Past Junior Number Theory Seminar

Starting from Hilbert's 10th problem, I will explain how to characterise the set of integers by non-solubility of a set of polynomial equations and discuss related challenges. The methods needed are almost entirely elementary; ingredients from algebraic number theory will be explained as we go along. No knowledge of first-order logic is necessary.

The study of rational points on K3 surfaces has recently seen a lot of activity. We discuss how to compute the Picard rank of a K3 surface over a number field, and the implications for the Brauer-Manin obstruction.

I will introduce classical results on finiteness theorem with a way of connecting them to idea of covering spaces. I will talk about the proof of FLT under this connection.

In this talk I will define algebraic automorphic forms, first defined by Gross, which are objects that are conjectured to have Galois representations attached to them. I will explain how this fits into the general picture of the Langlands program and, giving some examples, briefly describe one method of proving certain cases of the conjecture. 

I will introduce the general idea of p-adic Hodge theory from the view point of a beginner. Also, I will give a sketch of the proof of the crystalline comparison theorem in the case of good reduction using 'almost mathematics'.

Many hard problems in Diophantine geometry have analogues over function fields which are less hard. I will give some examples.

We will give a sketch overview of Scholze's theory of perfectoid spaces and the tilting equivalence, starting from Huber's geometric approach to valuation theory. Applications to weight-monodromy and p-adic Hodge theory we will only hint at, preferring instead to focus on examples which illustrate the philosophy of tilting equivalence.
 

After some generalities on étale fundamental groups and anabelian geometry, I will explore some of the current results on the section conjecture, including those of Koenigsmann and Pop on the birational section conjecture, and a recent unpublished result of Mohamed Saidi which reduces the section conjecture for finitely generated fields over the rationals to the case of number fields.

In this talk I will describe two instances of Langlands functoriality concerning the group $\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}$. I will then very briefly explain how this enables one to attach Galois representations to automorphic representations of (inner forms of) $\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}$. 

In 1937 Vinogradov showed that every sufficiently large odd number is the sum of three primes, using bounds on the sums of additive characters taken over the primes. He was improving, rather dramatically, on an earlier result of Schnirelmann, which showed that every sufficiently large integer is the sum of at most 37 000 primes. We discuss a natural analogue of this question in the multiplicative group (Z/pZ)* and find that, although the current unconditional character sum technology is too weak to use Vinogradov's approach, an idea from Schnirelmann's work still proves fruitful. We will use a result of Selberg-Delange, an application of a small sieve, and a few easy ideas from additive combinatorics. 

In this talk I will discuss the notion of o-minimality, which can be approached from either a model-theoretic standpoint, or an algebraic one.  I will exhibit some o-minimal structures, focussing on those most relevant to number theorists, and attempt to explain how o-minimality can be used to attain an assortment of results.

In this talk I will describe Arthur's classification of automorphic representations of symplectic and orthogonal groups using automorphic representations of $\mathrm{GL}_N$.

We will discuss Raynaud's classical theory on Néron models of Jacobians of curves, and mention some tropical aspects of the theory that help us understand modular curves from a modern non-Archimedean viewpoint. There will be an annoyingly large number of examples illustrating the key principles throughout. 

Cramer conjectured a random model for the distribution of the primes, which would suggest that, on the scale of the average prime gap, the primes can be modelled by a Poisson process. In particular, the set of limit points of normalized prime gaps would be the whole interval $[0,\infty)$. I will describe joint work with Banks and Freiberg which shows that at least 1/8 of the positive reals are in the set of limit points. 

Consider a nonsingular projective variety $X$ defined by a system of $R$ forms of the same degree $d$. The circle method proves the Hasse principle and Manin's conjecture for $X$ when $\text{dim}X > C(d,R)$. I will describe how to improve the value of $C$ when $R$ is large. I use a technique for estimating mean values of exponential sums which I call a ``moat lemma". This leads to a novel and intriguing system of auxiliary inequalities.

Since their introduction, Shimura varieties have proven to be important landmarks sitting right at the crossroads between algebraic geometry, number theory and representation theory. In this talk, starting from the yoga of motives and Hodge theory, we will try to motivate Deligne's construction of Shimura varieties, and briefly survey some of their zoology and basic properties. I may also say something about the links to automorphic forms, or their integral canonical models.