Analytic consequences of unitary representation theory

One of the most widely used and fruitful techniques for the study of complicated systems is to take advantage of any underlying symmetries in the system, because these symmetries influence how a system behaves in profound ways. The symmeries form a mathematical object called a group and this group acts as transformations of various important aspects of the system under study. From such an action, a represntation of the group can be formed and studied using the abstract theory of unitary operators on a Hilbert space (a vector space related to the aspects of interest). In this project, we exploit this general theory to study two classes of problems, both of which have potentially interesting applications. In one stream of work, we are using the translation and dilation symmetries to illuminate the underlying structure of wavelet analysis, an emerging technique for storing, compressing, improving and analyzing signals and images. As a special application, we will be applying our results to electroretinagrams (ERGs) that are a diagnostic tool for the study of conditions of the retina. Wavelet analysis will be used to develop tools that could potentially assist ophthalmologists in their detection of emerging conditions. In the other stream, we will study the representation theory of the groups of symmetries associated with carbon nanotubes. These marvelous large molecules are being synthesized in a number of labs around the world and they hold promise to be important building blocks in the new science of nanotechnology. It is important to know when certain physical properties, such as conductivity, will hold for a given shape of tube. Such properties are controlled, or at least constrained, by the symmetries of the situation. Working with interested chemists, we plan on advancing understanding of how these physical properties emerge.