Unexpected Phenomena in Energy Minimization and Polarization (UP24)

Energy minimization problems, both discrete and continuous, arise naturally in many areas of mathematics and science: discrete geometry, mathematical physics, approximation theory, signal processing etc. A number of interesting and unexpected phenomena in such problems have been studied recently: universal optimality, discretization of minimizers, condensation and phase transitions, to name just a few. It turns out that the behavior of such minimizers is much more subtle than one would naturally expect.

The aim of this mini-workshop is to bring together a multifaceted group of researchers working in potential theory, approximation, special functions, point configurations, lattices, and numerical analysis who have recently made important contributions to energy minimization and polarization problems to report on their work and to collaborate in trying to resolve some of the fundamental questions in the field.