Tue, 05 Mar 2024

14:30 - 15:00
L6

Error Bound on Singular Values Approximations by Generalized Nystrom

Lorenzo Lazzarino
(Mathematical Institute (University of Oxford))
Abstract

We consider the problem of approximating singular values of a matrix when provided with approximations to the leading singular vectors. In particular, we focus on the Generalized Nystrom (GN) method, a commonly used low-rank approximation, and its error in extracting singular values. Like other approaches, the GN approximation can be interpreted as a perturbation of the original matrix. Up to orthogonal transformations, this perturbation has a peculiar structure that we wish to exploit. Thus, we use the Jordan-Wieldant Theorem and similarity transformations to generalize a matrix perturbation theory result on eigenvalues of a perturbed Hermitian matrix. Finally, combining the above,  we can derive a bound on the GN singular values approximation error. We conclude by performing preliminary numerical examples. The aim is to heuristically study the sharpness of the bound, to give intuitions on how the analysis can be used to compare different approaches, and to provide ideas on how to make the bound computable in practice.

Tue, 05 Mar 2024

14:00 - 15:00
C4

Elsa Arcaute: Multiscalar spatial segregation

Prof. Elsa Arcaute
Further Information

Elsa Arcaute is a Professor of Complexity Science at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London. Her research focuses on modelling and analysing urban systems from the perspective of complexity sciences. Her main branches of research are urban scaling laws, hierarchies in urban systems, defining city boundaries, and the analysis of urban processes using percolation theory and network science.

Abstract

The talk introduces an analytical framework for examining socio-spatial segregation across various spatial scales. This framework considers regional connectivity and population distribution, using an information theoretic approach to measure changes in socio-spatial segregation patterns across scales. It identifies scales where both high segregation and low connectivity occur, offering a topological and spatial perspective on segregation. Illustrated through a case study in Ecuador, the method is demonstrated to identify disconnected and segregated regions at different scales, providing valuable insights for planning and policy interventions.

Tue, 05 Mar 2024

14:00 - 15:00
L4

Paradoxical Decompositions and Colouring Rules

Robert Simon
(London School of Economics)
Abstract

A colouring rule is a way to colour the points $x$ of a probability space according to the colours of finitely many measure preserving tranformations of $x$. The rule is paradoxical if the rule can be satisfied a.e. by some colourings, but by none whose inverse images are measurable with respect to any finitely additive extension for which the transformations remain measure preserving. We show that proper graph colouring as a rule can be paradoxical. And we demonstrate rules defined via optimisation that are paradoxical. A connection to measure theoretic paradoxes is established.

Tue, 05 Mar 2024

14:00 - 15:00
L5

Complex crystallographic groups and Seiberg--Witten integrable systems

Oleg Chalykh
(University of Leeds)
Abstract

For any smooth complex variety Y with an action of a finite group W, Etingof defines the global Cherednik algebra H_c and its spherical subalgebra B_c as certain sheaves of algebras over Y/W. When Y is an n-dimensional abelian variety, the algebra of global sections of B_c is a polynomial algebra on n generators, as shown by Etingof, Felder, Ma, and Veselov. This defines an integrable system on Y. In the case of Y being a product of n copies of an elliptic curve E and W=S_n, this reproduces the usual elliptic Calogero­­--Moser system. Recently, together with P. Argyres and Y. Lu, we proposed that many of these integrable systems at the classical level can be interpreted as Seiberg­­--Witten integrable systems of certain super­symmetric quantum field theories. I will describe our progress in understanding this connection for groups W=G(m, 1, n), corresponding to the case Y=E^n where E is an elliptic curves with Z_m symmetry, m=2,3,4,6. 

Tue, 05 Mar 2024

14:00 - 14:30
L6

A multilinear Nyström algorithm for low-rank approximation of tensors in Tucker format

Alberto Bucci
(University of Pisa)
Abstract

The Nyström method offers an effective way to obtain low-rank approximation of SPD matrices, and has been recently extended and analyzed to nonsymmetric matrices (leading to the randomized, single-pass, streamable, cost-effective, and accurate alternative to the randomized SVD, and it facilitates the computation of several matrix low-rank factorizations. In this presentation, we take these advancements a step further by introducing a higher-order variant of Nyström's methodology tailored to approximating low-rank tensors in the Tucker format: the multilinear Nyström technique. We show that, by introducing appropriate small modifications in the formulation of the higher-order method, strong stability properties can be obtained. This algorithm retains the key attributes of the generalized Nyström method, positioning it as a viable substitute for the randomized higher-order SVD algorithm.

Tue, 05 Mar 2024
13:00
L3

Double scaled SYK and the quantum geometry of 3D de Sitter space

Herman Verlinde
(Princeton)
Abstract

In this talk, I describe an exact duality between the double scaling limit of the SYK model and quantum geometry of de Sitter spacetime in three dimensions. The duality maps the so-called chord rules that specify the exact SYK correlations functions to the skein relations that govern the topological interactions between world-line operators in 3D de Sitter gravity.

