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March | 1 - CMSA EVENT: **CANCELED** CMSA Colloquium: Errors and Correction in Cumulative Knowledge **CANCELED**
Speaker: Madhu Sudan – Harvard University 4:30 PM-5:30 PM April 1, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
**CANCELED** Societal accumulation of knowledge is a complex, and arguably error-prone, process. The correctness of new units of knowledge depends not only on the correctness of the new reasoning, but also on the correctness of old units that the new one builds on. If left unchecked, errors could completely ruin the validity of most of this knowledge so there must some error-correcting going on. What are the error-corrections processes employed in nature and how effective are they? In this talk, we describe our attempts to model such phenomena using probablistic models – we describe models for growth of cumulative knowledge, emergence of errors and methods to check for errors and eliminate them. We then analyze in this compound model, when effects of errors may survive, and when they are totally eliminated. The central discovery in our work is the following optimistic statement: If we do checking correctly (most of the time) investing just a constant factor (<1) of our effort in checking (and saving the remaining constant factor towards deriving new units of knowledge), then effects of errors can be kept in check. Notably the amount of effort expended on checking does not scale with the volume of total knowledge or the depth of dependencies in the new units of knowledge, either of which would be overwhelming. Based on the papers: Is this correct? Let’s check! Omri Ben-Eliezer, Dan Mikulincer, Elchanan Mossel, Madhu Sudan arXiv:2211.12301 Errors are Robustly Tamed in Cumulative Knowledge Processes Anna Brandenberger, Cassandra Marcussen, Elchanan Mossel, Madhu Sudan arXiv:2309.05638
| 2 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA General Relativity Seminar: Linearised Second Law for Higher Curvature Gravity and Non-Minimally Coupled Vector Fields
Speaker: Zihan Yan – Cambridge University 11:00 AM-12:00 PM April 2, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Expanding the work of arXiv:1504.08040, we show that black holes obey a second law for linear perturbations to bifurcate Killing horizons, in any covariant higher curvature gravity coupled to scalar and vector fields. The vector fields do not need to be gauged, and (like the scalars) can have arbitrary non-minimal couplings to the metric. The increasing entropy has a natural expression in covariant phase space language, which makes it manifestly invariant under JKM ambiguities. An explicit entropy formula is given for f(Riemann) gravity coupled to vectors, where at most one derivative acts on each vector. Besides the previously known curvature terms, there are three extra terms involving differentiating the Lagrangian by the symmetric vector derivative (which therefore vanish for gauge fields).
- SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: The planar Coulomb gas on a Jordan curve
Speaker: Klara Courteaut – Courant Institute, New York University 1:30 PM-3:00 PM April 2, 2024
The eigenvalues of a uniformly distributed unitary matrix have the physical interpretation of a system of particles subject to a logarithmic pair interaction, restricted to lie on the unit circle and at inverse temperature 2. In this talk, I will present a more general model in which the unit circle is replaced by a sufficiently regular Jordan curve, at any positive temperature. I will show how to obtain the asymptotic partition function and Laplace transform of a linear statistic. These can be expressed using either the exterior conformal mapping of the curve or its associated Grunsky operator. Based on joint work with Kurt Johansson. - SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: Klara Courteaut, NYU Courant
Speaker: Klara Courteaut – NYU Courant 1:30 PM-2:30 PM April 2, 2024 - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: Webs and Schubert calculus for Springer fibers
Speaker: Julianna Tymoczko – Smith College 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 2, 2024 Classical Schubert calculus analyzes the geometry of the flag variety, namely the space of nested subspaces $V_1 \subseteq V_2 \subseteq \cdots \subseteq \mathbb{C}^n$, asking enumerative questions about intersections of linear spaces that turn out to be equivalent to deep problems in combinatorics and representation theory. In this talk, we’ll describe some recent results in the Schubert calculus of Springer fibers. Given a nilpotent linear operator $X$, the Springer fiber of $X$ is the subvariety of flags that are fixed by $X$ in the sense that $XV_i \subseteq V_i$ for all $i$. The top-dimensional cohomology of Springer fibers admits a representation of the symmetric group first discovered by Tonny Springer as the seminal example of a geometric representation. Where classical Schubert calculus describes geometry governed by permutations, that of Springer fibers incorporates the combinatorics both of permutations and of partitions. We’ll describe new results about this geometry in more detail, including evidence that from a geometric and topological perspective, the best combinatorial model for Springer fibers comes from representation-theoretic objects called webs. For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: Curves with many degree d points (Joint with the MIT number theory seminar, note the special time and location)
