In this talk we will describe the steps towards self-consistent computer simulations of the evolution of the universe beginning soon after the Big Bang and ending with the formation of realistic stellar systems like the Milky Way. This is a multi-scale problem of vast proportions. The first step has been the Millennium Simulation, one of the largest and most successful numerical simulations of the Universe ever carried out. Now we are in the midst of the next step, where this is carried to a much higher level of physical fidelity on the latest supercomputing platforms. This talk will be illustrate how the role of mathematics is essential in this endeavor. Also computer simulations will be shown. This is joint work among others with Volker Springel.

Nonlinear systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) may permit several distinct solutions. The typical current approach to finding distinct solutions is to start Newton's method with many different initial guesses, hoping to find starting points that lie in different basins of attraction. In this talk, we present an infinite-dimensional deflation algorithm for systematically modifying the residual of a nonlinear PDE problem to eliminate known solutions from consideration. This enables the Newton--Kantorovitch iteration to converge to several different solutions, even starting from the same initial guess. The deflated Jacobian is dense, but an efficient preconditioning strategy is devised, and the number of Krylov iterations is observed not to grow as solutions are deflated. The technique is then applied to computing distinct solutions of nonlinear PDEs, tracing bifurcation diagrams, and to computing multiple local minima of PDE-constrained optimisation problems.

Stability of the hp-Raviart-Thomas projection operator as a mapping H^1(K) -> H^1(K) on the unit cube K in R^3 has been addressed e.g. in [2], see also [1]. These results are suboptimal with respect to the polynomial degree. In this talk we present quasi-optimal stability estimates for the hp-Raviart-Thomas projection operator on the cube. The analysis involves elements of the polynomial approximation theory on an interval and the real method of Banach space interpolation.

(Joint work with Herbert Egger, TU Darmstadt)

[1] Mark Ainsworth and Katia Pinchedez. hp-approximation theory for BDFM and RT finite elements on quadrilaterals. SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 40(6):2047–2068 (electronic) (2003), 2002.

[2] Dominik Schötzau, Christoph Schwab, and Andrea Toselli. Mixed hp-DGFEM for incompressible flows. SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 40(6):2171–2194 (electronic) (2003), 2002.

Some problems in scientific computing, like the forward simulation of electromagnetic waves in geophysical prospecting, can be
solved via approximation of f(A)b, the action of a large matrix function f(A) onto a vector b. Iterative methods based on rational Krylov
spaces are powerful tools for these computations, and the choice of parameters in these methods is an active area of research.
We provide an overview of different approaches for obtaining optimal parameters, with an emphasis on the exponential and resolvent function, and the square root. We will discuss applications of the rational Arnoldi method for iteratively generating near-optimal absorbing boundary layers for indefinite Helmholtz problems, and for rational least squares vector fitting.

Preconditioning is of significant importance in the solution of large dimensional systems of linear equations such as those that arise from the numerical solution of partial differential equation problems. In this talk we will attempt a broad ranging review of preconditioning.

The lecture will introduce the notion of a folded 4-dimensional hyperkähler manifold, give examples and prove a local existence theorem from boundary data using twistor methods, following an idea of Biquard.  

Kodaira dimension provides a very successful classification scheme for complex manifolds. The notion was extended to symplectic 4-manifolds. In this talk, we will define the Kodaira dimension for 3-manifolds through Thurston’s eight geometries. This is compatible with other Kodaira dimensions in the sense of “additivity”. This idea could be extended to dimension 4. Finally, we will see how it is sitting in a potential classification of 4-manifolds by exploring its relations with various Kodaira dimensions and other invariants like Gromov norm.

Hitchin's existence theorem asserts that a stable Higgs bundle of rank two carries a unitary connection satisfying Hitchin's self-duality equation. In this talk we discuss a new proof, via gluing methods, for
elements in the ends of the Higgs bundle moduli space and identify a dense open subset of the boundary of the compactification of this moduli space.