted to Australia by the impact of this research to develop further collaboration; More and more talented Australian students will be motivated to pursue science-based and mathematics based studies, thereby improving the mathematical skills of the Australian workforce.Read moreRead less
Moduli spaces. This project will offer a great opportunity for Australian researchers and students to engage in internationally competitive research in mathematics. Moduli spaces are fundamental to our understanding of mathematics and modern mathematical physics. It is crucial that Australian scientists and students take active part in these developments. The training of Honours and PhD students in various aspects of moduli spaces, and in the mathematics and mathematical physics that it address ....Moduli spaces. This project will offer a great opportunity for Australian researchers and students to engage in internationally competitive research in mathematics. Moduli spaces are fundamental to our understanding of mathematics and modern mathematical physics. It is crucial that Australian scientists and students take active part in these developments. The training of Honours and PhD students in various aspects of moduli spaces, and in the mathematics and mathematical physics that it addresses, is an integral part of this application.Read moreRead less
Topics on 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds. - to develop practical algorithms for recognising surfaces, knots and 3-dimensional spaces. These will be very useful for experimentation
and to understand the computational complexity of such questions.
- to understand the properties of minimal surfaces in 3-dimensional spaces of constant negative curvature, with applications to the complexity of knots and the structure of these spaces.
- to develop a theory of 4-dimensional spaces which are covered ....Topics on 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds. - to develop practical algorithms for recognising surfaces, knots and 3-dimensional spaces. These will be very useful for experimentation
and to understand the computational complexity of such questions.
- to understand the properties of minimal surfaces in 3-dimensional spaces of constant negative curvature, with applications to the complexity of knots and the structure of these spaces.
- to develop a theory of 4-dimensional spaces which are covered by
Euclidean 4-space. New techniques will be utilised, since the powerful methods of Freedman-Quinn do not apply to most such spaces. Read moreRead less
Minimal surfaces. Recent stunning progress in topology, in particular a possible solution to one of the Clay Institute million dollar problems, using techniques from partial differential equations and minimal surfaces has made this area a hot topic. To attract researchers in this field to visit Australia and to train students in this area is a major part of this project.
Three-dimensional geometry and topology. This project will carry out important fundamental research into the geometry and topology of 3-dimensional manifolds, an area of intense activity over the last 30 years.
The work has direct applications to physics, for example recent work in cosmology aimed at determining the global structure of our universe. Our work on knotting and symmetries of molecular graphs will also be of considerable interest in chemistry and biology.
The project will also ....Three-dimensional geometry and topology. This project will carry out important fundamental research into the geometry and topology of 3-dimensional manifolds, an area of intense activity over the last 30 years.
The work has direct applications to physics, for example recent work in cosmology aimed at determining the global structure of our universe. Our work on knotting and symmetries of molecular graphs will also be of considerable interest in chemistry and biology.
