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Florin Diacu - A central long loop: celestial mechanics
algebraic
topology
celestrial mechanics
| FLORIN DIACU, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P4 |
| A central long loop: celestial mechanics
algebraic
topology
celestrial mechanics |
Most mathematical theories are like unfaithful offspring: they forget their origins. But some remember them. In 1892, while pursuing his studies on the 3-body problem, Poincaré laid the foundations of algebraic topology. The new field flourished, finding applications in many branches of mathematics. A hundred years later its tools were used to answer Poincaré's initial question. This talk will present the history and consequences of this problem.