A Hausdorff and etale groupoid is said to be C*-simple if its reduced groupoid C*-algebra is simple. Work on C*-simplicity goes back to the work of Kalantar and Kennedy in 2014, who classified the C*-simplicity of discrete groups by associating to the group a dynamical system. Since then, the study of C*-simplicity has received interest from group theorists and operator algebraists alike. More recently, the works of Kawabe and Borys demonstrate that the groupoid case may be tractible to such dynamical characterizations. In this talk, we present the dynamical characterization of when a groupoid is C*-simple and work out some basic examples. This is joint work with Xin Li, Matt Kennedy, Sven Raum, and Dan Ursu. No previous knowledge of groupoids will be assumed.

Scattered topological spaces and their C*-analogs, known as scattered
C*-algebras, have been studied since the 70's and admit a number of
interesting characterizations. In this talk, I will define nowhere
scattered C*-algebras as, informally, those C*-algebras that are very
far from being scattered. I will then characterize this property in
various ways, such as the absence of nonzero elementary ideal-quotients,
topological properties of the spectrum, and divisibility properties in
the Cuntz semigroup. Further, I will also show that these divisibility
properties can be strengthened in the real rank zero or the stable rank
one case.

The talk is based on joint work with Hannes Thiel.

Q-systems were introduced by Longo to describe the canonical endomorphism of a finite Jones-index inclusion of infinite von Neumann factors. From our viewpoint, a Q-system is a unitary  version of a Frobenius algebra object in a tensor category or a C* 2-category. Following work of Douglass-Reutter, a Q-system is also a unitary version of a higher idempotent, and we will describe a higher unitary idempotent completion for C* 2-categories called Q-system completion. 

We will focus on the C* 2-category C*Alg with objects unital C*-algebras, 1-morphisms right Hilbert C*-correspondences, and 2-morphisms adjointable intertwiners. By adapting a subfactor reconstruction technique called realization, and using the graphical calculus available for C* 2-categories, we will show that C*Alg is Q-system complete.

This result allows for the straightforward adaptation of subfactor results to C*-algebras, characterizing finite Watatani-index extensions of unital C*-algebras equipped with a faithful conditional expectation in terms of the Q-systems in C*Alg. Q-system completion can also be used to induce new symmetries of C*-algebras from old. 

This is joint work with Quan Chen, Corey Jones and Dave Penneys (arXiv: 2105.12010).

Spectral sequences are computational tools to find the (co-)homology of mathematical objects and are used across various fields. In this talk I will focus on the LHS spectral sequence, which we associate to an extension of groups to compute group cohomology. The first part of the talk will serve as introduction to both group cohomology and general spectral sequences, where I hope to provide and intuition and some reduced formalism. As main example, and core of this talk, we will look at the LHS spectral sequence associated to the group extension $(\mathbb{Z}/3\mathbb{Z})^3 \rightarrow S \rightarrow \mathbb{Z}/3\mathbb{Z}$, where $S$ is a Sylow-3-subgroup of $SL_2(\mathbb{Z}/9\mathbb{Z})$. In particular I will present arguments that all differentials on the $E^2$ page vanish.

We will consider line defects in d-dimensional CFTs. The ambient CFT places nontrivial constraints on renormalization group flows on such line defects. We will see that the flow on line defects is consequently irreversible and furthermore a canonical decreasing entropy function exists. This construction generalizes the g theorem to line defects in arbitrary dimensions. We will demonstrate this generalization in some concrete examples, including a flow between Wilson loops in 4 dimensions, and an O(3) bosonic theory coupled to an impurity in the large spin representation of the bulk global symmetry.

We present models of a vapour bubble produced during ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy treatment of kidney stones. This common treatment for kidney stones involves passing a flexible ureteroscope containing a laser fibre via the ureter and bladder into the kidney, where the fibre is placed in contact with the stone. Laser pulses are fired to fragment the stone into pieces small enough to pass through an outflow channel. Laser energy is also transferred to the surrounding fluid, resulting in vapourisation and the production of a cavitation bubble.

While in some cases, bubbles have undesirable effects – for example, causing retropulsion of the kidney stone – it is possible to exploit bubbles to make stone fragmentation more efficient. One laser manufacturer employs a method of firing laser pulses in quick succession; the latter pulses pass through the bubble created by the first pulse, which, due to the low absorption rate of vapour in comparison to liquid, increases the laser energy reaching the stone.

As is common in bubble dynamics, we couple the Rayleigh-Plesset equation to an energy conservation equation at the vapour-liquid boundary, and an advection-diffusion equation for the surrounding liquid temperature.1 However, this present work is novel in considering the laser, not only as the cause of nucleation, but as a spatiotemporal source of heat energy during the expansion and collapse of a vapour bubble.
 

Numerical and analytical methods are employed alongside experimental work to understand the effect of laser power, pulse duration and pulse pattern. Mathematically predicting the size, shape and duration of a bubble reduces the necessary experimental work and widens the possible parameter space to inform the design and usage of lasers clinically.

Given a fixed poset $\mathcal P$, we say that a family $\mathcal F$ of subsets of $[n]$ is $\mathcal P$-free if it does not contain an (induced) copy of $\mathcal P$. And we say that $F$ is $\mathcal P$-saturated if it is maximal $\mathcal P$-free. How small can a $\mathcal P$-saturated family be? The smallest such size is the induced saturation number of $\mathcal P$, $\text{sat}^*(n, \mathcal P)$. Even for very small posets, the question of the growth speed of $\text{sat}^*(n,\mathcal P)$ seems to be hard. We present background on this problem and some recent results.

I will discuss the regularity of solutions to quasilinear systems satisfying a Legendre-Hadamard ellipticity condition. For such systems it is known that weak solutions may which fail to be C^1 in any neighbourhood, so we cannot expect a general regularity theory. However if we assume an a-priori regularity condition of the solutions we can rule out such counterexamples. Focusing on solutions to Euler-Lagrange systems, I will present an improved regularity results for solutions whose gradient satisfies a suitable BMO / VMO condition. Ideas behind the proof will be presented in the interior case, and global consequences will also be discussed.