Thu, 15 Nov 2012

16:30 - 17:30

Quantum representations and their algebraic properties

Søren Fuglede Jørgensen
(Aarhus University)
Abstract
In St John's College

In this part, I will redefine the quantum representations for $G = SU(2)$ making no mention of flat connections at all, instead appealing to a purely combinatorial construction using the knot theory of the Jones polynomial.

Using these, I will discuss some of the properties of the representations, their strengths and their shortcomings. One of their main properties, conjectured by Vladimir Turaev and proved by Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen, is that the collection of the representations forms an infinite-dimensional faithful representation. As it is still an open question whether or not mapping class groups admit faithful finite-dimensional representations, it becomes natural to consider the kernels of the individual representations. Furthermore, I will hopefully discuss Andersen's proof that mapping class groups of closed surfaces do not have Kazhdan's Property (T), which makes essential use of quantum representations.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012

16:00 - 17:00
DH 1st floor SR

Multi-Component Ultracold Quantum Gases: Themes from Condensed Matter Physics and Beyond

Ryan Barnett
(Imperial College London)
Abstract

Ultracold atomic gases have recently proven to be enormously rich

systems from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. With

the advent of optical lattices, such systems can now realise idealised

model Hamiltonians used to investigate strongly correlated materials.

Conversely, ultracold atomic gases can exhibit quantum phases and

dynamics with no counterpart in the solid state due to their extra

degrees of freedom and unique environments virtually free of

dissipation. In this talk, I will discuss examples of such behaviour

arising from spinor degrees of freedom on which my recent research has

focused. Examples will include bosons with artificially induced

spin-orbit coupling and the non-equilibrium dynamics of spinor

condensates.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012

16:00 - 17:00
L3

Shimura Decomposition and Tunnell-like formulae.

Soma Purkait
(Warwick)
Abstract

Let k be an odd integer and N be a positive integer divisible by 4. Let g be a newform of weight k - 1, level dividing N/2 and trivial character. We give an explicit algorithm for computing the space of cusp forms of weight k/2 that are 'Shimura-equivalent' to g. Applying Waldspurger's theorem to this space allows us to express the critical values of the L-functions of twists of g in terms of the coefficients of modular forms of half-integral weight. Following Tunnell, this often allows us to give a criterion for the n-th twist of an elliptic curve to have positive rank in terms of the number of representations of certain integers by certain ternary quadratic forms.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012

14:00 - 15:00
L3

Triangulated defect categories

David Jorgensen
(Texas at Arlington)
Abstract

We will define certain Verdier quotients of the singularity category of a ring R, called defect categories. The triviality of these defect

categories determine, for example, whether a commutative local ring is Gorenstein, or a complete intersection. The dimension (in the sense of Rouquier) of the defect category thus gives a measure of how close such a ring is to being Gorenstein, respectively, a complete intersection. Examples will be given. This is based on joint work with Petter Bergh and Steffen Oppermann.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012

14:00 - 15:00
Gibson Grd floor SR

Optimally Blended Spectral-Finite Element Scheme for Wave Propagation and Non-Standard Reduced Integration

Professor Mark Ainsworth
(Brown University)
Abstract

We study the dispersion and dissipation of the numerical scheme obtained by taking a weighted averaging of the consistent (finite element) mass matrix and lumped (spectral element) mass matrix for the small wave number limit. We find and prove that for the optimum blending the resulting scheme

(a) provides $2p+4$ order accuracy for $p$th order method (two orders more accurate compared with finite and spectral element schemes);

(b) has an absolute accuracy which is $\mathcal{O}(p^{-3})$ and $\mathcal{O}(p^{-2})$ times better than that of the pure finite and spectral element schemes, respectively;

(c) tends to exhibit phase lag.

Moreover, we show that the optimally blended scheme can be efficiently implemented merely by replacing the usual Gaussian quadrature rule used to assemble the mass and stiffness matrices by novel nonstandard quadrature rules which are also derived.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012

