9am today, Lecture Theatre 1, Andrew Wiles Building, home to Oxford Mathematics. The first day of term. Our new undergraduates wait for the first lecture of their first day. The topic? 'Probability' with Matthias Winkel, here pictured with 250 students. First and second year lectures are followed by tutorials where students go through the week's lectures and problem sheets with their tutor in their college.
Let their journey begin.
11:00
DPhil Presentations
Abstract
As part of the internal seminar schedule for Stochastic Analysis for this coming term, DPhil students have been invited to present on their works to date. Student talks are 20 minutes, which includes question and answer time.
Students presenting are:
Adrian Martini, supervisor Alison Ethridge
Fang Rui Lim, supervisor Rama Cont
Thomas Groves, supervisor Dmitry Beylaev
Sarah-Jean Meyer, supervisor Massimiliano Gubinelli
15:30
Costabilisation of telescopic spectral Lie algebras
Abstract
One can think of the stabilisation of an ∞-category as the ∞-category of objects that admit infinite deloopings. For example, the ∞-category of spectra is the stabilisation of the ∞-category of homotopy types. Costabilisation is the opposite notion of stabilisation, where we are interested in objects that allow infinite desuspensions. It is easy to see that the costabilisation of the ∞-category of homotopy types is trivial. Fix a prime number p. In this talk I will show that the costablisation of the ∞-category of T(h)-local spectral Lie algebras is equivalent to the ∞-category of T(h)-local spectra, where T(h) denotes a p-local telescope spectrum of height h. A key ingredient of the proof is to relate spectral Lie algebras to (spectral) Eₙ algebras via Koszul duality.
17:00
Does Life know about quantum mechanics? - Jim Al-Khalili
Oxford Mathematics Roger Penrose Public Lecture
Does Life know about quantum mechanics? - Jim Al-Khalili
Physicists and chemists are used to dealing with quantum mechanics, but biologists have thus far got away without having to worry about this strange yet powerful theory of the subatomic world. However, times are changing. There is now solid evidence that enzymes use quantum tunnelling to accelerate chemical reactions, while plants and bacteria use a quantum trick in photosynthesis – sending lumps of sunlight energy in multiple directions at once. It even appears that some animals have the ability to use quantum entanglement – what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance” – as a compass to ‘see’ the earth’s magnetic field. In our research at the University of Surrey we are discovering that life may even have evolved mechanisms to control genetic mutations caused by quantum tunnelling of protons between strands of DNA. Welcome to the exciting new field of quantum biology.
Jim Al-Khalili CBE FRS is an academic, author and broadcaster. He holds a Distinguished Chair in Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey where he conducts research in quantum physics. He has written fifteen books on popular science, between them translated into over twenty-six languages. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries and the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific.
Please email @email to register to attend in person.
The lecture will be broadcast on the Oxford Mathematics YouTube Channel on Wednesday 15 November at 5pm and any time after (no need to register for the online version).
The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.
