Mathematics and Materials

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Mathematics and Materials IAS/PARK CITY MATHEMATICS SERIES Volume 23 Mathematics and Materials Mark J. Bowick David Kinderlehrer Govind Menon Charles Radin Editors American Mathematical Society Institute for Advanced Study Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 10.1090/pcms/023 Mathematics and Materials IAS/PARK CITY MATHEMATICS SERIES Volume 23 Mathematics and Materials Mark J. Bowick David Kinderlehrer Govind Menon Charles Radin Editors American Mathematical Society Institute for Advanced Study Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Rafe Mazzeo, Series Editor Mark J. Bowick, David Kinderlehrer, Govind Menon, and Charles Radin, Volume Editors. IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute runs mathematics education programs that bring together high school mathematics teachers, researchers in mathematics and mathematics education, undergraduate mathematics faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates to participate in distinct but overlapping programs of research and education. This volume contains the lecture notes from the Graduate Summer School program 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 82B05, 35Q70, 82B26, 74N05, 51P05, 52C17, 52C23. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bowick, Mark J., editor. | Kinderlehrer, David, editor. | Menon, Govind, 1973– editor. | Radin, Charles, 1945– editor. | Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.) | Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Title: Mathematics and materials / Mark J. Bowick, David Kinderlehrer, Govind Menon, Charles Radin, editors. Description: [Providence] : American Mathematical Society, [2017] | Series: IAS/Park City math- ematics series ; volume 23 | “Institute for Advanced Study.” | “Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.” | “This volume contains lectures presented at the Park City summer school on Mathematics and Materials in July 2014.” – Introduction. | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2016030010 | ISBN 9781470429195 (alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Statistical mechanics–Congresses. | Materials science–Congresses. | AMS: Sta- tistical mechanics, structure of matter – Equilibrium statistical mechanics – Classical equilibrium statistical mechanics (general). msc | Partial differential equations – Equations of mathematical physics and other areas of application – PDEs in connection with mechanics of particles and sys- tems. msc | Statistical mechanics, structure of matter – Equilibrium statistical mechanics – Phase transitions (general). msc | Mechanics of deformable solids – Phase transformations in solids – Crystals. msc | Geometry – Geometry and physics (should also be assigned at least one other classification number from Sections 70–86) – Geometry and physics (should also be assigned at least one other classification number from Sections 70–86). msc | Convex and discrete geometry – Discrete geometry – Packing and covering in n dimensions. msc | Convex and discrete geometry – Discrete geometry – Quasicrystals, aperiodic tilings. msc Classification: LCC QC174.7 .M38 2017 | DDC 530.13–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn. loc.gov/2016030010 Copying and reprinting. Individual readers of this publication, and nonprofit libraries acting for them, are permitted to make fair use of the material, such as to copy select pages for use in teaching or research. Permission is granted to quote brief passages from this publication in reviews, provided the customary acknowledgment of the source is given. Republication, systematic copying, or multiple reproduction of any material in this publication is permitted only under license from the American Mathematical Society. Permissions to reuse portions of AMS publication content are handled by Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. For more information, please visit: http://www.ams.org/rightslink. Send requests for translation rights and licensed reprints to [email protected]. Excluded from these provisions is material for which the author holds