Thu, 12 May 2016

16:30 - 18:00
L1

Marcus du Sautoy - What We Cannot Know

Marcus du Sautoy
(Oxford University)
Abstract

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.

To book please email @email

Tue, 26 Apr 2016

17:00 - 18:00
L1

Tadashi Tokieda - Toy Models

Tadashi Tokieda
(Cambridge)
Abstract

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

Wed, 06 Apr 2016

17:00 - 18:00
L1

Andrea Bertozzi - The Mathematics of Crime

Andrea Bertozzi
(UCLA)
Abstract
In the USA, law enforcement agencies have discovered that partnering with a team of mathematicians and social scientists from UCLA can help them determine where crime is likely to occur and so enable them to stop it before it happens.
 
In this lecture Andrea Bertozzi will tell the story behind her role on the UCLA team that developed a 'predictive policing' computer programme that zeros-in on areas that have the highest probability of crime. She will also discuss how mathematics play an increasing role in studying crime, especially gang crime. 

 

To book please email @email

Mon, 01 Feb 2016
02:15
L4

Torelli theorems and integrable systems for parabolic Higgs bundles

Marina Logares
(Oxford)
Abstract

In the same way that the classical Torelli theorem determines a curve from its polarized Jacobian we show that moduli spaces of parabolic bundles and parabolic Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface X  also determine X. We make use of a theorem of Hurtubise on the geometry of algebraic completely integrable systems in the course of the proof. This is a joint work with I. Biswas and T. Gómez 

Secular diffusion in discrete self-gravitating tepid discs II. Accounting for swing amplification via the matrix method
Fouvry, J Pichon, C Magorrian, S Chavanis, P Astronomy and Astrophysics volume 584 A129-A129 (01 Dec 2015)
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