Speaker: Borys Kadets – Hebrew University of Jerusalem 4:30 PM-5:30 PM April 2, 2024 Joint with the MIT number theory seminar, note the special time and location When does a nice curve $X$ over a number field $k$ have infinitely many closed points of degree $d$? Faltings’ theorem allows us to rephrase this problem in purely algebro-geometric terms, though the resulting geometric question is far from being fully solved. Previous work gave easy to state answers to the problem for degrees $2$ (Harris-Silverman) and $3$ (Abramovich-Harris), but also uncovered exotic constructions of such curves in all degrees $d \geqslant 4$ (Debarre-Fahlaoui). I will describe recent progress on the problem, which answers the question in the large genus case. Along the way we uncover systematic explanations for the Debarre-Fahlaoui counstructions and provide a complete geometric answer for $d \leqslant 5$. The talk is based on joint work with Isabel Vogt. For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar
| 3 - COLLOQUIUMS: Special Colloquium: Stable homotopy groups, Higher algebra and the Telescope Conjecture
Speaker: Tomer Schlank – Hebrew University of Jerusalem 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 3, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
A fundamental motivating problem in homotopy theory is the study of the stable homotopy groups of spheres. The mathematical object that binds stable homotopy groups together is a spectrum. In this talk we will adopt the viewpoint that spectra are to be seen as the homotopy theoretic counterparts of abelian groups. Just as abelian groups form the foundational pillar for algebra and algebraic geometry, one can develop “Higher Algebra ” where spectra play a comparable role. Via this perspective the study of spectra is done by a local to global approach. Where spectra are decomposed into so-called “monochormatic layers”. I shall describe recent advancements in the study of these monochromatic layers including the disproof of the long standing “Telescope Conjecture ”, and explain how these can be used to obtain new results about the asymptotic behavior of the stable homotopy groups of spheres.
Talk at 3 pm in Science Center 507; Tea at 4 pm in the Math Common Room - SEMINARS: Informal Seminar on Dynamics, Geometry and Moduli Spaces: A new proof of Mordell’s conjecture (for Riemnann surfaces; after Xie – Yuan)
Speaker: Jit Wu Yap – Harvard 4:00 PM-5:00 PM April 3, 2024 Please see website for more details: www.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/sem. - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Derived categories of the permutahedra varieties
Speaker: Mario Sanchez – Cornell 4:15 PM-5:15 PM April 3, 2024 The derived category of a variety is an important and difficult invariant. In this talk, I discuss a purely convex-geometric and combinatorial approach to these categories for toric varieties. Along the way, we will run into the curious question of studying the contractibility of set differences of polytopes. I will focus on the toric variety of the permutahedron which has played an important role in many recent developments in matroid theory. I will discuss how this derived category can be described through the theory of matroids. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 4 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar: Derived categories of genus one curves and torsors over abelian varieties
Speaker: Jonathan Rosenberg – University of Maryland 10:30 AM-11:30 AM April 4, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Studying orientifold string theories on elliptic curves or abelian varieties motivates studying the derived category of coherent sheaves on a genus one curve or a torsor over an abelian variety over the reals (as opposed to the complex numbers). In joint work with Nirnajan Ramachandran (to appear in MRL), we show that a genus one curve over a perfect field determines a class in the relative Brauer group of the Jacobian elliptic curve, and that there is a natural Mukai-type derived equivalence between the original genus one curve and the Jacobian twisted by the Brauer class. The proof extends to torsors over abelian varieties (of any dimension). - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Active Matter Seminar: Shape morphing with swelling hydrogels and expanding foams
Speaker: Abby Plummer – Boston University 1:00 PM-2:00 PM April 4, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Materials that increase in size offer intriguing possibilities for shape morphing applications. Here, we explore two such systems—swelling polyacrylamide hydrogels and expanding polyurethane foams. The hydrogels swell by absorbing water into crosslinked polymer networks. They can therefore be modeled by coupling solvent migration with the deformations of a hyperelastic solid. In contrast, the foams initially behave as liquids with viscosity and volume increasing in time, responding elastically only when close to solidification. We investigate how these expanding materials are sculpted by complex environments with obstacles and trenches.
