As of April 25 - 27, 2001
Statistical Mechanics Seminar
Topic: Quantum Pumps
Presenter: Yosi Avron, Technion, Haifa
Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2001, Time: 2:00 p.m., Location:
Jadwin 343
Abstract: Quantum pumps transfer charge, energy etc. beween electron
baths. A useful description is in terms of adiabatic scattering theory.
I shall discuss notions of optimal pumps and give their geometric characterization.
This is joint work with A. Elgart, G.M. Garf and L. Sadun.
Special Analysis Seminar *** Note
new time
Topic: How to score in Kakeya or Advanced iteration techniques in arithmetic
combinatorics
Presenter: Nets Katz, Washington University at St. Louis
Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2001, Time: 3:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
314
Ergodic Theory and Statistical Mechanics Seminar
Topic: An ergodicity problem in the theory of Brownian Motion
Presenter: Meir Smorodinsky, Telaviv University
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2001, Time: 2:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
401
Abstract: From the absolute value of a martingale, $X$, there
is a unique increasing process that can be subtracted so as to obtain a
martingale, $Y$. Paul Levy discovered that if $X$ is Brownian motion, $B$,
then $Y$, too, is a Brownian motion. Equivalently, Levy found that
the transformation that maps $B$ to $Y$ is measure-preserving. Whether
it is ergodic,was a question raised by Revuz and Yor in the book "continuous
martingales and Brownian Motion". In a joint paper with Lester Dubins,
it was proved that if the natural analogue of Levy's transformation for
the symmetric random walk is modified to be measure-preserving, it is isomorphic
to the one-sided, Bernoulli shift transformation associated with a sequence
of independent random variables, each uniformly distributed on the unit
interval. In my talk I shall discuss the original question of Yor
and its connecion with the symmetric random walk solution.
Ergodic Theory and Statistical Mechanics Seminar
Topic: The explicit condition for the lingering behavior of a random
walk in a random environment
Presenter: Ilya Goldsheid, Queen Mary, University of London
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2001, Time: 3:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
401
Topology Seminar
Topic: Gluing formulae for Seiberg-Witten invariant along 3-dimensional
torus
Presenter: B. Doug Park, McMaster University
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
314
Abstract: In 1994, Seiberg and Witten introduced a very useful diffeomorphism
invariant of smooth 4-manifolds. In 1997, Morgan, Mrowka and Szabo
gave fundamental gluing formulae for computing the SW-invariants of a closed
4-manifold that is gotten by gluing together D^2 x T^2 (disk cross 2-torus)
and an arbitrary 4-manifold whose boundary is also T^3. In this talk,
we will present a new gluing formula for the SW-invariant along T^3, which
should work in more general situations. In particular, the new formula
does not require that one of the glued-up halves is D^2 x T^2. We
will try to make the talk accessible to the non-experts.
Princeton/IAS/Rutgers Nonlinear Analysis Seminar
Topic: On critical regularity for wave maps
Presenter: T. Tao, UCLA
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
214
Princeton/IAS/Rutgers Number Theory Seminar
Topic: Stark's Question and a Strong Form of Brumer's Conjecture
Presenter: Cristian Popescu, Johns Hopkins University
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2001, Time: 4:30 p.m.. Location: Fine Hall
322
Special Statistical Mechanics and Analysis Seminar
***
Topic: Conformal Fractal Electrostatics
Presenter: Bertrand Duplantier, Serv. Phys. Theor., Saclay and
Inst. H. Poincaré, Paris
Date: Friday, April 27, 2001, Time: 11:00 a.m., Location: Jadwin 343
Abstract: The distribution of the electrostatic potential near any
conformally invariant fractal boundary is solved in two dimensions. This
class of boundaries appears in a natural way in the statistical mechanics
of random clusters at a critical point, like a percolation or an Ising
cluster, a Brownian path, or a self-avoiding walk (SAW).
Graduate Student Seminar
Topic: The Nilpotent Variety in its Natural Setting
Presenter: Julianna Tymoczko, Princeton University
Date: Friday, April 27, 2001, Time: 1:30 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
214
Abstract: The nilpotent variety lies at the crossroads of many
different mathematical paths, including geometry, representation theory,
combinatorics, even numerical analysis. It is defined as follows:
first, a flag in an n-dimensional complex vector space V is a nested collection
of vector subspaces $V_1 \subseteq V_2 \subseteq\ldots \subseteq V_n =V$
-- namely, a line contained in a plane contained in a three-dimensional
subspace contained in a ... Given a nilpotent operator N, the collection
of flags whose subspaces are each preserved by the action of N, so that
$NV_i \subseteq V_i$ for each i, is called the nilpotent variety.
We will provide an introduction to this and certain closely related varieties,
placing them in their context and, if time permits, discussing some recent
results.
Geometry Seminar
Topic: Negative sectional curvature metrics on 3-manifolds with boundary
Presenter: Joel Hass, Institue for Advanced Study and
University of California at Davis
Date: Friday, April 27, 2001, Time: 4:00 pm, Location:
Fine Hall 314
Week of April 30 - May 4, 2001
Analysis Seminar
Topic: What do we want to know about Navier-Stokes equations?
Presenter: Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Steklov Institute St-Petersburg
Date: Monday, April 30, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
314
PACM Colloquium
Topic: TBA
Presenter: Eric Vanden-Eijnden, CIMS, New York University
Date: Monday, April 30, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine
Hall 224
Discrete Mathematics Seminar
Topic: TBA
Presenter: Jeff Kahn, Rutgers University
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2001, Time: 2:15 p.m., Location: Fine Hall 224
Topology Seminar
Topic: TBA
Presenter: Lenny Ng, MIT
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall 314
Princeton/IAS/Rutgers Number Theory Seminar
Topic: TBA
Presenter: Johan de Jong , M.I.T.
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2001, Time: 4:30 p.m., Location: Fine Hall 322
Geometry Seminar
Topic: TBA
Presenter: Guan Bo, University of Tennessee
Date: Friday, May 4, 2001, Time: 3:00 pm, Location:
Fine Hall 314
Geometry Seminar
Topic: TBA
Presenter: C. Margerin, Ecole Polytechnique
Date: Friday, May 4, 2001, Time: 4:00 pm, Location:
Fine Hall 314
Week of May 7 - May 11, 2001
PACM Colloquium
Topic: Time-dependent Taylor Vortices in Wide-Gap Spherical Couette
Flow
Presenter: Rainer Hollerbach, Geosciences, Princeton University
Date: Monday, May 7, 2001, Time: 4:00 p.m., Location: Fine Hall
224
Geometry Seminar
Topic: Equivariant de Rham torsions
Presenter: Sebastian Goette, Tuebingen
Date: Friday, May 11, 2001, Time: 4:00 pm, Location:
Fine Hall 314