Thu, 15 Feb 2024

17:00 - 18:00

On logical structure of physical theories and limits

Boris Zilber
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

I am going to discuss main results of my paper "Physics over a finite field and Wick rotation", arxiv 2306.15698. It introduces a structure over a pseudo-finite field which might be of interest in Foundations of Physics. The main theorem establishes an analogue of the polar co-ordinate system in the pseudo-finite field. A stability classification status of the structure is an open question.

Thu, 21 Mar 2024

16:00 - 17:00
C2

Biexact von Neumann algebras

Changying Ding
(UCLA)
Abstract

The notion of biexactness for groups was introduced by Ozawa in 2004 and has since become a major tool used for studying solidity of von Neumann algebras. We introduce the notion of biexactness for von Neumann algebras, which allows us to place many previous solidity results in a more systematic context, and naturally leads to extensions of these results. We will also discuss examples of solid factors that are not biexact. This is a joint work with Jesse Peterson.

Our second 'Show Me the Maths' film features Josh Bull from the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology on the South Side, 4th floor. If you haven't been up there the view is terrific, including from the outside walkway. You can also help them out with their jigsaw by the sofas which doesn't seem to be making much progress.

Professor Geoffrey Hinton - Will digital intelligence replace biological intelligence?

Widely known as the “Godfather of AI”, Geoffrey Hinton was one of the researchers who introduced the backpropagation algorithm and the first to use backpropagation for learning word embeddings. His other contributions to neural network research include Boltzmann machines, distributed representations, time-delay neural nets, mixtures of experts, variational learning and deep learning.

To celebrate International Women’s Day the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, will host a discussion on artificial intelligence on Wednesday 6 March, 2-4pm at Pembroke College and online via Zoom, featuring panellists from across the University. 

The panel will share their views on making AI a force for gender equality and inclusion. 

Backward martingale transport and Fitzpatrick functions in pseudo-Euclidean spaces
Kramkov, D Sîrbu, M Annals of Applied Probability volume 34 issue 1B 1571-1599 (01 Feb 2024)
Tue, 23 Apr 2024
15:00
L6

Approximate lattices: structure and beyond

Simon Machado
Abstract

Approximate lattices are aperiodic generalisations of lattices in locally compact groups. They were first introduced in abelian groups by Yves Meyer before being studied as mathematical models for quasi-crystals. Since then their structure has been thoroughly investigated in both abelian and non-abelian settings.

In this talk I will survey what is known of the structure of approximate lattices. I will highlight some objects - such as a notion of cohomology sitting between group cohomology and bounded cohomology - that appear in their study. I will also formulate open problems and conjectures related to approximate lattices. 

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