This talk is part of the series of Willis Lamb Lectures in Theoretical Physics. Herman Verlinde is the Lamb Lecturer of 2024.

Tue, 05 Mar 2024
11:00
Lecture room 5

Level lines of the massive planar Gaussian free field

Léonie Papon
(University of Durham)
Abstract

The massive planar Gaussian free field (GFF) is a random distribution defined on a subset of the complex plane. As a random distribution, this field a priori does not have well-defined level lines. In this talk, we give a meaning to this concept by constructing a coupling between a massive GFF and a random collection of loops, called massive CLE_4, in which the loops can naturally be interpreted as the level lines of the field. This coupling is constructed by appropriately reweighting the law of the standard GFF-CLE_4 coupling and this construction can be seen as a conditional version of the path-integral formulation of the massive GFF. We then relate massive CLE_4 to a massive version of the Brownian loop soup. This provides a more direct construction of massive CLE_4 and proves a conjecture of Camia.

Mon, 04 Mar 2024
16:00
L2

The dispersion method and beyond: from primes to exceptional Maass forms

Alexandru Pascadi
(University of Oxford)
Abstract
The dispersion method has found an impressive number of applications in analytic number theory, from bounded gaps between primes to the greatest prime factors of quadratic polynomials. The method requires bounding certain exponential sums, using deep inputs from algebraic geometry, the spectral theory of GL2 automorphic forms, and GLn automorphic L-functions. We'll give a broad outline of this process, which combines various types of number theory; time permitting, we'll also discuss the key ideas behind some new results.
 
Mon, 04 Mar 2024
15:30
L4

Rigidity of ideal symmetric sets

Stephan Stadler
(Max Planck Institute for Mathematics)
Abstract

A subset in the ideal boundary of a CAT(0) space is called symmetric if every complete geodesic with one ideal boundary point
in the set has both ideal boundary points in the set. In the late 80s Eberlein proved that if a Hadamard manifold contains a non-trivial closed symmetric  subset in its ideal boundary, then its holonomy group cannot act transitively. This leads to rigidty via
the Berger-Simons Theorem. I will discuss rigidity of ideal symmetric sets in the general context of locally compact geodesically complete
CAT(0) spaces.
 

Mon, 04 Mar 2024
15:30
Lecture room 5

The Allen-Cahn equation with weakly critical initial datum

Dr Tommaso Rosati
(Dept. Mathematics, University of Warwick)
Abstract

Inspired by questions concerning the evolution of phase fields, we study the Allen-Cahn equation in dimension 2 with white noise initial datum. In a weak coupling regime, where the nonlinearity is damped in relation to the smoothing of the initial condition, we prove Gaussian fluctuations. The effective variance that appears can be described as the solution to an ODE. Our proof builds on a Wild expansion of the solution, which is controlled through precise combinatorial estimates. Joint works with Simon Gabriel, Martin Hairer, Khoa Lê and Nikos Zygouras.

Mon, 04 Mar 2024
14:15
L4

Significance of rank zero Donaldson-Thomas (DT) invariants in curve counting theories

Sohelya Feyzbakhsh
(Imperial College London)
Abstract
Fix a Calabi-Yau 3-fold X of Picard rank one satisfying the Bogomolov-Gieseker conjecture of Bayer-Macrì-Toda, such as the quintic 3-fold. I will first describe two methods to achieve explicit formulae relating rank zero Donaldson-Thomas (DT) invariants to Pandharipande-Thomas (PT) invariants using wall-crossing with respect to weak Bridgeland stability conditions on X. As applications, I will find sharp Castelnuovo-type bounds for PT invariants and explain how combining these explicit formulas with S-duality in physics enlarges the known table of Gopakumar-Vafa (GV) invariants. The second part is joint work with string theorists Sergei Alexandrov, Albrecht Klemm, Boris Pioline, and Thorsten Schimannek.
Mon, 04 Mar 2024

14:00 - 15:00
Lecture Room 3

On transport methods for simulation-based inference and data assimilation

Prof Youssef Marzouk
(MIT)
Abstract

Many practical Bayesian inference problems fall into the simulation-based or "likelihood-free" setting, where evaluations of the likelihood function or prior density are unavailable or intractable; instead one can only draw samples from the joint parameter-data prior. Learning conditional distributions is essential to the solution of these problems. 
To this end, I will discuss a powerful class of methods for conditional density estimation and conditional simulation based on transportation of measure. An important application for these methods lies in data assimilation for dynamical systems, where transport enables new approaches to nonlinear filtering and smoothing. 
To illuminate some of the theoretical underpinnings of these methods, I will discuss recent work on monotone map representations, optimization guarantees for learning maps from data, and the statistical convergence of transport-based density estimators.
 