12:00 - 13:00
SR1

Witten--Reshetikhin--Turaev invariants of mapping tori via skein theory

Søren Fuglede Jørgensen
(Aarhus University)
Abstract
Quantum representations are finite-dimensional projective representations of the mapping class group of a compact oriented surface that arise from the study of Chern--Simons theory; a 3-dimensional quantum field theory. The input to Chern--Simons theory is a compact, connected and simply connected Lie group $G$ (and in my talks, the relevant groups are $G = SU(N)$) and a natural number $k$ called the level. In these talks, I will discuss the representations from two very different and disjoint viewpoints. Part I: Quantum representations and their asymptotics The characters of the representations are directly related to the so-called quantum SU(N)-invariants of 3-manifolds that physically correspond to the Chern--Simons partition function of the 3-manifold under scrutiny. In this talk I will give a definition of the quantum representation using the geometric quantization of the moduli space of flat $SU(N)$-manifolds, where Hitchin's projectively flat connection over Teichmüller space plays a key role. I will give examples of the large level asymptotic behaviour of the characters of the representations and discuss a general conjecture, known as the Asymptotic Expansion Conjecture, for the asymptotics. Whereas I will likely be somewhat hand-wavy about the details of the construction, I hope to introduce the main objects going into it -- some prior knowledge of the geometry of moduli spaces of flat connections will be an advantage but not necessarily necessary. Part II: Quantum representations and their algebraic properties In this part, I will redefine the quantum representations for $G = SU(2)$ making no mention of flat connections at all, instead appealing to a purely combinatorial construction using the knot theory of the Jones polynomial. Using these, I will discuss some of the properties of the representations, their strengths and their shortcomings. One of their main properties, conjectured by Vladimir Turaev and proved by Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen, is that the collection of the representations forms an infinite-dimensional faithful representation. As it is still an open question whether or not mapping class groups admit faithful finite-dimensional representations, it becomes natural to consider the kernels of the individual representations. Furthermore, I will hopefully discuss Andersen's proof that mapping class groups of closed surfaces do not have Kazhdan's Property (T), which makes essential use of quantum representations.
Wed, 14 Nov 2012

10:15 - 11:15
OCCAM Common Room (RI2.28)

A purely mechanical approach to the formation and propagation of aneurysms

Jose Merodio
(Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
Abstract

One of the main problems occurring in the aorta is the development of aneurysms, in which case the artery wall thickens and its diameter increases. Suffice to say that many other factors may be involved in this process. These include, amongst others, geometry, non-homogeneous material, anisotropy, growth, remodeling, age, etc. In this talk, we examine the bifurcation of inflated thick-walled cylindrical shells under axial loading and its interpretation in terms of the mechanical response of arterial tissue and the formation and propagation of aneurysms. We will show that this mechanical approach is able to capture features of the mechanisms involved during the formation and propagation of aneurysms.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012

17:00 - 18:00
Gibson 1st Floor SR

The formation of shocks for the classical compressible Euler equations

Miao Shuang (with D. Christodoulou)
(Chinese Academy of Science & ETH Zurich)
Abstract

In this talk I shall discuss about the classical compressible Euler equations in three

space dimensions for a perfect fluid with an arbitrary equation of state.

We considered initial data which outside a sphere coincide with the data corresponding

to a constant state, we established theorems which gave a complete description of the

maximal development. In particular, we showed that the boundary of the domain of the

maximal development has a singular part where the inverse density of the wave fronts

vanishes, signaling shock formation.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012

14:30 - 15:30
SR1

Counting and packing Hamilton cycles in dense graphs and oriented graphs

Asaf Ferber
(Tel Aviv)
Abstract

In this talk we present a general method using permanent estimates in order to obtain results about counting and packing Hamilton cycles in dense graphs and oriented graphs. As a warm up we prove that every Dirac graph $G$ contains at least $(reg(G)/e)^n$ many distinct Hamilton cycles, where $reg(G)$ is the maximal degree of a spanning regular subgraph of $G$. We continue with strengthening a result of Cuckler by proving that the number of oriented Hamilton cycles in an almost $cn$-regular oriented graph is $(cn/e)^n(1+o(1))^n$, provided that $c$ is greater than $3/8$. Last, we prove that every graph $G$ of minimum degree at least $n/2+\epsilon n$ contains at least $reg_{even}(G)-\epsilon n$ edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles, where $reg_{even}(G)$ is the maximal even degree of a spanning regular subgraph of $G$. This proves an approximate version of a conjecture made by Osthus and K\"uhn.  Joint work with Michael Krivelevich and Benny Sudakov.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012

13:15 - 14:00
DH 1st floor SR

An introduction to mathematical finance : market completeness, arbitrage and backward stochastic differential equations

Arnaud Lionnet
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

I will present the basics of mathematical finance, and what probabilists do there. More specifically, I will present the basic concepts of replication of a derivative contract by trading, market completeness, arbitrage, and the link with Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (BSDEs).

