Conference on low-dimensional topology, knots, and orderable groups

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

A conference entitled "Low Dimensional Topology, Knots, and Orderable Groups" will be held at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathematiques in Luminy, Marseille, France, from July 1 to 5, 2013. The aim of the conference is to explore connections between topology and orderability properties of groups, especially in the context of the theory of three-dimensional manifolds and knots. The conference will honor Dale Rolfsen's contributions to these areas on the occasion of his 70th birthday. One-hour talks will be given by Stephen Bigelow, Michel Boileau, Danny Calegari, Julien Marche, Andres Navas, Peter Ozsvath, Luisa Paoluzzi, Dale Rolfsen, Dylan Thurston, and Bert Wiest. In addition there will be twenty half-hour talks. Three-dimensional topology is the study of the large-scale structure of spaces that are locally like the ordinary three-dimensional space in which we live. The subject has seen huge advances in recent years, notably Perelman's proof of the Poincare Conjecture. In another direction, deep connections between the topics mentioned above are beginning to emerge, and the aim of the conference is to further explore these connections and encourage cross-fertilization of ideas by bringing together international experts from the different areas involved. It will also provide an opportunity for early-career mathematicians from the US to interact with other researchers, both senior and junior, and to discuss and present their own work in a stimulating environment. The url for the conference website is http://thales.math.uqam.ca/~rolfsenfest/