This seminar will be held in person and on Zoom. https://harvard.zoom.us/j/96657833341 Password: cmsa - THURSDAY SEMINAR SEMINAR: Thursday Seminar: The Dehn twist
Speaker: Jeremy Hahn – Harvard 3:30 PM-5:30 PM April 4, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA I will discuss the action induced by Adams operations on V times THH(\ell), where V is a type 2 complex. - SEMINARS: Algebraic Dynamics Seminar: Complex billiards in the Fermat hyperbola
Speaker: Max Weinreich – Harvard 4:00 PM-6:00 PM April 4, 2024 Last summer, in this seminar, I introduced a dynamical system called “complex billiards” that extends the classical real billiards map to the setting of curves over algebraically closed fields. The dynamical degree of complex billiards is an invariant that describes the “algebraic entropy”, or chaos, of the system. In my previous talk, I proved an upper bound on this dynamical degree. In this talk, we derive lower bounds on the dynamical degree (a more challenging problem) through a careful study of one very special billiard table, the Fermat hyperbola. Independently of this result, we construct an algebraically stable model for complex billiards in the Fermat hyperbola using a little bit of complex dynamics. It is NOT necessary to have attended (or to remember) the previous talk, as I will begin again with all the key definitions. Go to http://people.math.harvard.edu/~demarco/AlgebraicDynamics/ for more information
| 5 - CONFERENCE: Current Developments in Mathematics 2024
All day April 5, 2024-April 6, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Current Developments in Mathematics 2024April 5-6, 2024Harvard University Science CenterFriday—Lecture Hall CSaturday—Lecture Hall A Funding application is closed as of March 12. Download PDF for a detailed schedule of lectures and events. | |
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- 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Part 1
- 2:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Break
- 2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Part 2
Jiaoyang Huang Random Matrix Statistics and Airy Line Ensembles | - 9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. Part 1
- 9:55 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Break
- 10:05 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. Part 2
Daniel Litt Motives, mapping class groups, and monodromy | 3:20 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Break | 10:55 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. Break | - 3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Part 1
- 4:25 p.m. – 4:35 p.m. Break
- 4:35 p.m. – 5:25 p.m. Part 2
Lisa Piccirillo Exotic phenomena in dimension 4 | - 11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Part 1
- 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
- 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Part 2
Samit Dasgupta Stark’s conjectures and explicit class field theory | | 2:20 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. Break | | - 2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. Part 1
- 3:25 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Break
- 3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Part 2
Dan Cristofaro-Gardiner Low-dimensional topology and dynamics |
Organizers: David Jerison, Paul Seidel, Nike Sun (MIT); Denis Auroux, Mark Kisin, Lauren Williams, Horng-Tzer Yau, Shing-Tung Yau (Harvard). Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Harvard University Mathematics, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard University is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the University community is, on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in any University program or activity. More information can be found here. - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Quantum Matter in Math and Physics Seminar: Discrete geometry and the modular bootstrap
Speaker: Henry Cohn – MIT and Microsoft 10:00 AM-11:30 AM April 5, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
In this talk, I’ll discuss the remarkable connections between the modular bootstrap and sphere packing or ground state problems discovered by Hartman, Mazáč, and Rastelli in 2019, with a focus on opportunities for further progress. - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Member Seminar: Phase diagram and confining strings in a minimal model of nematopolar matter
Speaker: Farzan Vafa – Harvard CMSA 12:00 PM-1:00 PM April 5, 2024
We investigate a minimal model of a nematopolar system. We analytically uncover a phase diagram consisting of a locked phase where the polar order and nematic order are locked, and unlocked phases which could be ordered or disordered. In particular, we develop two complementary perspectives on the locked phase: (i) the nematic order induces polar order, (ii) in the locked phase, all 1/2 integral nematic topological charges are confined. In particular, a polar +1 defect fattens from a point along a string with constant tension and confines a pair of nematic +1/2 defects at its ends.
