L1

While the classification of crystals made up by just one atom per cell is well-known and understood (Bravais lattices), that for more complex structures is not. We present a geometric way classifying these crystals and an arithmetic one, the latter introduced in solid mechanics only recently. The two approaches are then compared. Our main result states that they are actually equivalent; this way a geometric interpretation of the arithmetic criterion in given. These results are useful for the kinematic description of solid-solid phase transitions. Finally we will reformulate the arithmetic point of view in terms of group cohomology, giving an intrinsic view and showing interesting features.

The talk will discuss the variationnal problem on finite

dimensional normed spaces and Finsler manifolds.

We first review different notions of ellipticity (convexity) for

parametric integrands (densities) on normed spaces and compare them with

different minimality properties of affine subspaces. Special attention will

be given to Busemann and Holmes-Thompson k-area. If time permits, we will

then present the first variation formula on Finsler manifolds and exhibit a

class of minimal submanifolds.

Integral currents were introduced by H. Federer and W. H. Fleming in 1960

as a suitable generalization of surfaces in connection with the study of area

minimization problems in Euclidean space. L. Ambrosio and B. Kirchheim have

recently extended the theory of currents to arbitrary metric spaces. The new

theory provides a suitable framework to formulate and study area minimization

and isoperimetric problems in metric spaces.

The aim of the talk is to discuss such problems for Banach spaces and for

spaces with an upper curvature bound in the sense of Alexandrov. We present

some techniques which lead to isoperimetric inequalities, solutions to

Plateau's problem, and to other results such as the equivalence of flat and

weak convergence for integral currents.