A major theme of interest in mathematics is the study of Geometric structures on manifolds. Geometric structures are modelled on nice topological spaces with a group of automorphisms acting transitively on them. The spaces of negative curvature are widely studied from this viewpoint. A special class of these being real and complex hyperbolic spaces. In this talk, we will first focus on the geometry of complex hyperbolic spaces. In this pursuit, we will provide algebraic classification of the isometries of these spaces, and surface group representations into their isometry groups. This is achieved by means of algebraic data given by the traces of these isometries, and some other conjugacy invariants.In the second half of this talk, we will focus on hyperbolic structures on closed oriented surfaces of negative Euler characteristic. To this end, we enter into the realm of mapping class group which serves as a significant tool in connecting the geometry and topology of surfaces. In particular, we will give a method to decompose a periodic mapping class into irreducible components, and provide some interesting algebraic and geometric applications. We will conclude this talk by connecting the study of these mapping classes to the theory of “ribbon” graphs.
Venue
Seminar Room, School of Mathematical Sciences
Speaker
Shiv Parsad
Affiliation
IISER Bhopal
Title
Hyperbolic structures, Surface symmetries, and other stories