Geometry and Topology Commons^™

Echolocation On Manifolds, Kerong Wang

Honors Theses

We consider the question asked by Wyman and Xi [WX23]: ``Can you hear your location on a manifold?” In other words, can you locate a unique point x on a manifold, up to symmetry, if you know the Laplacian eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the manifold? In [WX23], Wyman and Xi showed that echolocation holds on one- and two-dimensional rectangles with Dirichlet boundary conditions using the pointwise Weyl counting function. They also showed echolocation holds on ellipsoids using Gaussian curvature.

In this thesis, we provide full details for Wyman and Xi's proof for one- and two-dimensional rectangles and we show that …

Constructing Spanning Sets Of Affine Algebraic Curvature Tensors, Stephen J. Kelly

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

In this paper, we construct two spanning sets for the affine algebraic curvature tensors. We then prove that every 2-dimensional affine algebraic curvature tensor can be represented by a single element from either of the two spanning sets. This paper provides a means to study affine algebraic curvature tensors in a geometric and algebraic manner similar to previous studies of canonical algebraic curvature tensors.

Using Lie Sphere Geometry To Study Dupin Hypersurfaces In R^N, Thomas E. Cecil

Mathematics and Computer Science Department Faculty Scholarship

A hypersurface M in Rⁿ or Sⁿ is said to be Dupin if along each curvature surface, the corresponding principal curvature is constant. A Dupin hypersurface is said to be proper Dupin if each principal curvature has constant multiplicity on M, i.e., the number of distinct principal curvatures is constant on M. The notions of Dupin and proper Dupin hypersurfaces in Rⁿ or Sⁿ can be generalized to the setting of Lie sphere geometry, and these properties are easily seen to be invariant under Lie sphere transformations. This makes Lie sphere geometry an effective …

A Geometric Model For Real And Complex Differential K-Theory, Matthew T. Cushman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We construct a differential-geometric model for real and complex differential K-theory based on a smooth manifold model for the K-theory spectra defined by Behrens using spaces of Clifford module extensions. After writing representative differential forms for the universal Pontryagin and Chern characters we transgress these forms to all the spaces of the spectra and use them to define an abelian group structure on maps up to an equivalence relation that refines homotopy. Finally we define the differential K-theory functors and verify the axioms of Bunke-Schick for a differential cohomology theory.

Representing The Derivative Of Trace Of Holonomy, Jeffrey Peter Kroll

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Trace of holonomy around a fixed loop defines a function on the space of unitary connections on a hermitian vector bundle over a Riemannian manifold. Using the derivative of trace of holonomy, the loop, and a flat unitary connection, a functional is defined on the vector space of twisted degree 1 cohomology classes with coefficients in skew-hermitian bundle endomorphisms. It is shown that this functional is obtained by pairing elements of cohomology with a degree 1 homology class built directly from the loop and equipped with a flat section obtained from the variation of holonomy around the loop. When the …

Dupin Submanifolds In Lie Sphere Geometry (Updated Version), Thomas E. Cecil, Shiing-Shen Chern

Mathematics and Computer Science Department Faculty Scholarship

A hypersurface M^n-1 in Euclidean space Eⁿ is proper Dupin if the number of distinct principal curvatures is constant on M^n-1, and each principal curvature function is constant along each leaf of its principal foliation. This paper was originally published in 1989 (see Comments below), and it develops a method for the local study of proper Dupin hypersurfaces in the context of Lie sphere geometry using moving frames. This method has been effective in obtaining several classification theorems of proper Dupin hypersurfaces since that time. This updated version of the paper contains the original exposition together …

Long And Short-Range Air Navigation On Spherical Earth, Nihad E. Daidzic

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Global range air navigation implies non-stop flight between any two airports on Earth. Such effort would require airplanes with the operational air range of at least 12,500 NM which is about 40-60% longer than anything existing in commercial air transport today. Air transportation economy requires flying shortest distance, which in the case of spherical Earth are Orthodrome arcs. Rhumb-line navigation has little practical use in long-range flights, but has been presented for historical reasons and for comparison. Database of about 50 major international airports from every corner of the world has been designed and used in testing and route validation. …

Noncommutative Topology And The World’S Simplest Index Theorem, Erik Van Erp

Dartmouth Scholarship

In this article we outline an approach to index theory on the basis of methods of noncommutative topology. We start with an explicit index theorem for second-order differential operators on 3-manifolds that are Fredholm but not elliptic. This low-brow index formula is expressed in terms of winding numbers. We then proceed to show how it is derived as a special case of an index theorem for hypoelliptic operators on contact manifolds. Finally, we discuss the noncommutative topology that is employed in the proof of this theorem. The article is intended to illustrate that noncommutative topology can be a powerful tool …

On The Integrability Of Orthogonal Distributions In Poisson Manifolds, Daniel Fish, Serge Preston

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We study conditions for the integrability of the distribution defined on a regular Poisson manifold as the orthogonal complement (with respect to some (pseudo)-Riemannian metric) to the tangent spaces of the leaves of a symplectic foliation. Examples of integrability and non-integrability of this distribution are provided.

Dupin Submanifolds In Lie Sphere Geometry, Thomas E. Cecil, Shiing-Shen Chern

Mathematics and Computer Science Department Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.