Almost all drums sound awfulMPIM

by Eva-Maria Hekkelman (MPIM)

Wednesday Nov 4, 2026, 10:30 AM → 12:00 PM Europe/Berlin

MPIM, Vivatsgasse, 7 - Lecture Hall (Max Planck Institute for Mathematics)

Higher Differential Geometry Seminar

Musical intervals which sound pleasant, consist of frequencies that are rational multiples of each other. In joint work with Malte Leimbach and Oliver Fürst, we show that the sound of a generic drum (i.e. the spectrum of the Laplacian on a Riemannian manifold) contains no such harmonies at all. Our theorem has implications for a physics-inspired research programme by Alain Connes and Walter van Suijlekom in noncommutative geometry. In my talk, I will explain our result and the key ideas in this research programme, and how they are related.