The project will also provide high quality training of undergraduate and graduate students in geometry and topology, and will increase international cooperation by developing closer links with colleagues and institutions overseas.Read moreRead less
Geometric structures on 3-manifolds. Three-dimensional manifolds are of central importance in topology, algebra, and cosmology (providing models for the universe). Thurston's Geometrization Conjecture gives a beautiful conjectural picture of
3-manifolds in terms of eight uniform geometries, but the conjecture and some of its basic consequences remain unproved. This project is aimed at making advances on fundamental questions in the following areas:
* construction of geometric structures by def ....Geometric structures on 3-manifolds. Three-dimensional manifolds are of central importance in topology, algebra, and cosmology (providing models for the universe). Thurston's Geometrization Conjecture gives a beautiful conjectural picture of
3-manifolds in terms of eight uniform geometries, but the conjecture and some of its basic consequences remain unproved. This project is aimed at making advances on fundamental questions in the following areas:
* construction of geometric structures by deformation methods,
* computation of geometric structures,
* geometric and algebraic invariants.Read moreRead less
Triangulations in dimension three: algorithms and geometric structures. Perelman recently won a Fields medal for the solution of the geometrisation and Poincare conjectures on three-dimensional spaces, using a very deep heat flow method to find optimal geometries on these spaces. The project will develop a new constructive approach to building these optimal geometric structures. This will lead to effective algorithmic methods to distinguish three-dimensional spaces, with applications to the stu ....Triangulations in dimension three: algorithms and geometric structures. Perelman recently won a Fields medal for the solution of the geometrisation and Poincare conjectures on three-dimensional spaces, using a very deep heat flow method to find optimal geometries on these spaces. The project will develop a new constructive approach to building these optimal geometric structures. This will lead to effective algorithmic methods to distinguish three-dimensional spaces, with applications to the study of knots and links (for example, knotted DNA molecules) and to mathematical physics. The project will also provide new techniques to study important problems in the classification of three-dimensional spaces, such as the virtual Haken conjecture.Read moreRead less
Analysis of the structure of latin squares. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. Discrete mathematics and combinatorics are boom disciplines of the computer age and this project seeks new knowledge concerning basic building blocks of combinatorial mathematics. The outcomes will be of interest to theoretical discrete mathematicians around the world, enhancing Australia's already high research profile in this important area ....Analysis of the structure of latin squares. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. Discrete mathematics and combinatorics are boom disciplines of the computer age and this project seeks new knowledge concerning basic building blocks of combinatorial mathematics. The outcomes will be of interest to theoretical discrete mathematicians around the world, enhancing Australia's already high research profile in this important area of pure mathematical research. Importantly, the problems under investigation offer substantial opportunity for excellent postgraduate training, critical for the future of Australian research. Read moreRead less
Comparing Einstein to Newton: a mathematical foundation for the Newtonian limit and post-Newtonian expansions. This proposal will benefit the nation in the following ways: (i) to make Australia a world leader in post-Newtonian research, (ii) to contribute to Australia's existing commitment to the search for gravitational waves by providing theoretical tools that will aid in the analysis of gravitational wave data, (iii) to train the next generation of Australian gravitational researchers in a fi ....Comparing Einstein to Newton: a mathematical foundation for the Newtonian limit and post-Newtonian expansions. This proposal will benefit the nation in the following ways: (i) to make Australia a world leader in post-Newtonian research, (ii) to contribute to Australia's existing commitment to the search for gravitational waves by providing theoretical tools that will aid in the analysis of gravitational wave data, (iii) to train the next generation of Australian gravitational researchers in a field whose importance will only grow as the field of gravitational wave astronomy matures, and (iv) to facilitate visits by my collaborators to Australia who will bring world class expertise for the benefit of both Australian students and experts in general relativity.Read moreRead less
HOLOMORPHIC CURVES, REEB FLOWS AND CONTACT TOPOLOGY. Motion of a satellite is one of many examples of a Reeb dynamical system. The aim of the project is to deepen our understanding of Reeb flows. The Reeb flows, in particular, include Hamiltonian flows on three-dimensional contact type energy surfaces. To study the behaviour of Reeb flows we construct systems of global surfaces of section and study the iterates of the Poincare map, which is obtained by following the flow until it hits a surface. ....HOLOMORPHIC CURVES, REEB FLOWS AND CONTACT TOPOLOGY. Motion of a satellite is one of many examples of a Reeb dynamical system. The aim of the project is to deepen our understanding of Reeb flows. The Reeb flows, in particular, include Hamiltonian flows on three-dimensional contact type energy surfaces. To study the behaviour of Reeb flows we construct systems of global surfaces of section and study the iterates of the Poincare map, which is obtained by following the flow until it hits a surface. The main tools in constructing systems of global surfaces of section are holomorphic curves in symplectization, which are defined on punctured Riemann surfaces and solve nonlinear Cauchy-Riemann type operator. These curves are also main ingredients of new invariants of contact and symplectic manifolds.
These new invariants are now known as Contact Homology and Symplectic Field Theory. In the second part of the project we develop analytical foundations for these theories.Read moreRead less