University of Georgia

Mathematics Department Colloquium

Ko Honda

University of Georgia

February 3, 2000

Tight Contact Structures and 3-dimensional Topology


Abstract: Contact structures (especially tight contact structures) on 3-manifolds have attracted a great deal of attention over the last decade. They enjoy close connections with 4-dimensional geometry, symplectic geometry, and Seiberg-Witten theory, as well as foliation theory in dimension 3. In this talk I will explain the recent advances in the theory of tight contact structures from a purely 3-dimensional viewpoint.