Alberto Abbondandolo
Estimates and computations in Rabinowitz-Floer homology

Abstract: Rabinowitz-Floer homology is an algebraic invariant associated to a compact 
exact symplectic manifold W with convex boundary, which takes into account the periodic 
orbits on the boundary of W. It was recently introduced by K. Cieliebak and U. Frauenfelder, 
and it has already produced interesting applications both in symplectic topology and in 
Hamiltonian dynamics. After describing this invariant and explaining what it is good for, 
I will focus on the case in which W is the unit disk bundle in the cotangent bundle of a 
closed Riemannian manifold M, and I will explain how Rabinowitz-Floer homology can 
be related to the Morse-Bott theory for closed geodesics on M. 
This is a joint work with Matthias Schwarz.