Fri, 01 Mar 2024
16:00
L1

Departmental Colloquium: The role of depth in neural networks: function space geometry and learnability

Professor Rebecca Willett (University of Chicago)
Further Information

Rebecca Willett is a Professor of Statistics and Computer Science & the Faculty Director of AI at the Data Science Institute, with a courtesy appointment at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago. Her research is focused on machine learning foundations, scientific machine learning, and signal processing. She is the Deputy Director for Research at the NSF-Simons Foundation National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology and a member of the Executive Committee for the NSF Institute for the Foundations of Data Science. She is the Faculty Director of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship and helps direct the Air Force Research Lab University Center of Excellence on Machine Learning

Abstract

Neural network architectures play a key role in determining which functions are fit to training data and the resulting generalization properties of learned predictors. For instance, imagine training an overparameterized neural network to interpolate a set of training samples using weight decay; the network architecture will influence which interpolating function is learned. 

In this talk, I will describe new insights into the role of network depth in machine learning using the notion of representation costs – i.e., how much it “costs” for a neural network to represent some function f. Understanding representation costs helps reveal the role of network depth in machine learning. First, we will see that there is a family of functions that can be learned with depth-3 networks when the number of samples is polynomial in the input dimension d, but which cannot be learned with depth-2 networks unless the number of samples is exponential in d. Furthermore, no functions can easily be learned with depth-2 networks while being difficult to learn with depth-3 networks. 

Together, these results mean deeper networks have an unambiguous advantage over shallower networks in terms of sample complexity. Second, I will show that adding linear layers to a ReLU network yields a representation cost that favors functions with latent low-dimension structure, such as single- and multi-index models. Together, these results highlight the role of network depth from a function space perspective and yield new tools for understanding neural network generalization. 

Fri, 01 Mar 2024

15:00 - 16:00
L6

Applied Topology TBC

Zoe Cooperband
(University of Pennsylvania)
Further Information

Dr  Zoe Copperband is a member of the Penn Engineering GRASP Laboratory. Her recent preprint, Towards Homological Methods in Graphic Statics, can be found here.

Fri, 01 Mar 2024

14:00 - 15:00
L3

Extreme pushed and pulled fronts

Professor John King
(School of Mathematical Sciences University of Nottingham)
Abstract

I shall say some stuff about quasilinear reaction-diffusion equations, motivated by tissue growth in particular.

Fri, 01 Mar 2024
12:00
L3

Motivic coaction and single-valued map of polylogarithms from zeta generators

Hadleigh Frost
(Merton College Oxford)
Abstract
The motivic coaction and single-valued map play an important role in our understanding of perturbative string theory. We use a new Lie-algebraic approach to give new formulas for the motivic coaction and single-valued map of multiple polylogarithms in any number of variables. The new formulas are computationally useful and give answers (if desired) directly in a fibration basis. Our key idea is to understand extensions of the braid algebra, that "encode" the appearance of multiple zeta values in the formulas. Speculatively, this idea could help to understand these important structures beyond genus zero.
Fri, 01 Mar 2024

12:00 - 13:00
Quillen Room

Algebra is Hard, Combinatorics is Simple(r)

Zain Kapadia
(Queen Mary University London)
Abstract

Questions in algebra, while deep and interesting, can be incredibly difficult. Thankfully, when studying the representation theory of the symmetric groups, one can often take algebraic properties and results and write them in the language of combinatorics; where one has a wide variety of tools and techniques to use. In this talk, we will look at the specific example of the submodule structure of 2-part Specht modules in characteristic 2, and answer which hook Specht modules are uniserial in characteristic 2. We will not need to assume the Riemann hypothesis for this talk.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024

17:00 - 18:00

Omega-categorical groups and Lie algebras

Christian d'Elbée
(School of Mathematics, University of Leeds)
Abstract

A structure is omega-categorical if its theory has a unique countable model (up to isomorphism). We will survey some old results concerning the Apps-Wilson structure theory for omega-categorical groups and state a conjecture of Wilson from the 80s on omega-categorical characteristically simple groups. We will also discuss the analogous of Wilson’s conjecture for Lie algebras and present some connections with the restricted Burnside problem.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024
17:00
Lecture Theatre 1

Mobilizing Mathematics for the Fight Against Cancer - Trachette Jackson

Trachette Jackson
Further Information

Mathematical oncologists apply mathematical and computational models to every aspect of cancer biology, from tumor initiation to malignant spread and treatment response. A substantial amount of medical research now focuses on the molecular biology of individual tumors to selectively target pathways involved in tumor progression, leading to careful manipulation of these pathways, and new cell-specific approaches to cancer therapy are now being developed. At the same time, advances in cancer immunotherapies have led to a reemergence of their use and effectiveness. Using data-driven computational models is a powerful and practical way to investigate the therapeutic potential of novel combinations of these two very different strategies for clinical cancer treatment.

Trachette will showcase mathematical models designed to optimize targeted drug treatment strategies in combination with immunotherapy, to gain a more robust understanding of how specific tumor mutations affect the immune system and ultimately impact combination therapy. Combined with existing and newly generated experimental data, these models are poised to improve the ability to connect promising drugs for clinical trials and reduce the time and costs of transitioning novel therapeutic approaches from “equations to bench to bedside.”

