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Curtis McMullen: Negatively curved crystals

Open Neighborhood seminar Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 PM in SC507. Snacks to follow in the Common Room. Our speaker is Curt McMullen:
Title: Negatively curved crystals:
See Harvard Magazine.

Abstract: Imagine the universe is a periodic crystal. If gravity makes space negatively curved, the thin walls of the crystalline structure might trace out a pattern of circles in the sky, visible at night. In this talk we will describe how to generate pictures of these patterns and how to think like a hyperbolic astronomer. We also touch on the connection to knots and links and arithmetic groups. The lecture is accompanied by an exhibit of prints in the Science Center lobby.