We will describe aspects of the geometry of non-minuscule rigid analytic period domains and their covering spaces, and pose some questions about p-adic period mappings and period images by analogy with the complex analytic theory.

TBA

Symplectic capacities are symplectic invariants that measure the “size” of symplectic manifolds and are designed to capture phenomena of symplectic rigidity.

In this talk, I will focus on symplectic capacities of fiberwise convex domains in cotangent bundles. This setting provides a natural link to the systolic geometry of the base manifold. I will survey current results and discuss the variety of techniques used to compute symplectic capacities, ranging from billiard dynamics to pseudoholomorphic curves and symplectic homology. I will illustrate these techniques using disk tangent bundles of ellipsoids as an example.

Fundamentally motivated by the two opposing phenomena of fragmentation and coalescence, we introduce a new stochastic object which is both a process and a geometry. The Brownian marble is built from coalescing Brownian motions on the real line, with further coalescing Brownian motions introduced through time in the gaps between yet to coalesce Brownian paths. The instantaneous rate at which we introduce more Brownian paths is given by λ/g2\lambda/g^2λ/g2 where ggg is the gap between two adjacent existing Brownian paths. We show that the process "comes down from infinity" when 0<λ<60<\lambda<60<λ<6 and the resulting space-time graph of the process is a strict subset of the Brownian Web on R×[0,∞)\mathbb R \times [0,\infty)R×[0,∞). When λ≥6\lambda \geq 6λ≥6, the resulting process "does not come down from infinity" and the resulting range of the process agrees with the Brownian Web.

The centre of the universal enveloping algebra of a complex semisimple Lie algebra has been understood for a long time since the pioneering work of Harish-Chandra. In contrast, the centres of the equivalent notions in characteristic p are still yet to be computed explicitly. In this talk, Zhenyu Yang and Rick Chen will present an explicit basis for the centre of the restricted enveloping algebra of sl_2, constructed from explicit calculations combined with techniques from non-commutative rings and Morita equivalences. They will then explain how to generalise the argument to compute the centre of the distribution algebra of the second Frobenius kernel of the algebraic group SL_2. This work was part of their summer project under the supervision of Konstantin Ardakov.

Let $X_0 $ be a rational surface with a cyclic quotient singularity $(1,a)/r$.  Kawamata constructed a remarkable vector bundle  $F_0$  on $X_0$ such that the finite-dimensional algebra End$(F_0)$ "absorbs'' the singularity of $X_0$ in a categorical sense. If we deform over an irreducible component of the versal deformation space of $X_0$ (as described by Kollár and Shepherd-Barron), the vector bundle $F_0$ also deforms to a vector bundle $F$. These results were established using abstract methods of birational geometry, making the explicit computation of the family of algebras challenging. We will utilise homological mirror symmetry to compute End$(F)$ explicitly in a certain bulk-deformed Fukaya category. In the case of a $Q$-Gorenstein smoothing, this algebra End$(F)$ is a matrix order over $k[t]$ and "absorbs" the singularity of the corresponding terminal 3-fold singularity. This is based on joint work with Jenia Tevelev.

In this talk, Konstantin Recke, University of Oxford,  will report on some results pertaining to the interplay between geometric group theory, operator algebras and probability theory. Konstantin will introduce so-called invariant percolation models from probability theory and discuss their relation to geometric and analytic properties of groups such as amenability, the Haagerup property (a-T-menability), $L^p$-compression and Kazhdan's property (T). Based on joint work with Chiranjib Mukherjee (Münster).

TBA

[No talk currently scheduled]

I will present an overview of a range of interdisciplinary modelling challenges that I have been working on in collaboration with experimentalists and external partners. I will begin with mathematical modelling of calcium signalling in In-Vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryogenesis, illustrating how multiscale approaches can link molecular dynamics to cellular and developmental outcomes. I will then discuss our ongoing work on modelling viral transmission in indoor environments, carried out in collaboration with architects and policymakers, with the aim of informing evidence-based policy decisions for future epidemics.

TBA

Professor Nick Trefethen will speak about: 'Quadrature = rational approximation'

Whenever you see a string of quadrature nodes, you can consider it as a branch cut defined by the poles of a rational approximation to the Cauchy transform of a weight function.  The aim of this talk is to explain this strange statement and show how it opens the way to calculation of targeted quadrature formulas for all kinds of applications.  Gauss quadrature is an example, but it is just the starting point, and many more examples will be shown.  I hope this talk will change your understanding of quadrature formulas. 

This is joint work with Andrew Horning. 
 

In this talk we present different modeling approaches to describe and analyse the dynamics of large pedestrian crowds. We start with the individual microscopic description and derive the respective partial differential equation (PDE) models for the crowd density. Hereby we are particularly interested in identifying the main driving forces, which relate to complex dynamics such as lane formation in bidirectional flows. We then analyse the time-dependent and stationary solutions to these models, and provide interesting insights into their behavior at bottlenecks. We conclude by discussing how the Bayesian framework can be used to estimate unknown parameters in PDE models using individual trajectory data.

Details to be finalised

I will discuss recent and ongoing work (mostly with J. Zou).

This talk will describe recent studies of how time-dependent, unsteady flow physics can be exploited to improve the performance of energy harvesting systems such as wind turbines. A theoretical analysis will revisit the seminal Betz derivation to identify the role of unsteady flow from first principles. Following will be a discussion of an experimental campaign to test the predictions of the theoretical model. Finally, a new line of research related to turbulence transition and inspired by the work of T. Brooke Benjamin will be introduced.

WCMB, University of Oxford and University of Bristol

Let g be the Lie algebra of a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of characteristic p. When p=0 the celebrated Jacobson-Morozov Theorem promises that every non-zero nilpotent element of g is contained in a simple 3-dimensional subalgebra of g (an sl2). This has been extended to odd primes but what about p=2? There is still a unique 3-dimensional simple Lie algebra, known colloquially as fake sl2, but there are other very sensible candidates like sl2 and pgl2. In this talk, Adam Thomas from the University of Warwick will discuss recent joint work with David Stewart (Manchester) determining which nilpotent elements of g live in subalgebras isomorphic to one of these three Lie algebras. There will be an abundance of concrete examples, calculations with small matrices and even some combinatorics.

This talk by Tim Austin, at the University of Warwick, will be an introduction to "almost periodic entropy".  This quantity is defined for positive definite functions on a countable group, or more generally for positive functionals on a separable C*-algebra.  It is an analog of Lewis Bowen's "sofic entropy" from ergodic theory.  This analogy extends to many of its properties, but some important differences also emerge.  Tim will not assume any prior knowledge about sofic entropy.

After setting up the basic definition, Tim will focus on the special case of finitely generated free groups, about which the most is known.  For free groups, results include a large deviations principle in a fairly strong topology for uniformly random representations.  This, in turn, offers a new proof of the Collins—Male theorem on strong convergence of independent tuples of random unitary matrices, and a large deviations principle for operator norms to accompany that theorem.

We all sleep. But what determines when and for how long? In this talk I’ll describe some of the fundamental mechanisms that regulate sleep. I’ll introduce the nonsmooth coupled oscillator systems that form the basis of current mathematical models of sleep-wake regulation and discuss their dynamical behaviour. I will describe how we are using models to unravel environmental, societal and physiological factors that determine sleep timing and outline how constructing digital-twins could enable us to create personalised light interventions for sleep timing disorders.

TBA

TBA

Details to be finalised

to follow