Mon, 08 Mar 2021
14:15
Virtual

The spine of the T-graph of the Hilbert scheme

Diane MacLagan
(University of Warwick)
Abstract

The torus T of projective space also acts on the Hilbert
scheme of subschemes of projective space, and the T-graph of the
Hilbert scheme has vertices the fixed points of this action, and edges
the closures of one-dimensional orbits. In general this graph depends
on the underlying field. I will discuss joint work with Rob
Silversmith, in which we construct of a subgraph, which we call the
spine, of the T-graph of Hilb^N(A^2) that is independent of the choice
of field. The key technique is an understanding of the tropical ideal,
in the sense of tropical scheme theory, of the ideal of the universal
family of an edge in the spine.

Mon, 01 Mar 2021
14:15
Virtual

Homological mirror symmetry for genus two curves

Catherine Cannizzo
(Stony Brook University)
Abstract

We prove a homological mirror symmetry result for a one-parameter family of genus 2 curves (https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.04227), and then mention current joint work with H. Azam, H. Lee, and C.-C. M. Liu on generalizing this to the 6-parameter family of all genus 2 curves.

First we describe the B-model genus 2 curve in a 4-torus and the geometric construction of the generalized SYZ mirror. Then we set up the Fukaya-Seidel category on the mirror. Finally we will see the main algebraic HMS result on homogenous coordinate rings, which is at the level of cohomology. The method involves first considering mirror symmetry for the 4-torus, then restricting to the hypersurface genus 2 curve and extending to a mirror Landau-Ginzburg model with fiber the mirror 4-torus. 

Mon, 22 Feb 2021
14:15
Virtual

Spaces of metrics of positive scalar curvature on manifolds with boundary

Christian Bär
(University of Potsdam)
Abstract

Unlike for closed manifolds, the existence of positive scalar curvature (psc) metrics on connected manifolds with
nonempty boundary is unobstructed. We study and compare the spaces of psc metrics on such manifolds with various
conditions along the boundary: H ≥ 0, H = 0, H > 0, II = 0, doubling, product structure. Here H stands for the
mean curvature of the boundary and II for its second fundamental form. "Doubling" means that the doubled metric
on the doubled manifold (along the boundary) is smooth and "product structure" means that near the boundary the
metric has product form. We show that many, but not all of the obvious inclusions are weak homotopy equivalences.
In particular, we will see that if the manifold carries a psc metric with H ≥ 0, then it also carries one which is
doubling but not necessarily one which has product structure. This is joint work with Bernhard Hanke.

Mon, 15 Feb 2021
14:15
Virtual

Weightings and normal forms

Eckhard Meinrenken
(University of Toronto)
Abstract

The idea of assigning weights to local coordinate functions is used in many areas of mathematics, such as singularity theory, microlocal analysis, sub-Riemannian geometry, or the theory of hypo-elliptic operators, under various terminologies. In this talk, I will describe some differential-geometric aspects of weightings along submanifolds. This includes a coordinate-free definition, and the construction of weighted normal bundles and weighted blow-ups. As an application, I will describe a canonical local model for isotropic embeddings in symplectic manifolds. (Based on joint work with Yiannis Loizides.)

Mon, 08 Feb 2021
14:15
Virtual

Punctured invariants and gluing

Dan Abramovich
(Brown University)
Abstract
Associativity in quantum cohomology is proven using a gluing formula for Gromov-Witten invariants. The gluing formula underlying orbifold quantum cohomology has additional interesting features. The Gross-Siebert program requires an analogue of quantum cohomology in logarithmic geometry, with underlying gluing formula for punctured logarithmic invariants. I'll attempt to explain how this works and what new subtle features arise. This is based on joint work with Q. Chen, M. Gross and B. Siebert (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2009.07720.pdf).
Mon, 01 Feb 2021
14:15
Virtual

Leaf decompositions in Euclidean spaces

Krzysztof Ciosmak
(Oxford)
Abstract

In the talk I shall discuss an approach to the localisation technique, for spaces satisfying the curvature-dimension condition, by means of L1-optimal transport. Moreover, I shall present recent work on a generalisation of the technique to multiple constraints setting. Applications of the theory lie in functional and geometric inequalities, e.g. in the Lévy-Gromov isoperimetric inequality.

Mon, 25 Jan 2021
14:15
Virtual

Equivariant Lagrangian Floer homology and Extended Field theory

Guillem Cazassus
(Oxford)
Abstract
Given a compact Lie group G and a Hamiltonian G-manifold endowed with a pair of G-Lagrangians, we provide a construction for their equivariant Floer homology. Such groups have been defined previously by Hendricks, Lipshitz and Sarkar, and also by Daemi and Fukaya. A similar construction appeared independently in the work of Kim, Lau and Zheng. We will discuss an attempt to use such groups to construct topological field theories: these should be seen as 3-morphism spaces in the Hamiltonian 3-category, which should serve as a target for a field theory corresponding to Donaldson polynomials.
Mon, 18 Jan 2021
14:15
Virtual

Representation theory in geometric complexity theory

Christian Ikenmeyer
(University of Liverpool)
Abstract

Geometric complexity theory is an approach towards solving computational complexity lower bounds questions using algebraic geometry and representation theory. This talk contains an introduction to geometric complexity theory and a presentation of some recent results. Along the way connections to the study of secant varieties and to classical combinatorial and representation theoretic conjectures will be pointed out.

Social distancing is integral to our lives these days, but distancing also underpins the ordered patterns and arrangements we see all around us in Nature. Oxford Mathematician Priya Subramanian studies the defects in such patterns and shows how they relate to the underlying pattern, i.e. to the distancing itself.

Thu, 21 Jan 2021

12:00 - 13:00
Virtual

Numerical analysis of a topology optimization problem for Stokes flow / Estimates and regularity for a class of augmented Hessian equations, and a fully nonlinear generalisation of the Yamabe problem

Ioannis Papadopoulos / Jonah Duncan
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

A topology optimization problem for Stokes flow finds the optimal material distribution of a fluid in Stokes flow that minimizes the fluid’s power dissipation under a volume constraint. In 2003, T. Borrvall and J. Petersson [1] formulated a nonconvex optimization problem for this objective. They proved the existence of minimizers in the infinite-dimensional setting and showed that a suitably chosen finite element method will converge in a weak(-*) sense to an unspecified solution. In this talk, we will extend and refine their numerical analysis. In particular, we will show that there exist finite element functions, satisfying the necessary first-order conditions of optimality, that converge strongly to each isolated local minimizer of the problem.

/

Fully nonlinear PDEs involving the eigenvalues of matrix-valued differential operators (such as the Hessian) have been the subject of intensive study over the last few decades, since the seminal work of Caffarelli, Kohn, Nirenberg and Spruck. In this talk I will discuss some recent joint work with Luc Nguyen on the regularity theory for a large class of these equations, with a particular emphasis on a special case known as the sigma_k-Yamabe equation, which arises in conformal geometry. 

 

[1] T. Borrvall, J. Petersson, Topology optimization of fluids in Stokes flow, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 41 (1) (2003) 77–107. doi:10.1002/fld.426.

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