copyright. In such cases, requests for permission to reuse or reprint material should be addressed directly to the author(s). Copyright ownership is indicated on the copyright page, or on the lower right-hand corner of the first page of each article within proceedings volumes. c 2017 by the American Mathematical Society. All rights reserved. The American Mathematical Society retains all rights except those granted to the United States Government. Printed in the United States of America. ∞ The paper used in this book is acid-free and falls within the guidelines established to ensure permanence and durability. Visit the AMS home page at http://www.ams.org/ 10987654321 222120191817 Contents Preface ix Introduction xi Veit Elser Three Lectures on Statistical Mechanics 1 Lecture 1. Mechanical foundations 3 Lecture 2. Temperature and entropy 15 Lecture 3. Macroscopic order 25 Bibliography 41 Henry Cohn Packing, Coding, and Ground States 43 Preface 45 Lecture 1. Sphere packing 47 1. Introduction 47 2. Motivation 48 3. Phenomena 50 4. Constructions 52 5. Difficulty of sphere packing 54 6. Finding dense packings 55 7. Computational problems 57 Lecture 2. Symmetry and ground states 59 1. Introduction 59 2. Potential energy minimization 60 3. Families and universal optimality 61 4. Optimality of simplices 65 Lecture 3. Interlude: Spherical harmonics 69 1. Fourier series 69 2. Fourier series on a torus 71 3. Spherical harmonics 73 Lecture 4. Energy and packing bounds on spheres 77 1. Introduction 77 2. Linear programming bounds 79 3. Applying linear programming bounds 81 v vi CONTENTS 4. Spherical codes and the kissing problem 82 5. Ultraspherical polynomials 83 Lecture 5. Packing bounds in Euclidean space 89 1. Introduction 89 2. Poisson summation 91 3. Linear programming bounds 92 4. Optimization and conjectures 94 Bibliography 99 Alpha A. Lee and Daan Frenkel Entropy, Probability and Packing 103 Introduction 105 Lecture 1. Introduction to thermodynamics and statistical physics 107 1. Classical equilibrium thermodynamics 107 2. Statistical physics of entropy 113 3. From entropy to thermodynamic ensembles 119 4. Exercises 123 Lecture 2. Thermodynamics of phase transitions 125 1. Thermodynamics of phase equilibrium 125 2. Thermodynamic integration 126 3. The chemical potential and Widom particle insertion 130 4. Exercises 133 Lecture 3. Order from disorder: Entropic phase transitions 135 1. Hard-sphere freezing 136 2. Role of geometry: The isotropic-nematic transition 140 3. Depletion interaction and the entropy of the medium 145 4. Attractive forces and the liquid phase 151 5. Exercises 154 Lecture 4. Granular entropy 157 1. Computing the entropy 158 2. Is this “entropy” physical? 160 3. The Gibbs paradox 161 Bibliography 165 MichaelP.Brenner Ideas about Self Assembly 167 Introduction 169 Lecture 1. Self assembly: Introduction 171 1. What is self-assembly 171 2. Statistical mechanical preliminaries 172 CONTENTS vii Lecture 2. Self assembly with identical components 175 1. Introduction 175 2. The (homogeneous) polymer problem 176 3. Cluster statistical mechanics 179 Lecture 3. Heterogeneous self assembly 187 1. Heteropolymer problem 187 2. The yield catastrophe 189 3. Colloidal assembly 191 Lecture 4. Nucleation theory and multifarious assembly mixtures 195 1. Nucleation theory 195 2. Magic soup 196 Bibliography 199 P. Palffy-Muhoray, M. Pevnyi, E. Virga, and X. Zheng The Effects of Particle Shape in Orientationally Ordered Soft Materials 201 Introduction 203 Lecture 1. Soft condensed matter and orientational order 205 1. Soft condensed matter 205 2. Position and orientation 206 3. Orientational order parameters 210 Lecture 2. The free energy 213 1. Helmholtz free energy 214 2. Trial free energy 215 3. Configurational partition function 215 4. Pairwise interactions 215 5. Soft and hard potentials 216 6. Mean-field free energy 217 7. Density functional theory 219 Lecture 3. Particle shape and attractive interactions 227 1. Polarizability of a simple atom 228 2. Dispersion interaction 230 3. Polarizability of non-spherical particles 231 Lecture 4. Particle shape and repulsive interactions 239 1. Onsager theory 240 2. Excluded volume for