Field equations on manifolds are of interest in many areas of mathematics and physics. Equations for the curvature, a tensor field, are central to general relativity. Maxwell's equations govern the behavior of a different type of tensor field. The wave equation concerns a scalar field. We will discuss these three field equations, focusing on the case when the underlying manifold is flat (Minkowski) spacetime. We will discuss motivation in the larger context of the Bianchi equations on a more general spacetime and the stability problem of Minkowski spacetime.

Zoom Meeting ID: 961 6652 1871 Speaker(s): Christopher Stith (University of Michigan)