Geometry and Topology of Crystals

Vanessa Robins (ANU)

Abstract

This will be a survey talk covering some highlights of the mathematical descriptions of crystal structure from the platonic polyhedra of ancient Greece to the current picture of crystallographic groups as orbifolds. Modern materials synthesis raises fascinating questions about the enumeration and classification of periodic interwoven or entangled frameworks, that might be addressed by techniques from 3-manifold topology and knot theory.