ellipsoids 241 3. Phase separation 242 4. Minimum excluded volume of convex shapes 244 5. Systems of hard polyhedra 247 viii CONTENTS Summary 249 Bibliography 251 Roman Koteck´y Statistical Mechanics and Nonlinear Elasticity 255 Introduction 257 Lecture 1. Statistical mechanics 259 Statistical mechanics of interacting particles 259 Lattice models of nonlinear elasticity 261 Ising model 263 Lecture 2. Phase transitions 267 Existence of the free energy 267 Concavity of the free energy 268 Peierls argument 269 Lecture 3. Expansions 275 The high temperature expansion 275 Intermezzo (cluster expansions) 277 Proof of cluster expansion theorem 280 Lecture 4. Gradient models of random surface 283 Quadratic potential 283 Convex potentials 285 Non-convex potentials 286 Lecture 5. Nonlinear elasticity 291 Free energy 291 Macroscopic behaviour from microscopic model 293 Main ingredients of the proof of quasiconvexity of W 294 Bibliography 297 Peter Bella, Arianna Giunti, and Felix Otto Quantitative Stochastic Homogenization: Local Control of Homogenization Error through Corrector 299 1. A brief overview of stochastic homogenization, and a common vision for quenched and thermal noise 301 2. Precise setting and motivation for this work 304 3. Main results 307 4. Proofs 309 Bibliography 326 Preface The IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) was founded in 1991 as part of the “Regional Geometry Institute” initiative
Recommended publications
  • Social Choice Theory Christian List
    1 Social Choice Theory Christian List Social choice theory is the study of collective decision procedures. It is not a single theory, but a cluster of models and results concerning the aggregation of individual inputs (e.g., votes, preferences, judgments, welfare) into collective outputs (e.g., collective decisions, preferences, judgments, welfare). Central questions are: How can a group of individuals choose a winning outcome (e.g., policy, electoral candidate) from a given set of options? What are the properties of different voting systems? When is a voting system democratic? How can a collective (e.g., electorate, legislature, collegial court, expert panel, or committee) arrive at coherent collective preferences or judgments on some issues, on the basis of its members’ individual preferences or judgments? How can we rank different social alternatives in an order of social welfare? Social choice theorists study these questions not just by looking at examples, but by developing general models and proving theorems. Pioneered in the 18th century by Nicolas de Condorcet and Jean-Charles de Borda and in the 19th century by Charles Dodgson (also known as Lewis Carroll), social choice theory took off in the 20th century with the works of Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen, and Duncan Black. Its influence extends across economics, political science, philosophy, mathematics, and recently computer science and biology. Apart from contributing to our understanding of collective decision procedures, social choice theory has applications in the areas of institutional design, welfare economics, and social epistemology. 1. History of social choice theory 1.1 Condorcet The two scholars most often associated with the development of social choice theory are the Frenchman Nicolas de Condorcet (1743-1794) and the American Kenneth Arrow (born 1921).
    [Show full text]
  • Bfm:978-1-4612-2582-9/1.Pdf
    Progress in Mathematics Volume 131 Series Editors Hyman Bass Joseph Oesterle Alan Weinstein Functional Analysis on the Eve of the 21st Century Volume I In Honor of the Eightieth Birthday of I. M. Gelfand Simon Gindikin James Lepowsky Robert L. Wilson Editors Birkhauser Boston • Basel • Berlin Simon Gindikin James Lepowsky Department of Mathematics Department of Mathematics Rutgers University Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 New Brunswick, NJ 08903 Robert L. Wilson Department of Mathematics Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Functional analysis on the eve of the 21 st century in honor of the 80th birthday 0fI. M. Gelfand I [edited) by S. Gindikin, 1. Lepowsky, R. Wilson. p. cm. -- (Progress in mathematics ; vol. 131) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13:978-1-4612-7590-9 e-ISBN-13:978-1-4612-2582-9 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-2582-9 1. Functional analysis. I. Gel'fand, I. M. (lzraU' Moiseevich) II. Gindikin, S. G. (Semen Grigor'evich) III. Lepowsky, J. (James) IV. Wilson, R. (Robert), 1946- . V. Series: Progress in mathematics (Boston, Mass.) ; vol. 131. QA321.F856 1995 95-20760 515'.7--dc20 CIP Printed on acid-free paper d»® Birkhiiuser ltGD © 1995 Birkhliuser Boston Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995 Copyright is not claimed for works of u.s. Government employees. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
    [Show full text]
  • Msc in Applied Mathematics
    MSc in Applied Mathematics Title: Past, Present and Challenges in Yang-Mills Theory Author: José Luis Tejedor Advisor: Sebastià Xambó Descamps Department: Departament de Matemàtica Aplicada II Academic year: 2011-2012 PAST, PRESENT AND CHALLENGES IN YANG-MILLS THEORY Jos´eLuis Tejedor June 11, 2012 Abstract In electrodynamics the potentials are not uniquely defined. The electromagnetic field is un- changed by gauge transformations of the potential. The electromagnestism is a gauge theory with U(1) as gauge group. C. N. Yang and R. Mills extended in 1954 the concept of gauge theory for abelian groups to non-abelian groups to provide an explanation for strong interactions. The idea of Yang-Mills was criticized by Pauli, as the quanta of the Yang-Mills field must be massless in order to maintain gauge invariance. The idea was set aside until 1960, when the concept of particles acquiring mass through symmetry breaking in massless theories was put forward. This prompted a significant restart of Yang-Mills theory studies that proved succesful in the formula- tion of both electroweak unification and quantum electrodynamics (QCD). The Standard Model combines the strong interaction with the unified electroweak interaction through the symmetry group SU(3) ⊗ SU(2) ⊗ U(1). Modern gauge theory includes lattice gauge theory, supersymme- try, magnetic monopoles, supergravity, instantons, etc. Concerning the mathematics, the field of Yang-Mills theories was included in the Clay Mathematics Institute's list of \Millenium Prize Problems". This prize-problem focuses, especially, on a proof of the conjecture that the lowest excitations of a pure four-dimensional Yang-Mills theory (i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • The Abel Prize 2003-2007 the First Five Years
    springer.com Mathematics : History of Mathematics Holden, Helge, Piene, Ragni (Eds.) The Abel Prize 2003-2007 The First Five Years Presenting the winners of the Abel Prize, which is one of the premier international prizes in mathematics The book presents the winners of the first five Abel Prizes in mathematics: 2003 Jean-Pierre Serre; 2004 Sir Michael Atiyah and Isadore Singer; 2005 Peter D. Lax; 2006 Lennart Carleson; and 2007 S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan. Each laureate provides an autobiography or an interview, a curriculum vitae, and a complete bibliography. This is complemented by a scholarly description of their work written by leading experts in the field and by a brief history of the Abel Prize. Interviews with the laureates can be found at http://extras.springer.com . Order online at springer.com/booksellers Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH Springer Customer Service Tiergartenstrasse 15-17 2010, XI, 329 p. With DVD. 1st 69121 Heidelberg edition Germany T: +49 (0)6221 345-4301 [email protected] Printed book Hardcover Book with DVD Hardcover ISBN 978-3-642-01372-0 £ 76,50 | CHF 103,00 | 86,99 € | 95,69 € (A) | 93,08 € (D) Out of stock Discount group Science (SC) Product category Commemorative publication Series The Abel Prize Prices and other details are subject to change without notice. All errors and omissions excepted. Americas: Tax will be added where applicable. Canadian residents please add PST, QST or GST. Please add $5.00 for shipping one book and $ 1.00 for each additional book. Outside the US and Canada add $ 10.00 for first book, $5.00 for each additional book.
