Topology Seminar: Hannah Alpert

  • Date: 09/18/2019
  • Time: 14:45
Lecturer(s):
Hannah Alpert, UBC
Location: 

University of British Columbia

Topic: 

Configuration spaces of hard objects

Description: 

Take n objects and put them in a container. What is the configuration space of all the ways they can fit in the container without intersecting? How does the topology of that configuration space change depending on the size of the objects and the size of the container? We will look at configurations of segments in a disk, of squares in a rectangle, and of disks in an infinite strip. In the latter two cases, the configuration space is homotopy equivalent to a polyhedral cell complex that can be studied combinatorially.

Other Information: 

Location: ESB 4127 (PIMS AV Room)