University of Oxford

In this talk, we introduce Newton-MR variants for solving nonconvex optimization problems. Unlike the overwhelming majority of Newton-type methods, which rely on conjugate gradient method as the primary workhorse for their respective sub-problems, Newton-MR employs minimum residual (MINRES) method. With certain useful monotonicity properties of MINRES as well as its inherent ability to detect non-positive curvature directions as soon as they arise, we show that our algorithms come with desirable properties including the optimal first and second-order worst-case complexities. Numerical examples demonstrate the performance of our proposed algorithms.

The SYZ conjecture is a geometric way of understanding mirror symmetry via the existence of dual special Lagrangian fibrations on mirror Calabi-Yau manifolds. Motivated by this conjecture, it is expected that $G_2$ and $Spin(7)$-manifolds admit calibrated fibrations as well. I will explain how to construct examples of a weaker type of fibration on compact $Spin(7)$-manifolds obtained via gluing, and give a hint as to why the stronger fibrations are still elusive. The key ingredient is the stability of the weak fibration property under deformation of the ambient $Spin(7)$-structure.

In this talk, I give a statement of the “Galois to automorphic” direction of categorical geometric Langlands. I will describe the Galois and automorphic side, the Hecke action on both sides, and the definition of Hecke eigensheaves. On the way, I hope to give motivation for the various objects at play : the stack of $G^L$ local systems on the fixed curve $X$, the stack of $G$ bundles on $X$, $D$-modules, arc groups, loop groups, the affine Grassmannian, and geometric Satake.

A complex irreducible admissible representation of a reductive p-adic group is typically infinite-dimensional. To quantify the "size" of such representations, we introduce the concept of canonical dimension. To do so we have to discuss the Moy-Prasad filtrations. These are natural filtrations of the parahoric subgroups. Next, we relate the canonical dimension to the Harish-Chandra local character expansion, which expresses the distribution character of an irreducible representation in terms of nilpotent orbital integrals. Using this, we consider the wavefront set of a representation. This is an invariant the naturally arises from the local character expansion. We conclude by explaining why the canonical dimension might be considered a weaker but more computable alternative to the wavefront set.

TBC

In 1986, Katznelson and Tzafriri proved that, if $T$ is a power-bounded operator on a Banach space $X$, and the spectrum of $T$ meets the unit circle only at 1, then $\|T^n(I-T)\| \to 0$ as $n\to\infty$. Actually, they went further and proved that $\|T^nf(T)\| \to 0$ if $T$ and $f$ satisfy certain conditions. Soon afterward, analogous results were obtained for bounded $C_0$-semigroups $(T(t))_{t\ge0}$. Further extensions and variants were proved later. I will speak about several extensions to the Katznelson-Tzafriri theorem(s), including in particular a recent result(s) obtained by David Seifert and myself.

An anomalous symmetry of an operator algebra A is a mapping from a group G into the automorphism group of A which is multiplicative up to inner automorphisms. To any anomalous symmetry, there is an associated cohomology invariant in H^3(G,T). In the case that A is the Hyperfinite II_1 factor R and G is amenable, the associated cohomology invariant is shown to be a complete invariant for anomalous actions on R by the work of Connes, Jones, and Ocneanu.

In this talk, I will introduce anomalous actions from the basics discussing examples and the history of their study in the literature. I will then discuss two obstructions to possible cohomology invariants of anomalous actions on simple C*-algebras which arise from considering K-theoretic invariants of the algebras. One of the obstructions will be of algebraic flavour and the other will be of topological flavour. Finally, I will discuss the classification question for certain classes of anomalous actions.

The pro-C completion of a free profinite group on an infinite set of generators is a profinite group of a greater rank. However, it is still not known whether it is a free profinite group too.  We will discuss this question, present a positive answer for some special varieties, and show partial results regarding the general case. In addition, we present the infinite tower of profinite completions, which leads to a generalisation for completions of higher orders. 

 Wide Neural Networks are well known for their Gaussian Process behaviour. Based upon this fact, an initialisation scheme for the weights and biases of a network preserving some geometrical properties of the input data is presented — The edge-of-chaos. This talk will introduce such a scheme before briefly mentioning a recent contribution related to the edge-of-chaos dynamics of wide randomly initialized low-rank feedforward networks. Formulae for the optimal weight and bias variances are extended from the full-rank to low-rank setting and are shown to follow from multiplicative scaling. The principle second order effect, the variance of the input-output Jacobian, is derived and shown to increase as the rank to width ratio decreases. These results inform practitioners how to randomly initialize feedforward networks with a reduced number of learnable parameters while in the same ambient dimension, allowing reductions in the computational cost and memory constraints of the associated network.