Trachette Jackson is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan and recipient of many awards for her work in her field and for her commitment to increasing opportunities for girls, women, and underrepresented minority students.

Please email @email to register to attend in person.

The lecture will be broadcast on the Oxford Mathematics YouTube Channel on Thursday 21 March at 5-6pm and any time after (no need to register for the online version).

The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

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Thu, 29 Feb 2024
16:00
L3

Martingale Benamou-Brenier: arthimetic and geometric Bass martingales

Professor Jan Obloj
(Mathematical Institute)
Further Information

Please join us for refreshments outside L3 from 1530.

Abstract

Optimal transport (OT) proves to be a powerful tool for non-parametric calibration: it allows us to take a favourite (non-calibrated) model and project it onto the space of all calibrated (martingale) models. The dual side of the problem leads to an HJB equation and a numerical algorithm to solve the projection. However, in general, this process is costly and leads to spiky vol surfaces. We are interested in special cases where the projection can be obtained semi-analytically. This leads us to the martingale equivalent of the seminal fluid-dynamics interpretation of the optimal transport (OT) problem developed by Benamou and Brenier. Specifically, given marginals, we look for the martingale which is the closest to a given archetypical model. If our archetype is the arithmetic Brownian motion, this gives the stretched Brownian motion (or the Bass martingale), studied previously by Backhoff-Veraguas, Beiglbock, Huesmann and Kallblad (and many others). Here we consider the financially more pertinent case of Black-Scholes (geometric BM) reference and show it can also be solved explicitly. In both cases, fast numerical algorithms are available.

Based on joint works with Julio Backhoff, Benjamin Joseph and Gregoire Leoper.  

This talk reports a work in progress. It will be done on a board.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024
16:00
Lecture Room 4

A new approach to modularity

Andrew Wiles
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

In the 1960's Langlands proposed a generalisation of Class Field Theory. I will review this and describe a new approach using the trace formua as well as some analytic arguments reminiscent of those used in the classical case. In more concrete terms the problem is to prove general modularity theorems, and I will explain the progress I have made on this problem.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024
14:00
N3.12

Geometric Quantization

Adam Kmec
Abstract

Junior Strings is a seminar series where DPhil students present topics of common interest that do not necessarily overlap with their own research area. This is primarily aimed at PhD students and post-docs but everyone is welcome.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024

14:00 - 15:00
Lecture Room 3

On the use of "conventional" unconstrained minimization solvers for training regression problems in scientific machine learning

Stefano Zampini
(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST))
Abstract

In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of scientific machine learning as a data-driven tool for the analysis, by means of deep-learning techniques, of data produced by computational science and engineering applications.  At the core of these methods is the supervised training algorithm to learn the neural network realization, a highly non-convex optimization problem that is usually solved using stochastic gradient methods.

However, distinct from deep-learning practice, scientific machine-learning training problems feature a much larger volume of smooth data and better characterizations of the empirical risk functions, which make them suited for conventional solvers for unconstrained optimization.

In this talk, we empirically demonstrate the superior efficacy of a trust region method based on the Gauss-Newton approximation of the Hessian in improving the generalization errors arising from regression tasks when learning surrogate models for a wide range of scientific machine-learning techniques and test cases. All the conventional solvers tested, including L-BFGS and inexact Newton with line-search, compare favorably, either in terms of cost or accuracy, with the adaptive first-order methods used to validate the surrogate models.

Thu, 29 Feb 2024

11:00 - 12:00
C3

Coherent group actions

Martin Bays
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

I will discuss aspects of some work in progress with Tingxiang Zou, in which we continue the investigation of pseudofinite sets coarsely respecting structures of algebraic geometry, focusing on algebraic group actions. Using a version of Balog-Szemerédi-Gowers-Tao for group actions, we find quite weak hypotheses which rule out non-abelian group actions, and we are applying this to obtain new Elekes-Szabó results in which the general position hypothesis is fully weakened in one co-ordinate.

Wed, 28 Feb 2024

16:00 - 17:00
L6

Revisiting property (T)

Ismael Morales
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Property (T) was introduced by Kazhdan in the sixties to show that lattices in higher rank semisimple Lie groups are finitely generated. We will discuss some classical examples of groups that satisfy this property, with a particular focus on SL(3, R).

Wed, 28 Feb 2024
15:00
Lecture room 5

Mathematics of magic angles for twisted bilayer graphene.

Prof Maciej Zworski
(University of California, Berkeley)
Further Information

This is a joint seminar with Random Matrix Theory and Oxford Centre for Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations.

Abstract

Magic angles refer to a remarkable theoretical (Bistritzer--MacDonald, 2011) and experimental (Jarillo-Herrero et al 2018) discovery, that two sheets of graphene twisted by a certain (magic) angle display unusual electronic properties such as superconductivity.

