Wed, September 20, 2023
4:10 pm - 5:40 pm
Cockins Hall 240
Title: Invitation to the Heisenberg group
Speaker: Scott Zimmerman
Abstract: Sub-Riemannian manifolds are mathematical structures used to model scenarios in which some sort of motion is restricted to a lower dimensional space of directions. They have applications in a wide variety of settings including control theory and mathematical neuroscience.
The Heisenberg group is the simplest, non-abelian and non-Euclidean example of a sub-Riemannian manifold. It is nothing more than 3-dimensional Euclidean space in which the geometry has been changed. In this talk, I will introduce the Heisenberg group and explore how simple problems in Euclidean space are made more difficult when considered in a sub-Riemannian setting.
Note: This is part of the Invitations to Mathematics lecture series given each year in Autumn Semester. Pre-candidacy PhD students can sign up for this lecture series by registering for one or two credit hours of Math 6193 with Professor Nimish Shah.