The Hodge conjecture: the complications of understanding the shape of geometric spaces

Abstract

The Hodge conjecture is one of the seven millennium problems, and is framed within differential geometry and algebraic geometry. It was proposed by William Hodge in 1950 and is currently a stimulus for the development of several theories based on geometry, analysis, and mathematical physics. It proposes a natural condition for the existence of complex submanifolds within a complex manifold. Manifolds are the spaces in which geometric objects can be considered. In complex manifolds, the structure of the space is based on complex numbers, instead of the most intuitive structure of geometry, based on real numbers.