Supersymmetry and Morse Theory
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Thu, 21/02 15:00 |
Thomas Wasserman |
Junior Geometry and Topology Seminar  |
SR1 |
| Morse theory gives an estimate of the dimensions of the cohomology groups of a manifold in terms of the critical points of a function.One can do better and compute the cohomology in terms of this function using the so-called Witten complex.Already implicit in work of Smale in the fifties, it was rediscovered by Witten in the eighties using techniques from (supersymmetric) quantum field theories.I will explain Witten's (heuristic) arguments and describe the Witten complex. | |||