Geometry & Topology Seminar: "Taut co-oriented foliations"

Rachel Roberts

Organizer: Xiang Tang

Abstract:  Eliashberg and Thurston proved that the tangent plane field of any $C^2$ taut oriented foliation $\mathcal F \ne S^1\times S^2$ can be $C^0$ approximated by a pair of particularly nice smooth contact structures.  Kazez and Roberts proved that the requirement that $\mathcal F$ be $C^2$ can be replaced by the weaker condition that $\mathcal F$ have continuous tangent plane field. A very similar result was obtained independently by Bowden.  I will discuss some constructions of taut, co-oriented foliations in the context of this theorem.