Friday, Apr. 5th at 12pm, with lunch, lounge at CMSA (20 Garden Street). Also by Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/92410768363 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 5, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 6 - CONFERENCE: Current Developments in Mathematics 2024
All day April 6, 2024-April 6, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Current Developments in Mathematics 2024April 5-6, 2024Harvard University Science CenterFriday—Lecture Hall CSaturday—Lecture Hall A Funding application is closed as of March 12. Download PDF for a detailed schedule of lectures and events. | |
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- 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Part 1
- 2:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Break
- 2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Part 2
Jiaoyang Huang Random Matrix Statistics and Airy Line Ensembles | - 9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. Part 1
- 9:55 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Break
- 10:05 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. Part 2
Daniel Litt Motives, mapping class groups, and monodromy | 3:20 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Break | 10:55 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. Break | - 3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Part 1
- 4:25 p.m. – 4:35 p.m. Break
- 4:35 p.m. – 5:25 p.m. Part 2
Lisa Piccirillo Exotic phenomena in dimension 4 | - 11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Part 1
- 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
- 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Part 2
Samit Dasgupta Stark’s conjectures and explicit class field theory | | 2:20 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. Break | | - 2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. Part 1
- 3:25 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Break
- 3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Part 2
Dan Cristofaro-Gardiner Low-dimensional topology and dynamics |
Organizers: David Jerison, Paul Seidel, Nike Sun (MIT); Denis Auroux, Mark Kisin, Lauren Williams, Horng-Tzer Yau, Shing-Tung Yau (Harvard). Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Harvard University Mathematics, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard University is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the University community is, on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in any University program or activity. More information can be found here. - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 6, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
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7 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 7, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 8 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 8, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 9 - SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: Lily Reeves, Caltech
Speaker: Lily Reeves – Caltech 1:30 PM-2:30 PM April 9, 2024 - SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: Distances in hierarchical percolation
Speaker: Lily Reeves – California Institute of Technology 1:30 PM-2:30 PM April 9, 2024
Hierarchical percolation is a toy model for percolation on Z^d that, much like percolation on Euclidean lattices, is expected to exhibit mean-field behavior in high dimensions, non-mean-field behavior in low dimensions, and logarithmic corrections to mean-field behavior at the upper-critical dimension. The hierarchical lattice allows for a renormalization group—style analysis which is currently inaccessible for percolation on Euclidean lattices. Building on Hutchcroft’s work on cluster volumes in all dimensions, we examine the distribution of the chemical distance, extremal distance (also known as the effective resistance), and pivotal distance in high dimensions and the upper-critical dimension. Joint work with Tom Hutchcroft. https://harvard.zoom.us/j/94035561793?pwd=VUZ3aml1eVovb2tRc1h6OS9sdlh6UT09 Password: 849612 - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: The Dual Complex of a G-variety
Speaker: Louis Esser – Princeton University 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 9, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
