Mathematics in a Big Closed Russian City during the Cold War: Gorky-Nizhny Novgorod Mathematical Community
Lev Lerman
Lobachevsky University of Nizhni Novgorod
Date and time:
Monday, August 25, 2014 - 3:00pm
Location:
ECCR 257
Abstract:
In this talk it will be discussed the main lines of the development of mathematics in Gorky-Nizhny Novgorod, a city with a long history, great industry and cultural traditions. This was a closed city for foreigners during Soviet times but needs of the military industry and the natural curiosity of people wishing to stay far from authorities and politics led to a situation in which many became involved in scientific research, especially in the exact sciences: mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The main body of the talk will be devoted to the theory of bifurcation and chaos, but other topics will be also briefly discussed: the 16th and 20th Hilbert problems (related with work by D.A.Gudkov and N.N. Bautin, A.G. Sigalov), and mathematical physics (mathematical problems related with the spectrum of the multi-body Hamiltonian for the Schrodinger equation A.G. Sigalov, G.M. Zhislin --
Zhislin-van Winter-Hunziker theorem, discrete mathematics -- Yu.V. Glebsky).