 

Mathematically, this is related to having flat bands of nontrivial topology for the corresponding periodic Hamiltonian and their existence be shown for the chiral model of twisted bilayer graphene (Tarnopolsky-Kruchkov-Vishwanath, 2019). A spectral characterization of magic angles (Becker--Embree--Wittsten--Z, 2021, Galkowski--Z, 2023) also produces complex values and the distribution of their reciprocals looks remarkably like a distribution of scattering resonances for a two dimensional problem, with the real magic angles corresponding to anti-bound states. I will review various results on that distribution as well as on the properties of the associated eigenstates.

 

The talk is based on joint works with S Becker, M Embree, J Galkowski, M Hitrik, T Humbert and J Wittsten

Wed, 28 Feb 2024
12:00
L6

Non-regular spacetime geometry, curvature and analysis

Clemens Saemann
(Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford)
Abstract

I present an approach to Lorentzian geometry and General Relativity that does neither rely on smoothness nor
on manifolds, thereby leaving the framework of classical differential geometry. This opens up the possibility to study
curvature (bounds) for spacetimes of low regularity or even more general spaces. An analogous shift in perspective
proved extremely fruitful in the Riemannian case (Alexandrov- and CAT(k)-spaces). After introducing the basics of our
approach, we report on recent progress in developing a Sobolev calculus for time functions on such non-smooth
Lorentzian spaces. This seminar talk can also be viewed as a primer and advertisement for my mini course in
May: Current topics in Lorentzian geometric analysis: Non-regular spacetimes

Tue, 27 Feb 2024
16:00
L6

Dynamics in interlacing arrays, conditioned walks and the Aztec diamond

Theodoros Assiotis
(University of Edinburgh)
Abstract

I will discuss certain dynamics of interacting particles in interlacing arrays with inhomogeneous, in space and time, jump probabilities and their relations to conditioned random walks and random tilings of the Aztec diamond.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024

16:00 - 17:00
C2

Simplicity of crossed products by FC-hypercentral groups

Shirly Geffen
(Munster, DE)
Abstract

Results from a few years ago of Kennedy and Schafhauser attempt to characterize the simplicity of reduced crossed products, under an assumption which they call vanishing obstruction. 

However, this is a strong condition that often fails, even in cases of finite groups acting on finite dimensional C*-algebras. In this work, we give complete C*-dynamical characterization, of when the crossed product is simple, in the setting of FC-hypercentral groups. 

This is a large class of amenable groups that, in the finitely-generated setting, is known to coincide with the set of groups with polynomial growth.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024

15:30 - 16:30
Online

Discrepancy of graphs

István Tomon
(Umea University)
Further Information

Part of the Oxford Discrete Maths and Probability Seminar, held via Zoom. Please see the seminar website for details.

Abstract

The positive discrepancy of a graph $G$ is the maximum surplus of edges in an induced subgraph of $G$ compared to its expected size. This quantity is closely related to other well studied parameters, such as the minimum bisection and the spectral gap. I will talk about the extremal behavior of the positive discrepancy among graphs with given number of vertices and average degree, uncovering a surprising pattern. This leads to an almost complete solution of a problem of Alon on the minimum bisection and let's us extend the Alon-Boppana bound on the second eigenvalue to dense graphs.

Joint work with Eero Räty and Benny Sudakov.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024
15:00
L6

Sublinear rigidity of lattices in semisimple Lie groups

Ido Grayevsky
Abstract

I will talk about the coarse geometry of lattices in real semisimple Lie groups. One great result from the 1990s is the quasi-isometric rigidity of these lattices: any group that is quasi-isometric to such a lattice must be, up to some minor adjustments, isomorphic to lattice in the same Lie group. I present a partial generalization of this result to the setting of Sublinear Bilipschitz Equivalences (SBE): these are maps that generalize quasi-isometries in some 'sublinear' fashion.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024

14:00 - 15:00
Online

Geodesics networks in the directed landscape

Duncan Dauvergne
(University of Toronto)
Further Information

Part of the Oxford Discrete Maths and Probability Seminar, held via Zoom. Please see the seminar website for details.

Abstract

The directed landscape is a random directed metric on the plane that is the scaling limit for models in the KPZ universality class (i.e. last passage percolation on $\mathbb{Z}^2$, TASEP). In this metric, typical pairs of points are connected by a unique geodesic.  However, certain exceptional pairs are connected by more exotic geodesic networks. The goal of this talk is to describe a full classification for these exceptional pairs.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024

14:00 - 15:00
L5

Modular Reduction of Nilpotent Orbits

Jay Taylor
(University of Manchester)
Abstract

Suppose 𝐺𝕜 is a connected reductive algebraic 𝕜-group where 𝕜 is an algebraically closed field. If 𝑉𝕜 is a 𝐺𝕜-module then, using geometric invariant theory, Kempf has defined the nullcone 𝒩(𝑉𝕜) of 𝑉𝕜. For the Lie algebra 𝔤𝕜 = Lie(𝐺𝕜), viewed as a 𝐺𝕜-module via the adjoint action, we have 𝒩(𝔤𝕜) is precisely the set of nilpotent elements.