    [Show full text]
  • AMS President's Address at Abel Celebration
    AMS President’s Address at Abel Celebration James Arthur Editor’s Note: Peter Lax was awarded the 2005 Abel Prize in Oslo on May 24, 2005. AMS president James Arthur made the following remarks at the dinner that evening in honor of Lax. Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gen- school. The unknown quantities are not numbers, tlemen. but functions which describe the behaviour of It is a great honour for me to respond to the physical quantities under fundamental laws of address of the minister of education. I would like nature. to express the deep gratitude of mathematicians Peter Lax is perhaps the greatest living mathe- to the Norwegian government, and to the Norwe- matician working in this venerable area. He has made gian people, for establishing the Abel Prize. The lack extraordinary contributions to our understanding of of a Nobel Prize in mathematics was long regarded differential equations and their solutions. These as an anomaly that diminished public perception range from the explanation of counterintuitive phe- of the importance of mathematics in society. The nomena in nature, such as supersonic shock waves, vision and generosity that led to the creation of the to the discovery of completely unexpected relations Abel Prize has now put mathematics on an equal between basic applied problems and a beautiful part footing with the other sciences. of pure mathematics that goes back to Niels Henrik It is also an honour and a pleasure on this Abel. glorious occasion to congratulate Professor Peter I am sure that the story of Abel is fa- Lax.
    [Show full text]
  • Applied Analysis & Scientific Computing Discrete Mathematics
    CENTER FOR NONLINEAR ANALYSIS The CNA provides an environment to enhance and coordinate research and training in applied analysis, including partial differential equations, calculus of Applied Analysis & variations, numerical analysis and scientific computation. It advances research and educational opportunities at the broad interface between mathematics and Scientific Computing physical sciences and engineering. The CNA fosters networks and collaborations within CMU and with US and international institutions. Discrete Mathematics & Operations Research RANKINGS DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ALGORITHMS, COMBINATORICS, U.S. News & World Report AND OPTIMIZATION #16 | Applied Mathematics Carnegie Mellon University offers an interdisciplinary Ph.D program in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and #7 | Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics Optimization. This program is the first of its kind in the United States. It is administered jointly #6 | Best Graduate Schools for Logic by the Tepper School of Business (Operations Research group), the Computer Science Department (Algorithms and Complexity group), and the Quantnet Department of Mathematical Sciences (Discrete Mathematics group). #4 | Best Financial Engineering Programs Carnegie Mellon University does not CONTACT discriminate in admission, employment, or Logic administration of its programs or activities on Department of Mathematical Sciences the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, age, sexual orientation, 5000 Forbes Avenue gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry,
    [Show full text]
  • Numerical Linear Algebra and Matrix Analysis
    Numerical Linear Algebra and Matrix Analysis Higham, Nicholas J. 2015 MIMS EPrint: 2015.103 Manchester Institute for Mathematical Sciences School of Mathematics The University of Manchester Reports available from: http://eprints.maths.manchester.ac.uk/ And by contacting: The MIMS Secretary School of Mathematics The University of Manchester Manchester, M13 9PL, UK ISSN 1749-9097 1 exploitation of matrix structure (such as sparsity, sym- Numerical Linear Algebra and metry, and definiteness), and the design of algorithms y Matrix Analysis to exploit evolving computer architectures. Nicholas J. Higham Throughout the article, uppercase letters are used for matrices and lower case letters for vectors and scalars. Matrices are ubiquitous in applied mathematics. Matrices and vectors are assumed to be complex, unless ∗ Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial dif- otherwise stated, and A = (aji) denotes the conjugate ferential equations (PDEs) are solved numerically by transpose of A = (aij ). An unsubscripted norm k · k finite difference or finite element methods, which lead denotes a general vector norm and the corresponding to systems of linear equations or matrix eigenvalue subordinate matrix norm. Particular norms used here problems. Nonlinear equations and optimization prob- are the 2-norm k · k2 and the Frobenius norm k · kF . lems are typically solved using linear or quadratic The notation “i = 1: n” means that the integer variable models, which again lead to linear systems. i takes on the values 1; 2; : : : ; n. Solving linear systems of equations is an ancient task, undertaken by the Chinese around 1AD, but the study 1 Nonsingularity and Conditioning of matrices per se is relatively recent, originating with Arthur Cayley’s 1858 “A Memoir on the Theory of Matri- Nonsingularity of a matrix is a key requirement in many ces”.