We introduce a new invariant of G-varieties, the dual complex, which roughly measures how divisors in the complement of the free locus intersect. We show that the top homology group of this complex is an equivariant birational invariant of G-varieties. As an application, we demonstrate the non-linearizability of certain large abelian group actions on smooth hypersurfaces in projective space of any dimension and degree at least 3. For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 9, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 10 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 10, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR: Number Theory Seminar: Vanishing of Selmer groups for Siegel modular forms
Speaker: Sam Mundy – Princeton University 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 10, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Let pi be a cuspidal automorphic representation of $\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ which is holomorphic discrete series at infinity, and $\chi$ a Dirichlet character. Then one can attach to $\pi$ an orthogonal $p$-adic Galois representation $\rho$ of dimension $2n+1$. Assume $\rho$ is irreducible, that pi is ordinary at $p$, and that $p$ does not divide the conductor of $\chi$. I will describe work in progress which aims to prove that the Bloch–Kato Selmer group attached to the twist of $\rho$ by $\chi$ vanishes, under some mild ramification assumptions on $\pi$; this is what is predicted by the Bloch–Kato conjectures. The proof uses “ramified Eisenstein congruences” by constructing $p$-adic families of Siegel cusp forms degenerating to Klingen Eisenstein series of nonclassical weight, and using these families to construct ramified Galois cohomology classes for the Tate dual of the twist of $\rho$ by $\chi$. For more info, see https://ashvin-swaminathan.github.io/home/NTSeminar.html - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: The combinatorics of poset associahedra When
Speaker: Andrew Sack – UCLA 4:15 PM-5:15 PM April 10, 2024 For a poset $P$, Galashin introduced a simple polytope $\mathscr A(P)$ called the $P$-associahedron. We will discuss a simple realization of poset associahedra and show that the $f$-vector of $\mathscr A(P)$ depends only on the comparability graph of $P$. Furthermore, we will show that when $P$ is a rooted tree, the 1-skeleton of $\mathscr A(P)$ orients to a lattice, answering a question of Laplante-Anfossi. These lattices naturally generalize both the weak order on permutations and the Tamari lattice. This is joint work with Colin Defant and Son Ngyuen. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 11 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar: Mirror symmetry for fibrations and degenerations of K3 surfaces
Speaker: Alan Thompson – Loughborough University 10:30 AM-11:30 AM April 11, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
In 2016, Doran, Harder, and I conjectured a mirror symmetric relationship between Tyurin degenerations and splittings of codimension 1 fibrations on Calabi-Yau manifolds. In this talk I will discuss recent work to make this conjecture rigorous in the case of K3 surfaces. I will give a precise definition of what it means for a Tyurin degeneration of K3’s to be mirror to a splitting of an elliptically fibred K3, and show that this definition enjoys the following compatibilities with existing mirror symmetric theories: 1) The general fibre of the Tyurin degeneration is mirror to the elliptically fibred K3, in the sense of Dolgachev-Nikulin. 2) Components of the Tyurin degeneration and pieces of the splitting satisfy a homological version of the (quasi-) Fano-LG correspondence. 3) Components of the Tyurin degeneration which are weak del Pezzo are mirror to pieces of the splitting that arise as restrictions of the corresponding lattice polarised LG models to discs. This is joint work with Luca Giovenzana. - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 11, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - THURSDAY SEMINAR SEMINAR: Thursday Seminar: Bootstrapping to cyclotomic spectra
Speaker: Ishan Levy – Harvard 3:30 PM-5:30 PM April 11, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Last time we saw how to identify THH(ell^hZ)times V with THH(ell^BZ)times V at the level of spectra with Frobenius, for V a type 2 complex. I will explain how this spectrum level statement can be upgraded to the level of cyclotomic spectra, after replacing V with an arbitrary type 3 complex, and the Z-action by p^kZ for large k. I will then explain the Bockstein argument that shows that for a large enough k, the coassembly map for the T(2)-homology of TC(ell^hp^kZ) behaves as if the action were trivial. This finishes the proof that the T(2)-local TC of ell^{hp^kZ} is not K(2)-local.
