Wed, 27 Jan 2016
16:00
C3

### Profinite rigidity of Seifert fibre spaces

Gareth Wilkes
(Oxford University)
Abstract

One can ask whether the fundamental groups of 3-manifolds are distinguished by their sets of finite quotients. I will discuss the recent solution of this question for Seifert fibre spaces.

Wed, 20 Jan 2016
16:00
C3

### Expanders and Warped Cones

Federico Vigolo
(Oxford University)
Abstract

I will illustrate how to build families of expanders out of 'very mixing' actions on measure spaces. I will then define the warped cones and show how these metric spaces are strictly related with those expanders.

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.

Thu, 10 Mar 2016

14:00 - 15:00

### Modelling, analysis, and (some) numerics for cardiac electromechanics

Dr Ricardo Ruiz Baier
(Oxford University)
Mon, 30 Nov 2015

17:00 - 18:00
L1

### Slightly Rubbish Modular Ax-Lindemann

(Oxford University)
Abstract

In quite an elementary, hands-on talk, I will discuss some Ax-Lindemann type results in the setting of modular functions.  There are some very powerful results in this area due to Pila, but in nonclassical variants we have only quite weak results, for a rather silly reason to be discussed in the talk.

Mon, 23 Nov 2015

17:00 - 18:00
L3

### Functors of points and moduli problems

Alexander Betts
(Oxford University)
Abstract

In algebraic and arithmetic geometry, there is the ubiquitous notion of a moduli space, which informally is a variety (or scheme) parametrising a class of objects of interest. My aim in this talk is to explain concretely what we mean by a moduli space, going through the functor-of-points formalism of Grothendieck. Time permitting, I may also discuss (informally!) a natural obstruction to the existence of moduli schemes, and how one can get around this problem by taking a 2-categorical point of view.

Mon, 16 Nov 2015

17:00 - 18:00
L3

### Tame fields, extremal fields and additive polynomials

Benjamin Rigler
(Oxford University)
Abstract

We outline some concepts and issues around decidability in valued fields of positive characteristic.

Mon, 09 Nov 2015

16:00 - 17:00
C2

### Characterising the integers in the rationals

Philip Dittmann
(Oxford University)
Abstract

Starting from Hilbert's 10th problem, I will explain how to characterise the set of integers by non-solubility of a set of polynomial equations and discuss related challenges. The methods needed are almost entirely elementary; ingredients from algebraic number theory will be explained as we go along. No knowledge of first-order logic is necessary.

Tue, 09 Jun 2015
14:30
L6

### Embedding the Binomial Hypergraph into the Random Regular Hypergraph

Matas Šileikis
(Oxford University)
Abstract

Let $G(n,d)$ be a random $d$-regular graph on $n$ vertices. In 2004 Kim and Vu showed that if $d$ grows faster than $\log n$ as $n$ tends to infinity, then one can define a joint distribution of $G(n,d)$ and two binomial random graphs $G(n,p_1)$ and $G(n,p_2)$ -- both of which have asymptotic expected degree $d$ -- such that with high probability $G(n,d)$ is a supergraph of $G(n,p_1)$ and a subgraph of $G(n,p_2)$. The motivation for such a coupling is to deduce monotone properties (like Hamiltonicity) of $G(n,d)$ from the simpler model $G(n,p)$. We present our work with A. Dudek, A. Frieze and A. Rucinski on the Kim-Vu conjecture and its hypergraph counterpart.

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