Adrien Douady
Encyclopedia
Adrien Douady was a French
mathematician
.
He was a student of Henri Cartan
at the Ecole Normale Supérieure
, and initially worked in homological algebra
. His thesis concerned deformations of complex analytic spaces. Subsequently, he became more interested in the work of Pierre Fatou
and Gaston Julia
and made significant contributions to the fields of analytic geometry
and dynamical systems. Together with his former student John H. Hubbard
, he launched a new subject, and a new school, studying properties of iterated quadratic complex mappings. They made important mathematical contributions in this field of complex dynamics, including a study of the Mandelbrot set
. One of their most fundamental results is that the Mandelbrot set is connected; perhaps most important is their theory of renormalization (polynomial-like maps). The Douady rabbit
, a quadratic filled Julia set
, is named after him.
He taught at the University of Nice and was a Professor at the Paris-Sud 11 University
, Orsay.
He was elected to the Académie des Sciences in 1997, and was featured in the French animation project Dimensions.
He died after diving into the cold Mediterranean from a favourite spot near his vacation home in the Var.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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 was a student of Henri Cartan
Henri Cartan
Henri Paul Cartan was a French mathematician with substantial contributions in algebraic topology. He was the son of the French mathematician Élie Cartan.-Life:...
at the Ecole Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
, and initially worked in homological algebra
Homological algebra
Homological algebra is the branch of mathematics which studies homology in a general algebraic setting. It is a relatively young discipline, whose origins can be traced to investigations in combinatorial topology and abstract algebra at the end of the 19th century, chiefly by Henri Poincaré and...
. His thesis concerned deformations of complex analytic spaces. Subsequently, he became more interested in the work of Pierre Fatou
Pierre Fatou
Pierre Joseph Louis Fatou was a French mathematician working in the field of complex analytic dynamics. He entered the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 1898 to study mathematics and graduated in 1901 when he was appointed an astronomy post in the Paris Observatory...
and Gaston Julia
Gaston Julia
Gaston Maurice Julia was a French mathematician who devised the formula for the Julia set. His works were popularized by French mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot; the Julia and Mandelbrot fractals are closely related....
and made significant contributions to the fields of analytic geometry
Analytic geometry
Analytic geometry, or analytical geometry has two different meanings in mathematics. The modern and advanced meaning refers to the geometry of analytic varieties...
and dynamical systems. Together with his former student John H. Hubbard
John H. Hubbard
John Hamal Hubbard was born on October 6 or 7, 1945 . He is an American mathematician who is currently a professor at Cornell University and the Université de Provence. He is well known for the mathematical contributions he made with Adrien Douady in the field of complex dynamics, including a study...
, he launched a new subject, and a new school, studying properties of iterated quadratic complex mappings. They made important mathematical contributions in this field of complex dynamics, including a study of the Mandelbrot set
Mandelbrot set
The Mandelbrot set is a particular mathematical set of points, whose boundary generates a distinctive and easily recognisable two-dimensional fractal shape...
. One of their most fundamental results is that the Mandelbrot set is connected; perhaps most important is their theory of renormalization (polynomial-like maps). The Douady rabbit
Douady rabbit
The Douady rabbit, named for the French mathematician Adrien Douady, is any of various particular filled Julia sets associated with the c near the center period 3 buds of Mandelbrot set for complex quadratic map.-Forms of the complex quadratic map:...
, a quadratic filled Julia set
Filled Julia set
The filled-in Julia set \ K of a polynomial \ f is a Julia set and its interior.-Formal definition:The filled-in Julia set \ K of a polynomial \ f is defined as the set of all points z\, of dynamical plane that have bounded orbit with respect to \ f...
, is named after him.
He taught at the University of Nice and was a Professor at the Paris-Sud 11 University
Paris-Sud 11 University
University of Paris-Sud or University of Paris-Sud or University of Paris XI is a French university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburb of Paris...
, Orsay.
He was elected to the Académie des Sciences in 1997, and was featured in the French animation project Dimensions.
He died after diving into the cold Mediterranean from a favourite spot near his vacation home in the Var.
External links
- http://picard.ups-tlse.fr/~cheritat/Adrien70/index.php
- http://www.math.jacobs-university.de/adrien with a guest book to share your memories
- Pictures with Adrien Douady