Yves Colin de Verdière
Encyclopedia
Yves Colin de Verdière is a French
mathematician
.
He studied at the ENS
in the late 1960s, obtained his PhD in 1973, and then spent the bulk of his working life in Grenoble
. He retired in December 2005.
He is known for work in spectral theory
, in particular on the semiclassical limit of quantum mechanics
(including quantum chaos
); in graph theory
where he introduced a new graph invariant, the Colin de Verdière graph invariant
; and on a variety of other subjects within Riemannian geometry
and Number theory
.
His contributions have been recognized by several awards: senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France from 1991 to 2001; Ampère Prize of the French Academy of Sciences
in 1999; Fellow of the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 2005.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
.
He studied at the ENS
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
in the late 1960s, obtained his PhD in 1973, and then spent the bulk of his working life in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
. He retired in December 2005.
He is known for work in spectral theory
Spectral theory
In mathematics, spectral theory is an inclusive term for theories extending the eigenvector and eigenvalue theory of a single square matrix to a much broader theory of the structure of operators in a variety of mathematical spaces. It is a result of studies of linear algebra and the solutions of...
, in particular on the semiclassical limit of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
(including quantum chaos
Quantum chaos
Quantum chaos is a branch of physics which studies how chaotic classical dynamical systems can be described in terms of quantum theory. The primary question that quantum chaos seeks to answer is, "What is the relationship between quantum mechanics and classical chaos?" The correspondence principle...
); in graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
where he introduced a new graph invariant, the Colin de Verdière graph invariant
Colin de Verdière graph invariant
Colin de Verdière's invariant is a graph parameter \mu for any graph G introduced by Yves Colin de Verdière in 1990. It was motivated by the study of the maximum multiplicity of the second eigenvalue of certain Schrödinger operators.-Definition:...
; and on a variety of other subjects within Riemannian geometry
Riemannian geometry
Riemannian geometry is the branch of differential geometry that studies Riemannian manifolds, smooth manifolds with a Riemannian metric, i.e. with an inner product on the tangent space at each point which varies smoothly from point to point. This gives, in particular, local notions of angle, length...
and Number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
.
His contributions have been recognized by several awards: senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France from 1991 to 2001; Ampère Prize of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
in 1999; Fellow of the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 2005.