# Seminars & Events for 2011-2012

February 17, 2012
2:15pm - 2:15pm
##### Rigidity and Origami
###### Algebraic Topology Seminar

Cauchy's famous rigidity theorem for 3D convex polyhedra has been extended in various directions by Dehn, Weyl, A.D.Alexandrov, Gluck and Connelly. These results imply that a disk-like polyhedral surface with simplicial faces is, generically, flexible, if the boundary has at least 4 vertices. What about surfaces with rigid but not necessarily simplicial faces?

Speaker: Ileana Streinu, Smith College
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 20, 2012
4:00pm - 5:00pm
##### Applications of Multilinear Restriction and Restriction Estimates
###### Analysis Seminar

The restriction problem is an important open problem in harmonic analysis. The 2-dimensional case was proven in the 1970's. The case of three (or more) dimensions remains open, with interesting partial results. In 2005, Bennett, Carbery, and Tao proved a multilinear" restriction estimate.

Speaker: Larry Guth, New York University
Location:
Fine Hall 314
February 20, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### A Random Walk on Image Patches
###### PACM/Applied Mathematics Colloquium

Algorithms that analyze patches extracted from time series or images have led to state-of-the art techniques for classification, denoising, and the study of nonlinear dynamics. In the first part of the talk we describe two examples of such algorithms: a novel method to estimate the arrival-times of seismic waves from a seismogram, and a new patch-based method to denoise images.

Speaker: Francois Meyer, University of Colorado
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 21, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### Geometrically Characterizing Representation Type of Finite-dimensional Algebras
###### Algebraic Geometry Seminar

Given a finite-dimensional algebra $A$, the set of $A$-modules of a fixed dimension d can be viewed as a variety. This variety carries a group action whose orbits correspond to isomorphism classes of $A$-modules. A natural problem is to characterize various properties of an algebra $A$ in terms of its module varieties.

Speaker: Ryan Kinser, Northeastern University
Location:
Fine Hall 322
February 22, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### On Measures Invariant Under Diagonalizable Groups on Quotients of Semi-simple Groups
###### Department Colloquium

Actions of diagonalizable algebraic groups (which are referred to as tori in the theory of algebraic groups, though in cases of interest to us are not compact) on arithmetic quotient spaces play an important role in many number theoretic and other applications. I will present a joint result with Einsiedler (extending earlier work with A.

Speaker: Elon Lindenstrauss, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Location:
Fine Hall 314
February 23, 2012
2:00pm - 3:00pm
##### Effect of Emergent Distinguishability of Particles in a non-Equilibrium Chaotic System
###### Ergodic Theory & Statistical Mechanics

We consider the behavior of classical particles which evolution consists of free motion interrupted by binary collisions. The fluid of hard balls and the dilute gas with arbitrary short-range interactions are treated, where the total number of particles is moderate (say, five particles).

Speaker: Itzhak Fouxon, Tel Aviv University
Location:
Fine Hall 601
February 23, 2012
3:00pm - 4:00pm
##### Polyhedral Products, Toric Manifolds, and Twisted Cohomology
###### Algebraic Topology Seminar

I will discuss the cohomology with coefficients in rank one local systems for various polyhedral products, including real Davis-Januszkiewicz spaces and toric complexes. As one application (joint work with Alvise Trevisan), I will show how to determine the Betti numbers and the cup products of real, quasi-toric manifolds.

Speaker: Alex Suciu, Northeastern University
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 23, 2012
3:00pm - 4:00pm
##### Intersections of Quadrics: 25 years later
###### Algebraic Topology Seminar

Consider $F:\R^n\rightarrow\mathbb{R}^2$ given by two quadratic forms and let $V=F^{-1}(0)$ and $Z=V\cap S^{n-1}$. In January 1984 I began to study the topology of the generic $Z$ when the quadratic forms are simultaneously diagonalizable. By the end of the year I had an answer, but only around 1986-87 I wrote the details of a proof that left out some cases.

Speaker: Santiago Lopez de Medrano, UNAM, Mexico
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 23, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### Modularity Lifting in Non-Regular Weight
###### Princeton University/IAS Number Theory Seminar

Modularity lifting theorems were introduced by Taylor and Wiles and formed a key part of the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. Their method has been generalized successfully by a number of authors but always with the restriction that the Galois representations and automorphic representations in question have regular weight. I will describe a method to overcome this restriction in certain cases.

Speaker: David Geraghty, Princeton University
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 24, 2012
3:00pm - 4:00pm
##### Loss of Compactness and Bubbling in the Space of Complete Minimal Surfaces in Hyperbloc Space
###### Differential Geometry & Geometric Analysis Seminar

We consider the space of complete minimal surfaces in $H^3$ with a (free) boundary at infinity. We explain how the Willmore energy is a natural functional on this space. We study the possible loss of compactness in the space of such surfaces with energy bounded above.

