A huge thank you to everyone who contributed cakes, ate cakes (nice to be thanked for eating), served cakes, and generally supported this caffeine/flour-fuelled chaos. 

The actual total of £317.70 raised is DOUBLE what we originally thought.

Canada/USA Mathcamp is looking for maths graduate students as leaders for its summer 2025 session.

When: June 24 to August 8, 2025

Where: Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon

Compensation: $6,325 plus room, board, travel, and other work-related expenses

Simulation-based inference of the time-dependent reproduction number from temporally aggregated and under-reported disease incidence time series data
Ogi-Gittins, Z Steyn, N Polonsky, J Hart, W Keita, M Ahuka-Mundeke, S Hill, E Thompson, R Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Tue, 04 Mar 2025
15:30
L4

Mixed characteristic analogues of Du Bois and log canonical singularities

Joe Waldron
(Michigan State University)
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. 

Tue, 21 Jan 2025
15:30
L4

Deformations and lifts of Calabi-Yau varieties in characteristic p

Lukas Brantner
(Oxford)
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.  
 

Tue, 18 Feb 2025
14:00
L6

On a geometric dimension growth conjecture

Yotam Hendel
(Ben Gurion University of the Negev)
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.

A modeling study to define guidelines for antigen screening in schools and workplaces to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks
Jeong, Y Ejima, K Kim, K Iwanami, S Hart, W Thompson, R Jung, I Iwami, S Ajelli, M Aihara, K communications medicine volume 5 issue 1 (03 Jan 2025)
Wed, 29 Jan 2025
17:00
Lecture Theatre 1, Mathematical Institute, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, OX2 6GG

Can we truly understand by counting? - Hugo Duminil-Copin

Hugo Duminil-Copin
(IHES)
Further Information

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.

Mon, 17 Feb 2025
15:30
L3

Stochastic wave equations with constraints: well-posedness and Smoluchowski-Kramers diffusion approximation

Prof Zdzislaw Brzezniak
(University of York)
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.

Thu, 27 Feb 2025
16:00
L5

Rank-based models with listings and delistings: theory and calibration.

David Itkin
(LSE)
Abstract

Rank-based models for equity markets are reduced-form models where the asset dynamics depend on the rank that asset occupies in the investment universe. Such models are able to capture certain stylized macroscopic properties of equity markets, such as stability of the capital distribution curve and collision rates of stock rank switches. However, when calibrated to real equity data the models possess undesirable features such as an "Atlas stock" effect; namely the smallest security has an unrealistically large drift. Recently, Campbell and Wong (2024) identified that listings and delistings (i.e. entrances and exists) of securities in the market are important drivers for the stability of the capital distribution curve. In this work we develop a framework for ranked-based models with listings and delistings and calibrate them to data. By incorporating listings and delistings the calibration procedure no longer leads to an "Atlas stock" behaviour. Moreover, by studying an appropriate "local model", focusing on a specific target rank, we are able to connect collisions rates with a notion of particle density, which is more stable and easier to estimate from data than the collision rates. The calibration results are supported by novel theoretical developments such as a new master formula for functional generation of portfolios in this setting. This talk is based on joint work in progress with Martin Larsson and Licheng Zhang.  

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