Vanderson Lima
Mathematics
Vanderson Lima is a mathematician with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Federal University of Ceará and a doctorate from the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). In addition to a postdoctoral internship at IMPA, Vanderson completed a second postdoctoral internship at the University of Chicago, United States. The scientist has a fascinating project that seeks to find a precise mathematical formulation for Kip Thorne’s Hoop Conjecture, related to black holes in the theory of general relativity.
Today, he is part of the teaching staff at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. In addition to his research, Vanderson also values moments of relaxation and outside conversation, especially if enjoyed in the environment where he likes most: a bar. Passionate about cinema, the mathematician always tries to see the latest news and films from various nationalities and origins. Dream of seeing Brazilian cinema receive the recognition it deserves.
Projects
One of the most impactful developments in science was the theoretical prediction of black holes in the context of the General Theory of Relativity. Each of these objects corresponds to a region of space-time delimited by a “membrane” called the horizon, where gravity is so strong that no form of matter/energy can escape from within it. This topic has a rich history that culminates in the first direct image of a black hole’s shadow taken in 2019.
In 1973, Kip Thorne formulated a statement known today as the Hoop Conjecture, which proposes to translate into the language of Physics the idea that a black hole arises if, and only if, a large amount of matter is compressed in a region whose size is small compared to its mass. As is usual in theoretical physics, General Relativity can be formulated through Mathematics. This project aims to find a precise mathematical formulation of the conjecture mentioned above and demonstrate it.