We may assume that our group 𝐺𝕜 = 𝐺 × 𝕜 is obtained by base-change from a suitable ℤ-form 𝐺. Suppose 𝑉 is 𝔤 = Lie(G) or its dual 𝔤* = Hom(𝔤, ℤ) which are both modules for 𝐺, that are free of finite rank as ℤ-modules. Then 𝑉 ⨂ 𝕜, as a module for 𝐺𝕜, is 𝔤𝕜 or 𝔤𝕜* respectively.

It is known that each 𝐺 -orbit 𝒪 ⊆ 𝒩(𝑉) contains a representative ξ ∈ 𝑉 in the ℤ-form. Reducing ξ one gets an element ξ𝕜 ∈ 𝑉𝕜 for any algebraically closed 𝕜. In this talk, we will explain two ways in which we might want ξ to have “good reduction” and how one can find elements with these properties. We will also discuss the relationship to Lusztig’s special orbits.

This is on-going joint work with Adam Thomas (Warwick).

Tue, 27 Feb 2024
12:30
L4

Page curves and replica wormholes from chaotic dynamics

Andrew Rolph
(Vrije U., Brussels)
Abstract

What is the bare minimum needed to get a unitarity-consistent black hole radiation entropy curve? In this talk, I will show how to capture both Hawking's non-unitary entropy curve, and density matrix-connecting contributions that restore unitarity, in a toy quantum system with chaotic dynamics. The motivation is to find the simplest possible dynamical model, dropping all superfluous details, that captures this aspect of gravitational physics. In the model, the Hamiltonian obeys random matrix statistics within microcanonical windows, the entropy of the averaged state gives the non-unitary curve, the averaged entropy gives the unitary curve, and the difference comes from matrix index contractions in the Haar averaging that connect the density matrices in a replica wormhole-like manner.

Tue, 27 Feb 2024
11:00
L5

Deep Transfer Learning for Adaptive Model Predictive Control

Harrison Waldon
(Oxford Man Institute)
Abstract

This paper presents the (Adaptive) Iterative Linear Quadratic Regulator Deep Galerkin Method (AIR-DGM), a novel approach for solving optimal control (OC) problems in dynamic and uncertain environments. Traditional OC methods face challenges in scalability and adaptability due to the curse-of-dimensionality and reliance on accurate models. Model Predictive Control (MPC) addresses these issues but is limited to open-loop controls. With (A)ILQR-DGM, we combine deep learning with OC to compute closed-loop control policies that adapt to changing dynamics. Our methodology is split into two phases; offline and online. In the offline phase, ILQR-DGM computes globally optimal control by minimizing a variational formulation of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. To improve performance over DGM (Sirignano & Spiliopoulos, 2018), ILQR-DGM uses the ILQR method (Todorov & Li, 2005) to initialize the value function and policy networks. In the online phase, AIR-DGM solves continuously updated OC problems based on noisy observations of the environment. We provide results based on HJB stability theory to show that AIR-DGM leverages Transfer Learning (TL) to adapt the optimal policy. We test (A)ILQR-DGM in various setups and demonstrate its superior performance over traditional methods, especially in scenarios with misspecified priors and changing dynamics.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024
16:00
L2

The Metaplectic Representation is Faithful

Christopher Chang, Simeon Hellsten, Mario Marcos Losada, and Sergiu Novac.
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Iwasawa algebras are completed group rings that arise in number theory, so there is interest in understanding their prime ideals. For some special Iwasawa algebras, it is conjectured that every non-zero such ideal has finite codimension and in order to show this it is enough to establish the faithfulness of the modules arising from the completion of highest weight modules. In this talk we will look at methods for doing this and apply them to the specific case of the metaplectic representation for the symplectic group.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024
15:30
L4

Morava K-theory of infinite groups and Euler characteristic

Irakli Patchkoria
(University of Aberdeen)
Abstract

Given an infinite discrete group G with a finite model for the classifying space for proper actions, one can define the Euler characteristic of G and the orbifold Euler characteristic of G. In this talk we will discuss higher chromatic analogues of these invariants in the sense of stable homotopy theory. We will study the Morava K-theory of G and associated Euler characteristic, and give a character formula for the Lubin-Tate theory of G. This will generalise the results of Hopkins-Kuhn-Ravenel from finite to infinite groups and the K-theoretic results of Adem, Lück and Oliver from chromatic level one to higher chromatic levels. At the end we will mention explicit computations for some arithmetic groups and mapping class groups in terms of class numbers and special values of zeta functions. This is all joint with Wolfgang Lück and Stefan Schwede.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024
15:30
Lecture room 5