Speaker: Spyridon Alexakis, University of Toronto
Location:
Fine Hall 314
February 24, 2012
3:00pm - 4:00pm
##### Homotopy Theory and Toric Spaces
###### Algebraic Topology Seminar

Suyoung Choi of Ajou University, Korea - Toric rigidity of simple polytopes and moment-angle manifolds

Speaker: Suyoung Choi & Fred Cohen, Ajou University, Korea & University of Rochester Respectively
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 27, 2012
4:00pm - 5:00pm
##### Well-Posedness and Finite-Time Blowup for the Zakharov System on Two-Dimensional Torus
###### Analysis Seminar

We consider the Zakharov system on two-dimensional torus. First, we show the local well-posedness of the Cauchy problem in the energy space by a standard iteration argument using the $X^{s,b}$ norms. Our result does not depend on the period of torus.

Speaker: Nobu Kishimoto, Kyoto University
Location:
Fine Hall 314
February 27, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### Dimension Reduction, Coarse-Graining and Data Assimilation in High-Dimensional Dynamical Systems
###### PACM/Applied Mathematics Colloquium

Modern computing technologies, such as massively parallel simulation, special-purpose high-performance computers, and high-performance GPUs permit to simulate complex high-dimensional dynamical systems and generate time-series in amounts too large to be grasped by traditional “look and see” analyses.

Speaker: Eric Vanden-Eijnden, Courant NYU
Location:
Fine Hall 214
February 28, 2012
3:30pm - 4:30pm
##### Low Density Limit of BCS Theory and Bose-Einstein Condensation of Fermion Pairs
###### Mathematical Physics Seminar

We consider the low density limit of a Fermi gas in the BCS approximation. We show that if the interaction potential allows for a two-particle bound state, the system at zero temperature is well approximated by the Gross-Pitaevskii functional, describing a Bose-Einstein condensate of fermion pairs. This is joint work with Robert Seiringer.

Speaker: Christian Hainzl, University of Tuebingen
Location:
February 28, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### Braid Group Techniques for fundamental groups of surfaces, The K3 example
###### Algebraic Geometry Seminar
Speaker: Mina Teicher, Bar-Ilan University, IAS
Location:
Fine Hall 322
February 29, 2012
2:00pm - 3:00pm
##### On a Hidden Symmetry of Simple Harmonic Oscillators
###### Ergodic Theory & Statistical Mechanics

Since the original 1926 Schroedinger's paper, there was a misconception that the “simple” harmonic oscillator can be solved only by the separation of variables, which results in a traditional “static” electron density distribution.

Speaker: Sergei Suslov, Arizona State University
Location:
Fine Hall 601
February 29, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### On the L2 Bounded Curvature Conjecture in General Relativity
###### Department Colloquium

In order to control locally a space-time which satisfies the Einstein equations, what are the minimal assumptions one should make on its curvature tensor? The L2 bounded curvature conjecture roughly asserts that one should only need L2 bound on the curvature tensor on a given space-like hypersuface.

Speaker: Jeremie Szeftel, Ecole Normale Superieure
Location:
Fine Hall 314
March 1, 2012
2:15pm - 3:15pm
##### Homology of Clique Complexes and an Application to Algebraic Geometry
###### Discrete Mathematics Seminar

To any graph $G$ one can associate a simplicial complex $C(G)$, called the clique complex of $G$, whose simplices are in one-to-one correspondence with the complete subgraphs of $G$. It is thus natural to study the homology groups of $C(G)$ in connection to properties of the graph $G$.

Speaker: Claudiu Raicu, Princeton University
Location:
Fine Hall 224
March 1, 2012
3:00pm - 4:00pm
##### Stable and Unstable Properties of Real Johnson-Wilson Spectra
###### Algebraic Topology Seminar

I will try to describe the properties of certain spectra known as real Johnson-Wilson spectra, which are obtained as fixed points of involutions on the usual Johnson Wilson spectra. These spectra, that go by the symbol $ER(n)$, have several intriguing properties. For example, they are periodic and they support a self map whose cofiber is the Johnson Wilson spectrum $E(n)$.

Speaker: Nitu Kitchloo, Johns Hopkins University
Location:
Fine Hall 214
March 1, 2012
4:30pm - 5:30pm
##### The Tamagawa Number Formula Via Chiral Homology (joint with J. Lurie)
###### Princeton University/IAS Number Theory Seminar

Let $X$ a curve over $F_q$ and $G$ a semi-simple simply-connected group. The initial observation is that the conjecture of Weil's which says that the volume of the adelic quotient of $G$ with respect to the Tamagawa measure equals 1, is equivalent to the Atiyah-Bott formula for the cohomology of the moduli space $Bun_G(X)$ of principal G-bundles on $X$.

Speaker: Dennis Gaitsgory, Harvard University
Location:
IAS Room S-101