MAS441   Optics and Symplectic Geometry   (10 credits)

Description

This course is an introduction to some of the areas of pure mathematics which have evolved from the mathematical study of optics. Optics provides a unifying thread, but no prior knowledge of the properties of light is required. Mathematical topics covered include symplectic structures on vector spaces, symplectic maps and matrices, Lagrangian subspaces and characteristic functions and, if time permits, an introduction to the Maslov class and/or Symplectic manifolds. In terms of optics we cover Gaussian, linear and geometrical optics and (if time permits) an introduction to aberration.

Reading List