Forthcoming events in this series

Wed, 26 Jan 2022

15:00 - 16:00
Virtual

### Introduction to Social Choice Theory

Arturo Rodriguez Fanlo
(Logic Group)
Abstract

This talk aims to be a rigorous introduction to Social Choice Theory, a sub-branch of Game Theory with natural applications to economics, sociology and politics that tries to understand how to determine, based on the personal opinions of all individuals, the collective opinion of society. The goal is to prove the three famous and pessimistic impossibility theorems: Arrow's theorem, Gibbard's theorem and Balinski-Young's theorem. Our blunt conclusion will be that, unfortunately, there are no ideally fair social choice systems. Is there any hope yet?

Wed, 04 Mar 2020
14:00
N3.12

### Machine Learning with Hawkes Processes

((Oxford University))
Abstract

Hawkes processes are a class of point processes used to model self-excitation and cross-excitation between different types of events. They are characterized by the auto-regressive structure of their conditional intensity, and there exists several extensions to the original linear Hawkes model. In this talk, we start by defining Hawkes processes and give a brief overview of some of their basic properties. We then review some approaches to parametric and non-parametric estimation of Hawkes processes and discuss some applications to problems with large data sets in high frequency finance and social networks.

Wed, 05 Feb 2020
14:00
N3.12

### Introduction to Social Choice Theory

Arturo Rodriguez
((Oxford University))
Abstract

Do you feel unable to explain why maths are cool? Are you looking for fun and affordable theorems for your non-mathematician friends? This is your topic.

This talk aims to be a rigorous introduction to Social Choice Theory, a sub-branch of Game Theory with natural applications to economics, sociology and politics that tries to understand how to determine, based on the personal opinions of all individuals, the collective opinion of society. The goal is to prove the three famous and pessimistic impossibility theorems: Arrow's theorem, Gibbard's theorem and Balinski-Young's theorem. Our blunt conclusion will be that, unfortunately, there are no ideally fair social choice systems. Is there any hope yet?

Wed, 29 Jan 2020
02:00
N3.12

### Introduction to scrolls

Geoffrey Otieno Mboya
((Oxford University))
Abstract

Scrolls play a central role in the construction of varieties; they are ambient spaces for K3 surfaces and Fano 3-folds. In this talk, I will say in two ways what scrolls are and give examples of some embedded varieties in them.

Wed, 22 Jan 2020
14:00
N3.12

### Complete Homogeneous Symmetric Polynomials

Esteban Gomezllata Marmolejo
((Oxford University))
Abstract

The $k$-th complete homogeneous symmetric polynomial in $m$ variables $h_{k,m}$ is the sum of all the monomials of degree $k$ in $m$ variables. They are related to the Symmetric powers of vector spaces. In this talk we will present some of their standard properties, some classic combinatorial results using the "stars and bars" argument, as well as an interesting result: the complete homogeneous symmetric polynomial applied to $(1+X_i)$ can be written as a linear combination of complete homogeneous symmetric poynomials in the $X_i$. To compute the coefficients of this linear combination, we extend the classic "stars and bars" argument.

Wed, 04 Dec 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Random Groups

David Hume
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Finitely presented groups are a natural algebraic generalisation of the collection of finite groups. Unlike the finite case there is almost no hope of any kind of classification.

The goal of random groups is therefore to understand the properties of the "typical" finitely presented group. I will present a couple of models for random groups and survey some of the main theorems and open questions in the area, demonstrating surprising correlations between these probabilistic models, geometry and analysis.

Wed, 20 Nov 2019
15:00
N3.12

### The Stacks Project (abridged/bowdlerized)

Jay Swar
(Oxford University)
Abstract

In this talk, I will introduce the notion of a sheaf on a topological space. I will then explain why "topological spaces" are an artificial limitation on enjoying life (esp. cohomology) to the fullest and what to do about that (answer: sites). Sheaves also fail our needs, but they have a suitable natural upgrade (i.e. stacks).
This talk will be heavily peppered with examples that come from the world around you (music, torsors, etc.).

Wed, 30 Oct 2019
12:00
N3.12

### Applying Distributional Compositional Categorical Models of Meaning to Language Translation

Brian Tyrrell
((Oxford University))
Abstract

In 2010 Coecke, Sadrzadeh, and Clark formulated a new model of natural language which operates by combining the syntactics of grammar and the semantics of individual words to produce a unified ''meaning'' of sentences. This they did by using category theory to understand the component parts of language and to amalgamate the components together to form what they called a ''distributional compositional categorical model of meaning''. In this talk I shall introduce the model of Coecke et. al., and use it to compare the meaning of sentences in Irish and in English (and thus ascertain when a sentence is the translation of another sentence) using a cosine similarity score.

