Abstracts

UK Dynamical Systems Graduate School on Complex Dynamics

University of Liverpool, January 14 - 18, 2008



Lecture courses



An introduction to one-dimensional holomorphic dynamics

(5 lectures)

Lasse Rempe, University of Liverpool

Lecture 1: Introduction, motivation, examples. Introduction to normal families, definition of Fatou and Julia sets.

Lecture 2: Basic properties of Fatou and Julia sets. Bloch's Principle and Zalcman's Lemma. Density of repelling periodic points.

Lecture 3: Classification of periodic Fatou components. Exampls of Baker and Wandering Domains.

Lecture 4: Local conjugacy results. Outlook.

Lecture 5: Quadratic polynomials and the Mandelbrot set: external rays, connectivity of the Mandelbrot set.


Kleinian groups and their relation to holomorphic dynamics

(4 lectures)

Mary Rees, University of Liverpool

Lecture 1: Introduction to quasiconformal mapping and the Measurable Riemann mapping theorem.

Lecture 2: Introduction to Kleinian groups, and dictionary with dynamics of rational maps.

Lecture 3: Basic dynamics of Kleinian groups: density of hyperbolic points, minimality of the action on the limit set.

Lecture 4: The Ahlfors finiteness theorem, perhaps a discussion of the absence of invariant line fields.


Quasiconformal mappings and dynamics

(4 lectures)

Carsten Petersen, Universitets Center Roskilde

Lecture 1: Branner-Hubbard motions and surgery on a hyperbolic component of a one parameter family.

Lecture 2: Straightening of polynomial-like maps and the Branner-Douady surgery

Lecture 3: The Douady Siegel surgery, consequences and variations.

Lecture 4: Trans-quasi-conformal surgery.


The role of the escaping set in holomorphic dynamics

(4 lectures)

Phil Rippon and Gwyneth Stallard, Open University

Lecture 1 (Rippon): The escaping set of a transcendental entire function: examples, connections with the Fatou and Julia sets, Eremenko's conjectures. Introduction to the fast escaping set.

Lecture 2 (Stallard): The fast escaping set of a transcendental entire function: equivalent definitions, connections with the Fatou and Julia sets, properties of components.

Lecture 3 (Stallard): Examples for which the escaping set and fast escaping set is connected. Components of the intersection of the Julia set and the fast escaping set.

Lecture 4 (Rippon): The escaping set of a transcendental meromorphic function: examples, connections with the Fatou and Julia sets, properties of the escaping set for a function with a direct tract.



Other lectures and contributed talks



Marco Abate, Università di Pisa

An introduction to higher-dimensional complex dynamics

I will give a one-hour lecture on local dynamics in several complex variables, stressing similarities and differences with one complex variable. In particular, I will explain how to construct Fatou-Bieberbach domains (which strictly speaking is not a local matter, but is a natural topic to touch upon when talking about attracting fixed points and their basin of attraction).