| 12 - OTHER MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT EVENTS: Special Lecture: Equivariant Topology in Combinatorics
Speaker: Dora Woodruff – Harvard AB 2024 10:00 AM-10:25 AM April 12, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
My thesis discusses a bridge between equivariant topology and combinatorics. The kind of problem I look at is an inherently discrete problem which can be solved by translating the problem into showing the nonexistence of a certain map of topological spaces. We will see examples stemming from graph theory, such as the Lovász Conjecture discrete geometry, such as the Randakumar and Rao Conjecture, and general combinatorics. - OTHER MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT EVENTS: Special Lecture: The Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem and Almost Complex Spheres
Speaker: Dhruv Goel – Harvard AB 2024 10:30 AM-10:55 AM April 12, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
When is a real smooth manifold secretly a complex manifold? For this, it is necessary, but not sufficient, for the manifold’s tangent bundle to be a complex vector bundle, a condition called being “almost complex”. In this talk, I will give several examples of complex, almost complex, and (orientable, even-dimensional) not-even-almost complex manifolds. I will then discuss how the Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem can be used to show that certain smooth manifolds are not almost complex, focusing on the case of the twisted Dirac operator on spinor bundles on spheres. - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Member Seminar: 3d quantum trace map
Speaker: Sunghyuk Park – Harvard 12:00 PM-1:00 PM April 12, 2024
I will speak about my recent work (joint with Sam Panitch) constructing the 3d quantum trace map, a homomorphism from the Kauffman bracket skein module of an ideally triangulated 3-manifold to its (square root) quantum gluing module, thereby giving a precise relationship between the two quantizations of the character variety of ideally triangulated 3-manifolds. Our construction is based on the study of stated skein modules and their behavior under splitting, especially into face suspensions.
Friday, Apr. 12th at 12pm, with lunch, lounge at CMSA (20 Garden Street). Also by Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/92410768363 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Member Seminar: Global weak solutions of 3+1 dimensional vacuum Einstein equations
Speaker: Puskar Mondal – CMSA 12:00 PM-1:00 PM April 12, 2024
It is important to understand if the `solutions’ of non-linear evolutionary PDEs persist for all time or become extinct in finite time through the blow-up of invariant entities. Now the question of this global existence or finite time blow up in the PDE settings is well defined if the regularity of the solution is specified. Most physically interesting scenarios demand control of the point-wise behavior of the solution. Unfortunately, most times this level of regularity is notoriously difficult to obtain for non-linear equations. In this talk, I will discuss very low regularity solutions namely distributional (or weak) solutions of vacuum Einsten’s equations in 3+1 dimensions. I prove that on a globally hyperbolic spacetime foliated by closed connected oriented negative Yamabe slices, weak solutions of the Einstein equations exist for all time. The monotonicity of a Coercive Entity called reduced Hamiltonian that controls the minimum regularity required for the weak solution is employed. This is in the same spirit as Leray’s global weak solutions of Navier-Stokes in 3+1 dimensions and the first result in the context of Einstein equations.
Friday, Apr. 12th at 12pm, with lunch, lounge at CMSA (20 Garden Street). Also by Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/92410768363 - OTHER MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT EVENTS: Special Lecture: Algebraicity, Transcendence, and Periods
Speaker: Salim Tayou – Harvard University 2:00 PM-2:45 PM April 12, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Transcendental numbers form a mysterious and large class of complex numbers: they are defined as complex numbers that are not the solution of a polynomial equation, and include the numbers pi and e, for example. Within this class, we find the periods that were first studied by Newton and Kepler in the context of celestial mechanics, and which present many curious properties that are the subject of very active research. In this talk, I will give a glimpse of almost 500 years of history of periods, right up to the most recent developments. - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: On the evolution of structure in triangle-free graphs
Speaker: Will Perkins – Georgia Tech 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 12, 2024 Erdos-Kleitman-Rothschild proved that the number of triangle-free graphs on n vertices is asymptotic to the number of bipartite graphs; or in other words, a typical triangle-free graph is a random subgraph of a nearly balanced complete bipartite graph. Osthus-Promel-Taraz extended this result to much lower densities: when m >(\sqrt{3}/4 +eps) n^{3/2} \sqrt{\log n}, a typical triangle-free graph with m edges is a random subgraph of size m from a nearly balanced complete bipartite graph (and this no longer holds below this threshold). What do typical triangle-free graphs at sparser densities look like and how many of them are there? We consider what we call the “ordered” regime, in which typical triangle-free graphs are not bipartite but do align closely with a nearly balanced bipartition. In this regime we prove asymptotic formulas for the number of triangle-free graphs and give a precise probabilistic description of their structure. Joint work with Matthew Jenssen and Aditya Potukuchi. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 12, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - OTHER MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT EVENTS: Special Lecture: Symmetry in quantum field theory
Speaker: Daniel S. Freed – Harvard University 3:15 PM-4:00 PM April 12, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
The notion of an abstract group encapsulates and illuminates concrete manifestations of symmetry. Recently in quantum field theory there have been discussions of “higher symmetry” and “noninvertiblesymmetry” and their applications. In joint work with Greg Moore and Constantin Teleman, we propose a conceptual framework for symmetry in quantum field theory, built on the ongoing developments in topological field theory. It incorporates these newer forms of symmetry, at least with sufficient finiteness conditions.