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:2012.09211V1 [Math-Ph] 16 Dec 2020
    Supersymmetry and Representation Theory in Low Dimensions Mathew Calkins1a;b, S. James Gates, Jr.2c;d, and Caroline Klivans3c;e;f aGoogle Search, 111 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA, bCourant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 251 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012, USA cBrown Theoretical Physics Center, Box S, 340 Brook Street, Barus Hall, Providence, RI 02912, USA dDepartment of Physics, Brown University, Box 1843, 182 Hope Street, Barus & Holley, Providence, RI 02912, USA eDivision of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, 182 George Street, Providence, RI 02906, USA and f Institute for Computational & Experimental Research in Mathematics, Brown University, 121 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903, USA ABSTRACT Beginning from a discussion of the known most fundamental dynamical structures of the Standard Model of physics, extended into the realms of math- ematics and theory by the concept of \supersymmetry" or \SUSY," an introduc- tion to efforts to develop a complete representation theory is given. Techniques drawing from graph theory, coding theory, Coxeter Groups, Riemann surfaces, arXiv:2012.09211v1 [math-ph] 16 Dec 2020 and computational approaches to the study of algebraic varieties are briefly highlighted as pathways for future exploration and progress. PACS: 11.30.Pb, 12.60.Jv Keywords: algorithms, off-shell, optimization, supermultiplets, supersymmetry 1 [email protected] 2 sylvester−[email protected] 3 Caroline−[email protected] 1 Supersymmetry and the Standard Model As far as experiments in elementary particle physics reveal, the basic constituents of matter and interactions (i.e. forces excluding gravity) in our universe can be summarized in the list of particles shown in the table indicated in Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Brochure on Careers in Applied Mathematics
    careers in applied mathematics Options for STEM Majors society for industrial and applied mathematics 2 / careers in applied mathematics Mathematics and computational science are utilized in almost every discipline of science, engineering, industry, and technology. New application areas are WHERE CAN YOU WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS MIGHT YOU WORK ON? constantly being discovered MAKE AN IMPACT? While careers in mathematics may differ widely by discipline while established techniques Many different types and job title, one thing remains constant among them— are being applied in new of organizations hire problem solving. Some potential problems that someone with ways and in emerging fields. mathematicians and mathematical training might encounter are described below. Consequently, a wide variety computational scientists. Which of them do you find most intriguing, and why? of career opportunities You can easily search the • How can an airline use smarter scheduling to reduce costs of are open to people with websites of organizations and aircraft parking and engine maintenance? Or smarter pricing mathematical talent and corporations that interest to maximize profit? training. you to learn more about their • How can one design a detailed plan for a clinical trial? Building such a plan requires advanced statistical skills and In this guide, you will find answers to sophisticated knowledge of the design of experiments. questions about careers in applied mathematics • Is ethanol a viable solution for the world’s dependence and computational science, and profiles on fossil fuels? Can biofuel production be optimized to of professionals working in a variety of combat negative implications on the world’s economy and environment? environments for which a strong background • How do we use major advances in computing power to in mathematics is necessary for success.
