Members of the RTFG do research in differential, algebraic and symplectic geometry, topology and group theory and their relation to various areas of theoretical physics. The picture shows the detailed structure of two stable vortex knots with different morphology. Image: Julien Garaud.

Ágata Timón García-Longoria (ICMAT-CSIC)

From 26 to 29 November the ICMAT will be hosting the Meeting of the Geometry and Physics Thematic Network (RTGF), at which more than 40 researchers will discuss the latest advances in numerous problems in which these two disciplines interact. The main objective of the event, which coincides with the main purpose of the RTGF, is ‘to promote communication, exchange and excellence of research groups in Spain, with wide international projection, working in the field of interaction between geometry and physics, specifically differential geometry, algebraic and symplectic geometry, topology and group theory and their relationship with various areas of theoretical physics’, say the organisers of the event, Mario García-Fernández (ICMAT-CSIC) and Oscar García-Prada (ICMAT-CSIC), who is also the coordinator, since the beginning, and founder of the Network.

To this end, the programme includes 12 ‘senior lectures’, given by research staff in consolidated stages of their careers, six ‘junior lectures’, given by staff in the early stages of their careers, and a poster session. Recent results will be presented on topics such as the Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence, Khovanov homology, generalised complex geometry, Higgs beams, Calabi-Yau varieties and pseudo-Kähler structures.

The event coincides with the dates when the first RTGF meeting was organised 21 years ago (see picture below). ‘Some of the senior speakers at this meeting, such as Luis Álvarez Cónsul (ICMAT-CSIC), Marina Logares (Complutense University of Madrid) or Carlos Tejero (University of Salamanca) were PhD students or young postdoctoral researchers at that first meeting,’ says García-Fernández. ‘Nigel Hitchin [emeritus professor at Oxford University and co-director of one of the ICMAT Laboratories], Daniel Hernández Ruipérez, former rector of the University of Salamanca, and Richard Thomas, who gave his name to the Donaldson-Thomas theory in algebraic geometry, also took part in that pioneering event. In addition, the participants also included well-known physicists such as Ángel Uranga (Institute of Theoretical Physics) and Ruben Minasian (Ecole Polytechnique, France)’, recalls García-Fernández, who at the time had not yet finished his degree.

The first meeting of the RTGF took place from 24 to 28 November 2003 at La Cristalera, a teaching centre of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Miraflores de la Sierra (Madrid). In the front row, in the centre, Oscar García-Prada, coordinator of the Network. Image: RTGF.

Red Temática de Geometría y Física (Geometry and Physics Thematic Network)

The RTGF is a Spanish network dedicated to the interaction between geometry and physics, with emphasis on gauge theory, modular spaces, topological invariants, symplectic geometry, quantum field theory and string theory. Its purpose is to ‘foster collaboration between geometricians and physicists through scientific activities such as workshops, specialised mini-workshops, doctoral schools and working groups’.
Researchers from the ICMAT, the Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Pontifical University of Comillas, the University of Salamanca, the University of Zaragoza, the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia are taking part.

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