In the year 2003 Yuri Ershov gave a talk at a conference in Teheran on
his notion of ``extremal valued fields''. He proved that algebraically
complete discretely valued fields are extremal. However, the proof
contained a mistake, and it turned out in 2009 through an observation by
Sergej Starchenko that Ershov's original definition leads to all
extremal fields being algebraically closed. In joint work with Salih
Durhan (formerly Azgin) and Florian Pop, we chose a more appropriate
definition and then characterized extremal valued fields in several
important cases.

We call a valued field (K,v) extremal if for all natural numbers n and
all polynomials f in K[X_1,...,X_n], the set of values {vf(a_1,...,a_n)
| a_1,...,a_n in the valuation ring} has a maximum (which is allowed to
be infinity, attained if f has a zero in the valuation ring). This is
such a natural property of valued fields that it is in fact surprising
that it has apparently not been studied much earlier. It is also an
important property because Ershov's original statement is true under the
revised definition, which implies that in particular all Laurent Series
Fields over finite fields are extremal. As it is a deep open problem
whether these fields have a decidable elementary theory and as we are
therefore looking for complete recursive axiomatizations, it is
important to know the elementary properties of them well. That these
fields are extremal could be an important ingredient in the
determination of their structure theory, which in turn is an essential
tool in the proof of model theoretic properties.

The notion of "tame valued field" and their model theoretic properties
play a crucial role in the characterization of extremal fields. A valued
field K with separable-algebraic closure K^sep is tame if it is
henselian and the ramification field of the extension K^sep|K coincides
with the algebraic closure. Open problems in the classification of
extremal fields have recently led to new insights about elementary
equivalence of tame fields in the unequal characteristic case. This led
to a follow-up paper. Major suggestions from the referee were worked out
jointly with Sylvy Anscombe and led to stunning insights about the role
of extremal fields as ``atoms'' from which all aleph_1-saturated valued
fields are pieced together.

I will report on joint work with Arno Fehm in which we apply
our previous `existential transfer' results to the problem of
determining which fields admit diophantine nontrivial henselian
valuation rings and ideals. Using our characterization we are able to
re-derive all the results in the literature. Also, I will explain a
connection with Pop's large fields.

How can we explain the patterns of genetic variation in the world around us? The genetic composition of a population can be changed by natural selection, mutation, mating, and other genetic, ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. How do they interact with one another, and what was their relative importance in shaping the patterns we see today? 

Whereas the pioneers of the field could only observe genetic variation indirectly, by looking at traits of individuals in a population, researchers today have direct access to DNA sequences. But making sense of this wealth of data presents a major scientific challenge and mathematical models play a decisive role. This lecture will distil our understanding into workable models and explore the remarkable power of simple mathematical caricatures in interrogating modern genetic data.

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Science is giving us unprecedented insight into the big questions that have challenged humanity. Where did we come from? What is the ultimate destiny of the universe? What are the building blocks of the physical world? What is consciousness?

‘What We Cannot Know’ asks us to rein in this unbridled enthusiasm for the power of science. Are there limits to what we can discover about our physical universe? Are some regions of the future beyond the predictive powers of science and mathematics? Are there ideas so complex that they are beyond the conception of our finite human brains? Can brains even investigate themselves or does the analysis enter an infinite loop from which it is impossible to rescue itself? 

To coincide with the launch of his new book of the same title, Marcus du Sautoy will be answering (or not answering) those questions. He will also be signing copies of the book before and after the lecture.

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Would you like to come see some toys?

'Toys' here have a special sense: objects of daily life which you can find or make in minutes, yet which, if played with imaginatively reveal surprises that keep scientists puzzling for a while. We will see table-top demos of many such toys and visit some of the science that they open up. The common theme is singularity.

Tadashi Tokieda is the Director of Studies in Mathematics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and the Poincaré Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Stanford.

To book please email @email

To book please email @email