Geometry & Topology Seminar: "Circles at Infinity"

Abstract: On a 3-manifold, certain geometric and dynamical objects can be understood “at infinity” in terms of a “universal circle,” a topological circle equipped with an action of the fundamental group. These circles arise, for example, from taut foliations, quasigeodesic flows, and pseudo-Anosov flows. In this talk we will outline the construction of these circles, and discuss several conjectures that use them as a bridge between the structure of the flow or foliation and the geometry and topology of the underlying manifold.

Host: Xiang Tang