Thu, 31 Jan 2008

11:00 - 12:00
SR1

The Hopf invariant 1 problem

Oscar Randal-Williams
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

For continuous maps $f: S^{2n-1} \to S^n$ one can define an integer-valued invariant, the so-called Hopf invariant. The problem of determining for which $n$ there are maps having Hopf invariant one can be related to many problems in topology and geometry, such as which spheres are parallelisable, which spheres are H-spaces (that is, have a product), and what are the division algebras over $\mathbb{R}$.

The best way to solve this problem is using complex K-theory and Adams operations. I will show how all the above problems are related, give an introduction to complex K-theory and it's operations, and show how to use it to solve this problem.

Thu, 07 Feb 2008

11:00 - 12:00
SR1

Moduli of Equivariant and Invariant Sheaves on Toric Varieties

Martinus Kool
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Extending work of Klyachko and Perling, we develop a combinatorial description of pure equivariant sheaves on an arbitrary nonsingular toric

variety X. This combinatorial description can be used to construct moduli spaces of stable equivariant sheaves on X using Geometric Invariant Theory (analogous to techniques used in case of equivariant vector bundles on X by Payne and Perling). We study how the moduli spaces of stable equivariant sheaves on X can be used to explicitly compute the fixed point locus of the moduli space of all stable sheaves on X, i.e. the subscheme of invariant stable sheaves on X.

Mon, 28 Jan 2008

15:00 - 16:00
SR1

Some mathematics in musical harmonics

Tim Trudgian
(Mathematical Insitute, Oxford)
Abstract

A brief overview of consonance by way of continued fractions and modular arithmetic.

Thu, 22 Nov 2007

11:00 - 12:00
SR1

Grothendieck groups and Wall's finiteness obstruction

George Raptis
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

Will discuss several constructions of the Grothendieck group in different contexts together with Wall's solution of the problem of determining homotopy types of finite CW complexes as a motivating application.

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