Date
Wed, 04 Jul 2018
Time
14:30 - 15:30
Location
L3
Speaker
Paul Arne Østvær
Organisation
Oslo

Motivic homotopy theory gives a way of viewing algebraic varieties and topological spaces as objects in the same category, where homotopies are parametrised  by the affine line.  In particular, there is a notion of $\mathbb A^1$ contractible varieties.  Affine spaces are $\mathbb A^1$ contractible by definition.  The Koras-Russell threefold KR defined by the equation $x + x^2y + z^2 + t^3 = 0$ in $\mathbb A^4$ is the first nontrivial example of an $\mathbb A^1$ contractible smooth affine variety.  We will discuss this example in some detail, and speculate on whether one can use motivic homotopy theory to distinguish between KR and $\mathbb A^3$.

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