Find out more and enrol on any of the courses that we will be offering in Hilary term through the Graduate School in the Department for Continuing Education. All of these 20 sessions are open to all Oxford postgraduate students, any division, department or faculty, and are free of charge.
15:30
Mixed characteristic analogues of Du Bois and log canonical singularities
Abstract
Singularities are measured in different ways in characteristic zero, positive characteristic, and mixed characteristic. However, classes of singularities usually form analogous groups with similar properties, with an example of such a group being klt, strongly F-regular and BCM-regular. In this talk we shall focus on newly introduced mixed characteristic counterparts of Du Bois and log canonical singularities and discuss their properties.
This is joint work with Bhargav Bhatt, Linquan Ma, Zsolt Patakfalvi, Karl Schwede, Kevin Tucker and Jakub Witaszek.
15:30
Deformations and lifts of Calabi-Yau varieties in characteristic p
Abstract
Derived algebraic geometry allows us to study formal moduli problems via their tangent Lie algebras. After briefly reviewing this general paradigm, I will explain how it sheds light on deformations of Calabi-Yau varieties.
In joint work with Taelman, we prove a mixed characteristic analogue of the Bogomolov–Tian–Todorov theorem, which asserts that Calabi-Yau varieties in characteristic $0$ are unobstructed. Moreover, we show that ordinary Calabi–Yau varieties in characteristic $p$ admit canonical (and algebraisable) lifts to characteristic $0$, generalising results of Serre-Tate for abelian varieties and Deligne-Nygaard for K3 surfaces.
If time permits, I will conclude by discussing some intriguing questions related to our canonical lifts.
14:00
On a geometric dimension growth conjecture
Abstract
Let X be an integral projective variety of degree at least 2 defined over Q, and let B>0 an integer. The dimension growth conjecture, now proven in almost all cases following works of Browning, Heath-Brown, and Salberger, provides a certain uniform upper bound on the number of rational points of height at most B lying on X.
Shifting to the geometric setting (where X may be defined over C(t)), the collection of C(t)-rational points lying on X of degree at most B naturally has the structure of an algebraic variety, which we denote by X(B). In ongoing work with Tijs Buggenhout and Floris Vermeulen, we uniformly bound the dimension and, when the degree of X is at least 6, the number of irreducible components of X(B) of largest possible dimension analogously to dimension growth bounds. We do this by developing a geometric determinant method, and by using results on rational points on curves over function fields.
Joint with Tijs Buggenhout and Floris Vermeulen.
17:00
Can we truly understand by counting? - Hugo Duminil-Copin
Hugo will illustrate how counting can shed light on the behaviour of complex physical systems, while simultaneously revealing the need to sometimes go beyond what numbers tell us in order to unveil all the mysteries of the world around us.
Hugo Duminil-Copin is is a French mathematician recognised for his groundbreaking work in probability theory and mathematical physics. He was appointed full professor at the University of Geneva in 2014 and since 2016 has also been a permanent professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) in France. In 2022 he was awarded the Fields Medal, the highest distinction in mathematics.
Please email @email to register to attend in person.
The lecture will be broadcast on the Oxford Mathematics YouTube Channel on Thursday 20 February at 5-6pm and any time after (no need to register for the online version).
The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.
15:30
Stochastic wave equations with constraints: well-posedness and Smoluchowski-Kramers diffusion approximation
Abstract
I will discuss the well-posedness of a class of stochastic second-order in time-damped evolution equations in Hilbert spaces, subject to the constraint that the solution lies on the unit sphere. A specific example is provided by the stochastic damped wave equation in a bounded domain of a $d$-dimensional Euclidean space, endowed with the Dirichlet boundary conditions, with the added constraint that the $L^2$-norm of the solution is equal to one. We introduce a small mass $\mu>0$ in front of the second-order derivative in time and examine the validity of the Smoluchowski-Kramers diffusion approximation. We demonstrate that, in the small mass limit, the solution converges to the solution of a stochastic parabolic equation subject to the same constraint. We further show that an extra noise-induced drift emerges, which in fact does not account for the Stratonovich-to-It\^{o} correction term. This talk is based on joint research with S. Cerrai (Maryland), hopefully to be published in Comm Maths Phys.