Triangulations of the K3 surface

GTA Seminar - Wednesday, 3 December, 11:00-12:00 in Carlaw 535A

Please join us for lunch after the talk!

Triangulations of the K3 surface

The K3 surface is a simply connected prime PL \(4)\-manifold which plays an important role in several areas of mathematics. In this talk, I will present two distinct construction principles which led to two triangulations of the K3 surface. One minimal triangulation of unknown PL type and one non-minimal triangulation of standard PL type. The talk will focus on the important role of computational topology software in the construction of these triangulations, as well as in the ongoing attempts to prove that they are PL equivalent. This is joint work with Wolfgang Kühnel.