The Irish language is a member of the Gaelic family of languages, originating in Ireland and is the official language of the Republic of Ireland.

Wed, 16 Oct 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Linear antimetrics and the "twin paradox"

Esteban Gomezllata Marmolejo
Abstract

The triangular inequality is central in Mathematics. What would happen if we reverse it? We only obtain trivial spaces. However, if we mix it with an order structure, we obtain interesting spaces. We'll present linear antimetrics, prove a "masking theorem", and then look at a corollary which tells us about the "twin paradox" in special relativity; time is antimetric!

Wed, 29 May 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Hilbert's Fifth Problem

Arturo Rodriguez
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Hilbert's fifth problem asks informally what is the difference between Lie groups and topological groups. In 1950s this problem was solved by Andrew Gleason, Deane Montgomery, Leo Zippin and Hidehiko Yamabe concluding that every locally compact topological group is "essentially" a Lie group. In this talk we will show the complete proof of this theorem.

Wed, 15 May 2019
11:00
N3.12

### The Yang-Mills equations and Uhlenbeck Compactness

Hector Papoulias
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

This talk is a brief introduction to the analysis of Donaldson theory, a branch of gauge theory. Roughly, this is an area of differential topology that aims to extract smooth structure invariants from the geometry of the space of solutions (moduli space) to a system of partial differential equations: the Yang-Mills equations.

I will start by discussing the differential geometric background required to talk about Yang-Mills connections. This will involve introducing the concepts of principal fibre bundles, connections and curvature. In the second half of the talk I will attempt to convey the flavour of the mathematics used to address technical issues in gauge theory. I plan to do this by presenting a sketch of the proof of Uhlenbeck's compactness theorem, the main technical tool involved in the compactification of the moduli space.

Wed, 08 May 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Completing Kronecker-Weber (via completing the rationals)

Jay Swar
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

KW states that every finite abelian extension of the rationals is contained in a cyclotomic extension. In a previous talk, this was reduced to considering cyclic extensions of the local fields Q_p of prime power order l^r. When l\neq p, general theory is sufficient, however for l=p, more specific (although not necessarily more abstruse) descriptions become necessary.
I will focus on the simple structure of Q_p's extensions to obstruct the remaining obstructions to KW (and hopefully provoke some interest in local fields in those less familiar). Time-permitting, I will talk about this theorem in the context of class field theory and/or Hilbert's 12th problem.

Wed, 01 May 2019
11:00
N3.12

### The Kronecker-Weber theorem

Konstantinos Kartas
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

The Kronecker-Weber theorem states that every finite abelian extension of the rationals is contained in some cyclotomic field. I will present a proof that emphasizes the standard local-global philosophy by first proving it for the p-adics and then deducing the global case.

Wed, 06 Mar 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Introduction to Large Cardinal theory

Alex Chevalier
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

I will present some basic concepts in Large Cardinal theory. A Large Cardinal axiom is the assertion of the existence of a cardinal so large that it entails the existence of set-sized models of ZFC, something which we know ZFC alone does not do. Large Cardinal axioms are therefore strengthenings of ZFC. We believe them to be consistent with ZFC, but this is a touchy subject. Nevertheless, Large Cardinal axioms have become an essential tool in set theory, providing insight into the fine structure of the set theoretic universe. In my talk, I will focus on inaccessible and measurable cardinals, and, if time permits, I will discuss supercompact cardinals.

Wed, 27 Feb 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Applying Distributional Compositional Categorical Models of Meaning to Language Translation

Brian Tyrrell
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

In 2010 Coecke, Sadrzadeh, and Clark formulated a new model of natural language which operates by combining the syntactics of grammar and the semantics of individual words to produce a unified ''meaning'' of sentences. This they did by using category theory to understand the component parts of language and to amalgamate the components together to form what they called a ''distributional compositional categorical model of meaning''. In this talk I shall introduce the model of Coecke et. al., and use it to compare the meaning of sentences in Irish and in English (and thus ascertain when a sentence is the translation of another sentence) using a cosine similarity score.

The Irish language is a member of the Gaelic family of languages, originating in Ireland and is the official language of the Republic of Ireland.

Wed, 20 Feb 2019
11:00
N3.12

### A curve in the Möbius band

Esteban Gomezllata Marmolejo
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Suppose that you have a long strip of paper, and draw the central line through it. You then glue it together so as to make a Möbius band. Can the drawn curve be contained in a plane?

We'll answer the question in this talk, as well as introduce the concepts from the Geometry of Surfaces course required to go through it; including Gauss' one and only Theorema Egregium! (we won't prove it though).

Wed, 13 Feb 2019
11:00
N3.12

### Grothendieck Rings of Varieties and Cubic Hypersurfaces

Søren Gammelgaard
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

The Grothendieck ring of varieties over a field is a simple idea that formalizes various cut-and-paste arguments in algebraic geometry. We will explain how this intuitive construction leads to nontrivial results, such as computing Euler characteristics, counting points of varieties over finite fields, and determining Hodge numbers. As an example, we will investigate cubic hypersurfaces, especially the varieties parametrizing lines on them. If time permits, we will discuss some of the stranger properties of the Grothendieck ring.

Wed, 06 Feb 2019
11:00
N3.12

### RSK Insertion and Symmetric Polynomials

(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Young diagrams frequently appear in the study of partitions and representations of the symmetric group. By filling these diagrams with numbers, we obtain Young tableau, combinatorial objects onto which we can define the structure of a monoid via insertion algorithms. We will explore this structure and it's connection to a basis of the ring of symmetric polynomials. If we have time, we will mention alternative monoid structures and their corresponding bases.

Wed, 28 Nov 2018
11:00
N3.12

### "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." — Chancellor Palpatine

Alex Luc Chevalier
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

We will talk about set theory, and, more specifically, forcing. Forcing is powerful. It is the go-to method for proving the independence of the continuum hypothesis or for understanding the (lack of) fine structure of the real numbers. However, forcing is hard. Keen to export their theorems to more mainstream areas of mathematics, set theorists have tackled this issue by inventing forcing axioms, (relatively) simple mathematical statements which describe sophisticated forcing extensions. In my talk, I will present the basics of forcing, I will introduce some interesting forcing axioms and I will show how these might be used to obtain surprising independence results.

Wed, 21 Nov 2018
11:00
N3.12

### The Monoidal Marriage of Stucture and Physics

Nicola Pinzani
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

What does abstract nonsense (category theory) have to do with the apparently opposite proverbial concreteness of physics? In this talk I will try to convey the importance of understanding physical theories from a compositional and structural perspective, where the fundamental logic of interaction between systems becomes the real protagonist. Firstly, we will see how different classes of symmetric monoidal categories can be used to model physical processes in a very natural and intuitive way. We will then explore the claim that category theory is not only useful in providing a unified framework, but it can be also used to perfect and modify preexistent models. In this direction, I will show how the introduction of a trace in the symmetric monoidal category describing QIT can be used to talk about quantum interactions induced by cyclic causal relationships.

Wed, 14 Nov 2018
11:00
N3.12

### Nets of lines in the projective plane

Sebastian Eterović
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Nets of lines are line arrangements satisfying very strict intersection conditions. We will see that nets can be defined in a very natural way in algebraic geometry, and, thanks to the strict intersection properties they satisfy, we will see that a lot can be said about classifying them over the complex numbers. Despite this, there are still basic unanswered questions about nets, which we will discuss.

Wed, 07 Nov 2018
11:00
S1.37

### The Pigeonhole Geometry of Numbers and Sums of Squares

Jay Swar
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Fermat’s two-squares theorem is an elementary theorem in number theory that readily lends itself to a classification of the positive integers representable as the sum of two squares. Given this, a natural question is: what is the minimal number of squares needed to represent any given (positive) integer? One proof of Fermat’s result depends on essentially a buffed pigeonhole principle in the form of Minkowski’s Convex Body Theorem, and this idea can be used in a nearly identical fashion to provide 4 as an upper bound to the aforementioned question (this is Lagrange’s four-square theorem). The question of identifying the integers representable as the sum of three squares turns out to be substantially harder, however leaning on a powerful theorem of Dirichlet and a handful of tricks we can use Minkowski’s CBT to settle this final piece as well (this is Legendre’s three-square theorem).

Wed, 31 Oct 2018
11:00
N3.12

### Linear and Cyclic Antimetrics

Esteban Gomezllata Marmolejo
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

The core idea behind metric spaces is the triangular inequality. Metrics have been generalized in many ways, but the most tempting way to alter them would be to "flip" the triangular inequality, obtaining an "anti-metric". This, however, only allows for trivial spaces where the distance between any two points is 0. However, if we intertwine the concept of antimetrics with the structures of partial linear--and cyclic--orders, we can define a structure where the anti-triangular inequality holds conditionally. We define this structure, give examples, and show an interesting result involving metrics and antimetrics.

Wed, 24 Oct 2018
11:00
N3.12

### Logic in practise

Victor Lisinski
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

In this talk we will introduce quantifier elimination and give various examples of theories with this property. We will see some very useful applications of quantifier elimination to algebra and geometry that will hopefully convince you how practical this property is to other areas of mathematics.

Wed, 17 Oct 2018
11:00
N3.12