Mon, 12 Nov 2012

17:00 - 18:00
Gibson 1st Floor SR

Crystalline solids with a uniform distribution of dislocations

Ivo Kaelin (with D. Christodoulou)
(ETH Zurich)
Abstract

Crystalline solids are descibed by a material manifold endowed

with a certain structure which we call crystalline. This is characterized by

a canonical 1-form, the integral of which on a closed curve in the material manifold

represents, in the continuum limit, the sum of the Burgers vectors of all the dislocation lines

enclosed by the curve. In the case that the dislocation distribution is uniform, the material manifold

becomes a Lie group upon the choice of an identity element. In this talk crystalline solids

with uniform distributions of the two elementary kinds of dislocations, edge and screw dislocations,

shall be considered. These correspond to the two simplest non-Abelian Lie groups, the affine group

and the Heisenberg group respectively. The statics of a crystalline solid are described in terms of a

mapping from the material domain into Euclidean space. The equilibrium configurations correspond

to mappings which minimize a certain energy integral. The static problem is solved in the case of

a small density of dislocations.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012

15:45 - 16:45
L3

That which we call a manifold ...

Andrew Stacey
(Trondheim University and Oxford)
Abstract

It's well known that the mapping space of two finite dimensional

manifolds can be given the structure of an infinite dimensional manifold

modelled on Frechet spaces (provided the source is compact). However, it is

not that the charts on the original manifolds give the charts on the mapping

space: it is a little bit more complicated than that. These complications

become important when one extends this construction, either to spaces more

general than manifolds or to properties other than being locally linear.

In this talk, I shall show how to describe the type of property needed to

transport local properties of a space to local properties of its mapping

space. As an application, we shall show that applying the mapping

construction to a regular map is again regular.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012

15:45 - 16:45
Oxford-Man Institute

tbc

Wei Pan
(University of Oxford)
Abstract
Mon, 12 Nov 2012

14:15 - 15:15
Oxford-Man Institute

Towards a rigorous justification of kinetic theory: The gainless heterogeneous Boltzmann equation.

Florian Thiel
(University of Warwick)
Abstract

We study the asymptotic behavior of deterministic dynamics of many interacting particles with random initial data in the limit where the number of particles tends to infinity. A famous example is hard sphere flow, we restrict our attention to the simpler case where particles are removed after the first collision. A fixed number of particles is drawn randomly according to an initial density $f_0(u,v)$ depending on $d$-dimensional position $u$ and velocity $v$. In the Boltzmann Grad scaling, we derive the validity of a Boltzmann equation without gain term for arbitrary long times, when we assume finiteness of moments up to order two and initial data that are $L^\infty$ in space. We characterize the many particle flow by collision trees which encode possible collisions. The convergence of the many-particle dynamics to the Boltzmann dynamics is achieved via the convergence of associated probability measures on collision trees. These probability measures satisfy nonlinear Kolmogorov equations, which are shown to be well-posed by semigroup methods.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012

12:00 - 13:00
L3

Scattering Amplitudes in Three Dimensions

Arthur Lipstein
(Oxford)
Abstract
I will describe scattering amplitudes of 3d Yang-Mills and Chern-Simons theories and what they may imply about string theory and M-theory.
Fri, 09 Nov 2012
16:30
L2

Numerical Methods for Tsunami Modeling and Hazard Assessment

Randall J. LeVeque
(Applied Mathematics Department University of Washington)
Abstract

 Many geophysical flows over topography can be modeled by two-dimensional
depth-averaged fluid dynamics equations.  The shallow water equations
are the simplest example of this type, and are often sufficiently
accurate for simulating tsunamis and other large-scale flows such
as storm surge.  These hyperbolic partial differential equations
can be modeled using high-resolution finite volume methods.  However,
several features of these flows lead to new algorithmic challenges,
e.g. the need for well-balanced methods to capture small perturbations
to the ocean at rest, the desire to model inundation and flooding,
and that vastly differing spatial scales that must often be modeled,
making adaptive mesh refinement essential. I will discuss some of
the algorithms implemented in the open source software GeoClaw that
is aimed at solving real-world geophysical flow problems over
topography.  I'll also show results of some recent studies of the
11 March 2011 Tohoku Tsunami and discuss the use of tsunami modeling
in probabilistic hazard assessment.