    [Show full text]
  • CELEBRATIO MATHEMATICA Saunders Mac Lane (2013) Msp 1
    PROOFS - PAGE NUMBERS ARE TEMPORARY 1 1 1 /2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 CELEBRATIO 9 10 11 MATHEMATICA 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Saunders Mac Lane 19 20 1 20 /2 21 22 23 24 25 26 JOHN G. THOMPSON 27 28 THE MAC LANE LECTURE 29 30 2013 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 1 39 /2 40 41 msp 42 1 43 44 45 http://celebratio.org/ 46 47 48 49 50 51 1 CELEBRATIO MATHEMATICA Saunders Mac Lane (2013) msp 1 THE MAC LANE LECTURE JOHN G. THOMPSON First published: 2 December 2005 Shortly after the death of Saunders Mac Lane in April, Krishna [Alladi] asked me if I would be willing to speak publicly about Saunders. I agreed to do so, but asked for time to think about and to prepare my remarks. In the meantime, Saunders’s autobiography[2005] has appeared, and it has been helpful to me. I expect that everyone here is aware of the book and the movie “A beautiful mind” which explore the life of John Nash. You will know that for many years, Nash was insane with schizophrenia. For most of us, and certainly for me, insanity is frightening and far from beautiful. I submit that Saunders had a genuinely beautiful mind. Except for an elite few of us, Mac Lane’s life and work do not have the drama and punch of Nash’s odyssey. I see my note today as a recorder, neither a hagiographer nor a debunker. Mac Lane’s mental world had great lucidity and covered much territory.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacy of Norbert Wiener: a Centennial Symposium
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1090/pspum/060 Selected Titles in This Series 60 David Jerison, I. M. Singer, and Daniel W. Stroock, Editors, The legacy of Norbert Wiener: A centennial symposium (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, October 1994) 59 William Arveson, Thomas Branson, and Irving Segal, Editors, Quantization, nonlinear partial differential equations, and operator algebra (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, June 1994) 58 Bill Jacob and Alex Rosenberg, Editors, K-theory and algebraic geometry: Connections with quadratic forms and division algebras (University of California, Santa Barbara, July 1992) 57 Michael C. Cranston and Mark A. Pinsky, Editors, Stochastic analysis (Cornell University, Ithaca, July 1993) 56 William J. Haboush and Brian J. Parshall, Editors, Algebraic groups and their generalizations (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, July 1991) 55 Uwe Jannsen, Steven L. Kleiman, and Jean-Pierre Serre, Editors, Motives (University of Washington, Seattle, July/August 1991) 54 Robert Greene and S. T. Yau, Editors, Differential geometry (University of California, Los Angeles, July 1990) 53 James A. Carlson, C. Herbert Clemens, and David R. Morrison, Editors, Complex geometry and Lie theory (Sundance, Utah, May 1989) 52 Eric Bedford, John P. D'Angelo, Robert E. Greene, and Steven G. Krantz, Editors, Several complex variables and complex geometry (University of California, Santa Cruz, July 1989) 51 William B. Arveson and Ronald G. Douglas, Editors, Operator theory/operator algebras and applications (University of New Hampshire, July 1988) 50 James Glimm, John Impagliazzo, and Isadore Singer, Editors, The legacy of John von Neumann (Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, May/June 1988) 49 Robert C. Gunning and Leon Ehrenpreis, Editors, Theta functions - Bowdoin 1987 (Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, July 1987) 48 R.
    [Show full text]
  • 17 Oct 2019 Sir Michael Atiyah, a Knight Mathematician
    Sir Michael Atiyah, a Knight Mathematician A tribute to Michael Atiyah, an inspiration and a friend∗ Alain Connes and Joseph Kouneiher Sir Michael Atiyah was considered one of the world’s foremost mathematicians. He is best known for his work in algebraic topology and the codevelopment of a branch of mathematics called topological K-theory together with the Atiyah-Singer index theorem for which he received Fields Medal (1966). He also received the Abel Prize (2004) along with Isadore M. Singer for their discovery and proof of the index the- orem, bringing together topology, geometry and analysis, and for their outstanding role in building new bridges between mathematics and theoretical physics. Indeed, his work has helped theoretical physicists to advance their understanding of quantum field theory and general relativity. Michael’s approach to mathematics was based primarily on the idea of finding new horizons and opening up new perspectives. Even if the idea was not validated by the mathematical criterion of proof at the beginning, “the idea would become rigorous in due course, as happened in the past when Riemann used analytic continuation to justify Euler’s brilliant theorems.” For him an idea was justified by the new links between different problems which it illuminated. Our experience with him is that, in the manner of an explorer, he adapted to the landscape he encountered on the way until he conceived a global vision of the setting of the problem. Atiyah describes here 1 his way of doing mathematics2 : arXiv:1910.07851v1 [math.HO] 17 Oct 2019 Some people may sit back and say, I want to solve this problem and they sit down and say, “How do I solve this problem?” I don’t.
    [Show full text]