March 26 - 28, 2014
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences

Curvature based geometric functionals have received great attention during the past years. Many 'energy' functionals defined on curves and surfaces have been investigated that aim at relating analytical properties to the geometry and topology of the respective objects. So-called knot energies play a central rôle in geometric knot theory.
There are several links to physical knot theory which comprises studying knots as physical objects, having a given length and thickness, and, more generally, any kind of knotted structure appearing in the sciences.
For instance, self-avoidance which is the central concept for modeling the above-mentioned geometric functionals has an impact in this context. Self-repelling forces are observed in the behaviour of protein foldings and the motion of knotted DNA structures. Knot energies are also considered in topological fluid dynamics.
The objective of this workshop is to present recent results from theory and applications and discuss future developments.

Acknowledgement: The workshop is supported by VARIOGEO (ERC Advanced Investigator Grant ERC-2010-AdG_20100224, Grant Agreement Number 267087).

March 26 - 28, 2014
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences
Inselstraße 22
04103 Leipzig
Germany
see travel instructions

Scientific Organizers

Simon Blatt
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Philipp Reiter
Universität Duisburg-Essen

Armin Schikorra
MPI für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften
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Administrative Contact

Antje Vandenberg
Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften