Orateur: Ivan Izmestiev (Fribourg)
Titre: On the discrete Hilbert-Einstein functional
Résumé: The Hilbert-Einstein functional (the integral of the scalar curvature) is a function on the set of all Riemannian metrics on a given manifold. Its critical points are the so-called Einstein metrics; in dimension 3 these are the metrics of constant curvature. The discrete analog of the Hilbert-Einstein functional is defined on the space of polyhedral metrics and expresses as a sum of edge lengths times the angular defects. We will review what is known about the variational properties of this functional and indicate some directions for future research.​

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