Morse theory, the topology of manifolds and energy landscapes

This meeting is both in-person and Zoom.

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Abstract: Morse theory is an area within differential topology which
allows for a direct study of the topology of a manifold by analysis of
smooth functions on it. Besides its many applications in mathematics,
notably in topology and geometry, Morse theory has been used in
theoretical physics to examine supersymmtry and gauge 
theories and recently has found applications in topological data
analysis. In the talk, the fundamental ideas of Morse theory will be
explained and then it will be shown how it can be applied to study the
the energy landsscape i.e. the potential energy surface of a molecule
at the example of short n-alkanes.