Analysis and PDE

Analysis & PDE

The Analysis & PDE research area covers a breadth of topics, including harmonic analysis, microlocal analysis, geometric and physical variational problems, elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations, dispersive equations, geometric partial differential equations, geometric evolutions, operator algebras, among other related research topics.

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About

The Analysis & PDE research area in MSI studies fundamental questions about functions and continuous processes. We study partial differential equations, harmonic analysis, microlocal analysis, stochastic analysis, mathematical physics, abstract analysis, geometric analysis, differential geometry, symplectic geometry and noncommutative geometry.

Capabilities

Each faculty member runs their own independent research program, often involving postdocs, PhD students, masters students and honours students, and with numerous international collaborators.

  • Ben Andrews: geometric partial differential equations (including mean curvature flow and Ricci flow), geometric variational problems (including isoperimetric problems and eigenvalue inequalities), and geometric approaches to the analysis of differential equations.
  • Andrew Hassell: microlocal analysis and PDE applied to spectral theory, quantum chaos, nonlinear dispersive equations, and rough wave equations.
  • Qiuye Jia: partial differential equations, mathematical physics, and inverse problems via techniques and tools from microlocal analysis and harmonic analysis
  • Mat Langford: Ricci flow, mean curvature flow and flows of hypersurfaces by nonlinear functions of their curvature, related nonlinear elliptic and parabolic PDE, and applications to topology, geometry and general relativity
  • Galina Levitina: Noncommutative geometry, spectral theory, operator theory and mathematical physics.
  • Junhwi Lim: operator algebras, functional analysis, quantum symmetries
  • Brett Parker: Symplectic geometry and Gromov-Witten and related invariants using exploded manifolds.
  • Pierre Portal: partial differential equations analysed using stochastic analysis to understand random dynamics at the microscopic level, and harmonic analysis to understand oscillatory patterns at the macroscopic level.
  • Alex Rose: Harmonic analysis, Fourier analysis, additive combinatorics, mathematical physics, mathematical data science
  • James Tener: Operator algebras, functional analysis, and representation theory to study the mathematical foundations of quantum field theory
  • Bryan Wang: geometric properties of moduli spaces in symplectic topology and gauge theories in low dimensions as well as invariants from these moduli spaces.
  • Griff Ware: banach algebras
  • Xiaoxu Wu: Wave turbulence; mathematical problems in quantum computing; long-time behaviour of solutions to dispersive PDEs
  • Po Lam Yung: harmonic analysis, particularly function spaces (such as Sobolev spaces), singular integrals, oscillatory integrals, and related problems in Fourier restriction theory.

Reasons to work with us

Work with world-leading mathematical analysts. The quality of our faculty is shown by numerous awards and honours, including Laureate Fellowships, Future Fellowships, Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, ICM addresses, and medals including the Morningside Medal, Ambrosetti Medal, and several Australian Mathematical Society Medals.

Many of our PhD graduates have gone on to stellar careers in academia, while others have had outstanding careers in industry and the private sector.

Projects

Analysis (harmonic, functional, and/or stochastic) of partial differential equations.

Student intake

Open for Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD students

Status

Potential

People

The problem of numerically computing eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Laplacian, with Dirichlet (zero) boundary conditions, on a plane domain, is computationally intensive and there is a lot of theory behind finding efficient algorithms.

Student intake

Open for Honours students

Status

Potential

People

The curve shortening flow is a simple and beautiful example of a geometric heat flow, the family of equations which includes the Ricci flow used by Perelman to prove the Poincare conjecture as well as many other interesting examples. 

Student intake

Open for Bachelor, Summer scholar students

Status

Potential

People

Suppose a domain with smooth boundary is given. It turns out that there is a discrete set of eigenfunctions which can be arranged in a sequence for which there is a nontrivial solution to the eigenfunction equation...

Student intake

Open for Honours students

Status

Potential

People

On a (compact) Riemannian manifold there is a natural differential operator on functions, the Laplacian. The eigenvalues of this operator are important invariants of the manifold, and there are many interesting results which relate the eigenvalues to other geometric quantities...

Student intake

Open for Bachelor, Summer scholar students

Status

Potential

People

Study one of the classic non-Euclidean geometries, two-dimensional hyperbolic space, using a simple model. Suitable for first year MATH1116 students.

Student intake

Open for Bachelor students

Status

Potential

People

Members

Emeritus

Michael Barnsley

Emeritus Professor

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Honorary Professor

John Hutchinson

Emeritus Professor

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Retired Fellow

Neil Trudinger

Emeritus Professor

John Urbus

Emeritus Professor

Xu-Jia Wang

Honorary Professor

Researcher

Ben Andrews

Professor
Associate Director (Research)

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MSI Fellow

Andrew Hassell

Professor
ARC Laureate Fellow

Qiuye Jia

Postdoctoral Fellow

Mat Langford

MSI Fellow
ARC Future Fellow

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Senior Lecturer
ARC DECRA Fellow

Junhwi Lim

MSI Fellow

Brett Parker

Senior Lecturer
MSI Colloquium Organiser

Photo of Pierre Portal

Associate Professor

Associate Professor
HDR Convener

Bryan wang

Associate Professor

Griff Ware

Lecturer
Undergraduate Convenor

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Postdoctoral Fellow

Student