McKean-Vlasov S(P)Des with additive noise

Professor Michela Ottobre
(Heriot Watt University)
Abstract

Many systems in the applied sciences are made of a large number of particles. One is often not interested in the detailed behaviour of each particle but rather in the collective behaviour of the group. An established methodology in statistical mechanics and kinetic theory allows one to study the limit as the number of particles in the system N tends to infinity and to obtain a (low dimensional) PDE for the evolution of the density of the particles. The limiting PDE is a non-linear equation, where the non-linearity has a specific structure and is called a McKean-Vlasov nonlinearity. Even if the particles evolve according to a stochastic differential equation, the limiting equation is deterministic, as long as the particles are subject to independent sources of noise. If the particles are subject to the same noise (common noise) then the limit is given by a Stochastic Partial Differential Equation (SPDE). In the latter case the limiting SPDE is substantially the McKean-Vlasov PDE + noise; noise is furthermore multiplicative and has gradient structure.  One may then ask the question about whether it is possible to obtain McKean-Vlasov SPDEs with additive noise from particle systems. We will explain how to address this question, by studying limits of weighted particle systems.  

This is a joint work with L. Angeli, J. Barre,  D. Crisan, M. Kolodziejzik.  

Mon, 26 Feb 2024
14:15
L4

Hessian geometry of $G_2$-moduli spaces

Thibault Langlais
(Oxford)
Abstract

The moduli space of torsion-free $G_2$-structures on a compact $7$-manifold $M$ is a smooth manifold, locally diffeomorphic to an open subset of $H^3(M)$. It is endowed with a natural metric which arises as the Hessian of a potential, the properties of which are still poorly understood. In this talk, we will review what is known of the geometry of $G_2$-moduli spaces and present new formulae for the fourth derivative of the potential and the curvatures of the associated metric. We explain some interesting consequences for the simplest examples of $G_2$-manifolds, when the universal cover of $M$ is $\mathbb{R}^7$ or $\mathbb{R}^3 \times K3$. If time permits, we also make some comments on the general case.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024

14:00 - 15:00
Lecture Room 3

Fantastic Sparse Neural Networks and Where to Find Them

Dr Shiwei Liu
(Maths Institute University of Oxford)
Abstract

Sparse neural networks, where a substantial portion of the components are eliminated, have widely shown their versatility in model compression, robustness improvement, and overfitting mitigation. However, traditional methods for obtaining such sparse networks usually involve a fully pre-trained, dense model. As foundation models become prevailing, the cost of this pre-training step can be prohibitive. On the other hand, training intrinsic sparse neural networks from scratch usually leads to inferior performance compared to their dense counterpart. 

 

In this talk, I will present a series of approaches to obtain such fantastic sparse neural networks by training from scratch without the need for any dense pre-training steps, including dynamic sparse training, static sparse with random pruning, and only masking no training. First, I will introduce the concept of in-time over-parameterization (ITOP) (ICML2021) which enables training sparse neural networks from scratch (commonly known as sparse training) to attain the full accuracy of dense models. By dynamically exploring new sparse topologies during training, we avoid the costly necessity of pre-training and re-training, requiring only a single training run to obtain strong sparse neural networks. Secondly, ITOP involves additional overhead due to the frequent change in sparse topology. Our following work (ICLR2022) demonstrates that even a naïve, static sparse network produced by random pruning can be trained to achieve dense model performance as long as our model is relatively larger. Moreover, I will further discuss that we can continue to push the extreme of training efficiency by only learning masks at initialization without any weight updates, addressing the over-smoothing challenge in building deep graph neural networks (LoG2022).

Fri, 23 Feb 2024
16:00
L1

Demystifying careers for mathematicians in the Civil Service

Sarah Livermore (Department for Business and Trade)
Abstract

Sarah Livermore has worked in the Civil Service for over 10 years, using the maths skills gained in her physics degrees (MPhys, DPhil) whilst studying at Oxford. In this session she’ll discuss some of the roles available to people with a STEM background in the Civil Service, a ‘day in the life’ of a civil servant, typical career paths and how to apply.

Fri, 23 Feb 2024
14:30
C6

Flat from anti de Sitter - a Carrollian perspective

Prof Marios Petropoulos
(Ecole Polytechnique, Paris)
Abstract

In recent years, the theme of asymptotically flat spacetimes has come back to the fore, fueled by the discovery of gravitational waves and the growing interest in what flat holography could be. In this quest, the standard tools pertaining to asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes have been insufficiently exploited. I will show how Ricci-flat spacetimes are generally reached as a limit of Einstein geometries and how they are in fact constructed by means of data defined on the conformal Carrollian boundary that is null infinity. These data, infinite in number, are obtained as the coefficients of the Laurent expansion of the energy-momentum tensor in powers of the cosmological constant. This approach puts this tensor back at the heart of the analysis, and at the same time reveals the versatile role of the boundary Cotton tensor. Both appear in the infinite hierarchy of flux-balance equations governing the gravitational dynamics.  

