''... homines dum docent discunt." 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Seneca    

 

                                             

 Schedule of lectures:   Mondays  and  Wednesdays  from  10:00 - 11:30  in  Raum 313

 

 Exercise class: Monday 16:00 - 17:30 in Seminarraum 3. Find the weekly homework below

 

 Office Hours: Mondays 15:00 - 17:00 

 

 Teaching assistant: Dr. Thomas Rot  (contact:  thomas (dot) rot (at) uni-koeln (dot) de). Office hours: Thursdays 14:00 to 16:00.

 

 Language used in the lectures:  English

 

 Prerequisites:  Although some notions will be briefly recalled in class, it is recommended for the student to have a good background in Differential Geometry  and Algebraic Topology.

 

 

 Bibliography:

 

- “Lectures on Symplectic Geometry“ by Ana Cannas da Silva, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Springer-Verlag. Available online here.

- "Introduction to Symplectic Topology" by Dusa McDuff and Dietmar Salamon, Oxford Mathematical Monographs.

 

 

 Introduction and some motivation...

 

Symplectic geometry was born about two centuries ago to provide the right mathematical framework for studying classical mechanics: the prototype of a symplectic manifold is the phase space of a particle moving in the three dimensional space. Since its origins, symplectic geometry has developed as an independent, fundamental branch of mathematics, having connections with complex geometry, algebraic geometry, mathematical physics and combinatorics. The aim of this course is to provide students with a general overview of basic concepts of symplectic geometry. We will closely follow the book ‘Lectures on Symplectic Geometry by Cannas da Silva, complementing some of the material with other sources. Time permitting, symplectic manifolds with group actions will be also treated. 

 

About the exam: It is going to be an oral exam. In order to be admitted, the average of the grades for the homework assignments must be greater or equal to 50/100. For the date, one possibility is July 21st, the other is September 15th. Later in September is also possible.