Conference on Complex Hyperbolic Geometry and Related Topics

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This NSF award provides support for US-based participants to attend the conference “Complex hyperbolic geometry and related topics”, which will take place at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathematiques (CIRM) in Luminy/Marseilles (France) from July 4 to July 8, 2022. Funds will cover travel and lodging expenses of ten to fifteen US-based participants, with priority given to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, other early-career mathematicians, and members of underrepresented groups. The award will enhance the education and training of US-based graduate students, postdocs and other junior mathematicians, by allowing them to learn about the latest developments in the field, meet members of the community from around the world, in particular Europe and South America, and develop their network and potential collaborations. To encourage this, the schedule of talks will leave plenty of time for participants to meet and interact informally with each other. Particular attention will be given to the diversity of supported participants, specifically by encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to apply. Complex hyperbolic space, the symmetric space associated with the Lie group PU(n,1), is the simplest example of a space with non-constant negative curvature. It enjoys a rich geometric structure coming from the interaction between real and complex geometry but is also less rigid than the structure provided by flats in higher rank symmetric spaces. From this rich structure arises a large variety of questions requiring techniques from complex geometry, algebraic geometry, differential geometry, topology, group theory, algebraic groups, etc. The conference will revolve around the following three themes: discrete groups and lattices; CR and contact geometry; geometric structures and character varieties. Leading experts as well as young researchers in each of these themes will present their recent research results and engage more informally with all participants throughout the conference. The conference website is https://conferences.cirm-math.fr/2622.html. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.