Department of Mathematics

Speaker: Sara Maloni
Title: Polyhedra Inscribed in Quadrics and Their Geometry
Affiliation: Brown University
Date: Monday, January 11, 2016
Place and Time: Room 101, Love Building, 3:35-4:30 pm
Refreshments: Room 204, Love Building, 3:00 pm

Abstract. In 1832 Steiner asked for a characterization of polyhedra which can be inscribed in quadrics. In 1992 Rivin answered in the case of the sphere, using hyperbolic geometry. In this talk, I will describe the complete answer to Steiner's question, which involves the study of interesting analogues of hyperbolic geometry including anti de Sitter geometry. Time permitting, we will also discuss future directions in the study of convex hyperbolic and anti de Sitter manifolds. (This is joint work with J Danciger and JM Schlenker.)