Variational Problems in Differential Geometry

The field of geometric variational problems is fast-moving and influential. These problems interact with many other areas of mathematics and have strong relevance to the study of integrable systems, mathematical physics and PDEs. The workshop 'Variational Problems in Differential Geometry' held in 2009 at the University of Leeds brought together internationally respected researchers from many different areas of the field. Topics discussed included recent developments in harmonic maps and morphisms, minimal and CMC surfaces, extremal Kähler metrics, the Yamabe functional, Hamiltonian variational problems and topics related to gauge theory and to the Ricci flow. These articles reflect the whole spectrum of the subject and cover not only current results, but also the varied methods and techniques used in attacking variational problems. With a mix of original and expository papers, this volume forms a valuable reference for more experienced researchers and an ideal introduction for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Roger Bielawski is Professor of Geometry at the University of Leeds and specializes in gauge theory and hyperkähler geometry.

Kevin Houston is a senior lecturer at the University of Leeds and specializes in singularity theory. He is the author of over twenty published research papers and author of the undergraduate textbook How to Think Like a Mathematician published by Cambridge University Press in 2009.

Martin Speight is Reader in Mathematical Physics at the University of Leeds. He specializes in the applications of differential geometry to theoretical physics, particularly the study of topological solitons.