Fri, 23 Feb 2024

12:00 - 13:00
Quillen Room

Homotopy type of SL2 quotients of simple simply connected complex Lie groups

Dylan Johnston
(University of Warwick)
Abstract
We say an element X in a Lie algebra g is nilpotent if ad(X) is a nilpotent operator. It is known that G_{ad}-orbits of nilpotent elements of a complex semisimple Lie algebra g are in 1-1 correspondence with Lie algebra homomorphisms sl2 -> g, which are in turn in 1-1 correspondence with Lie group homomorphisms SL2 -> G.
Thus, we may denote the homogeneous space obtained by quotienting G by the image of a Lie group homomorphism SL2 -> G by X_v, where v is a nilpotent element in the corresponding G_{ad}-orbit.
In this talk we introduce some algebraic tools that one can use to attempt to classify the homogeneous spaces, X_v, up to homotopy equivalence.
Thu, 22 Feb 2024
18:00
The Auditorium, Citigroup Centre, London, E14 5LB

Frontiers in Quantitative Finance: Statistical Predictions of Trading Strategies in Electronic Markets

Prof Samuel N Cohen
Abstract

We build statistical models to describe how market participants choose the direction, price, and volume of orders. Our dataset, which spans sixteen weeks for four shares traded in Euronext Amsterdam, contains all messages sent to the exchange and includes algorithm identification and member identification. We obtain reliable out-of-sample predictions and report the top features that predict direction, price, and volume of orders sent to the exchange. The coefficients from the fitted models are used to cluster trading behaviour and we find that algorithms registered as Liquidity Providers exhibit the widest range of trading behaviour among dealing capacities. In particular, for the most liquid share in our study, we identify three types of behaviour that we call (i) directional trading, (ii) opportunistic trading, and (iii) market making, and we find that around one third of Liquidity Providers behave as market markers.

This is based on work with Álvaro Cartea, Saad Labyad, Leandro Sánchez-Betancourt and Leon van Veldhuijzen. View the working paper here.
 

Attendance is free of charge but requires prior online registration. To register please click here.

Thu, 22 Feb 2024

17:00 - 18:00

Sets that are very large and very small

Asaf Karagila (Leeds)
Abstract
We can compare the relative sizes of sets by using injections or (partial) surjections, but without the axiom of choice we cannot prove that every two sets can be compared. We can use the ordinals to define a notion of size which allows us to determine whether a set is "large" or "small" relative to another. The first is defined by the Hartogs number, which is the least ordinal which does not inject into the set; the second is the Lindenbaum number of a set, which is the first ordinal which is not an image of the set. In this talk we will discuss some basic properties of these numbers and some basic historical results. 

 
In a new work with Calliope Ryan-Smith we showed that given any pair of (infinite) cardinals, we can onstruct a symmetric extension in which there is a set whose Hartogs is the smaller and the Lindenbaum is the larger. Moreover, using the techniques of iterated symmetric extensions, we can realise all possible pairs in a single model.

 
This work appears on arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.11409
Thu, 22 Feb 2024
16:00
Lecture Room 4

Tangent spaces of Schubert varieties

Rong Zhou
(University of Cambridge)
Abstract

Schubert varieties in (twisted) affine Grassmannians and their singularities are of interest to arithmetic geometers because they model the étale local structure of the special fiber of Shimura varieties. In this talk, I will discuss a proof of a conjecture of Haines-Richarz classifying the smooth locus of Schubert varieties, generalizing a classical result of Evens-Mirkovic. The main input is to obtain a lower bound for the tangent space at a point of the Schubert variety which arises from considering certain smooth curves passing through it. In the second part of the talk, I will explain how in many cases, we can prove this bound is actually sharp, and discuss some applications to Shimura varieties. This is based on joint work with Pappas and Kisin-Pappas.

Thu, 22 Feb 2024
14:00
N3.12

Symplectic Reduction

Marta Bucca
Abstract

Junior Strings is a seminar series where DPhil students present topics of common interest that do not necessarily overlap with their own research area. This is primarily aimed at PhD students and post-docs but everyone is welcome.

Thu, 22 Feb 2024

14:00 - 15:00
Lecture Room 3

Hierarchical adaptive low-rank format with applications to discretized PDEs

Leonardo Robol
(University of Pisa)
Abstract

A novel framework for hierarchical low-rank matrices is proposed that combines an adaptive hierarchical partitioning of the matrix with low-rank approximation. One typical application is the approximation of discretized functions on rectangular domains; the flexibility of the format makes it possible to deal with functions that feature singularities in small, localized regions. To deal with time evolution and relocation of singularities, the partitioning can be dynamically adjusted based on features of the underlying data. Our format can be leveraged to efficiently solve linear systems with Kronecker product structure, as they arise from discretized partial differential equations (PDEs). For this purpose, these linear systems are rephrased as linear matrix equations and a recursive solver is derived from low-rank updates of such equations. 
We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework for stationary and time-dependent, linear and nonlinear PDEs, including the Burgers' and Allen–Cahn equations.

This is a joint work with Daniel Kressner and Stefano Massei.