| 13 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 13, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
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14 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 14, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 15 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 15, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 16 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA General Relativity Seminar: New Well-Posed Boundary Conditions for Semi-Classical Euclidean Gravity
Speaker: Xiaoyi Liu – University of California Santa Barbara 11:00 AM-12:00 PM April 16, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
We consider four-dimensional Euclidean gravity in a finite cavity. We point out that there exists a one-parameter family of boundary conditions, parameterized by a real constant, where a suitably Weyl-rescaled boundary metric is fixed, and all give a well-posed elliptic system, as opposed to the Dirichlet boundary condition. Focussing on static Euclidean solutions, we derive a thermodynamic first law. Restricting to a spherical spatial boundary, the infillings are flat space or the Schwarzschild solution and have similar thermodynamics to the Dirichlet case. We study the stability behavior of several geometries under these boundary conditions in both Euclidean and Lorentzian signatures and find two puzzles.
Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/7855806609 - SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: Super symmetry approach to the non hermitian random matrices
Speaker: Mariya Shcherbina – Institute for Low Temperature Physics of National Ukrainian Ac. Sci. (Kharkiv) and Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) 1:30 PM-2:30 PM April 16, 2024 We consider a complex Ginibre ensemble of random matrices with a deformation $H=H_0+A$, where $H_0$ is a Gaussian complex Ginibre matrix and $A$ is a rather general deformation matrix. The analysis of such ensemble is motivated by many problems of random matrix theory and its applications. We use the Grassmann integration methods to obtain integral representation of spectral correlation functions of the first and the second order and discuss the analysis of these representations with a saddle point method. - SEMINARS: Probability Seminar: Mariya Shcherbina, IAS
Speaker: Mariya Shcherbina – IAS 1:30 PM-2:30 PM April 16, 2024 - NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR: Number Theory Seminar: On the distribution of class groups — beyond Cohen-Lenstra and Gerth
Speaker: Yuan Liu – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2:32 PM-4:00 PM April 16, 2024-April 17, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA The Cohen-Lenstra heuristic studies the distribution of the p-part of the class group of quadratic number fields for odd prime $p$. Gerth’s conjecture regards the distribution of the $2$-part of the class group of quadratic fields. The main difference between these conjectures is that while the (odd) $p$-part of the class group behaves completely “randomly”, the $2$-part of the class group does not since the $2$-torsion of the class group is controlled by the genus field. In this talk, we will discuss a new conjecture generalizing Cohen-Lenstra and Gerth’s conjectures. The techniques involve Galois cohomology and the embedding problem of global fields. For more info, see https://ashvin-swaminathan.github.io/home/NTSeminar.html - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: Derived category of moduli space of vector bundles on a curve
Speaker: Han-Bom Moon – Fordham University 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 16, 2024 The derived category of moduli spaces of vector bundles on a curve is expected to be decomposed into the derived categories of symmetric products of the base curve. I will briefly explain the expectation and known results, and some consequences. This is joint work in progress with Kyoung-Seog Lee. For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar - COLLOQUIUMS: Special Colloquium: An introduction to representations of p-adic groups
Speaker: Jessica Fintzen – University of Bonn 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 16, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
An explicit understanding of the category of all (smooth, complex) representations of p-adic groups provides an important tool not just within representation theory. It also has applications to number theory and other areas, and in particular enables progress on various very different forms of the Langlands program. In this talk, I will introduce p-adic groups and explain how the category of representations of p-adic groups decomposes into subcategories, called Bernstein blocks. I will then provide an overview of what we know about the structure of these Bernstein blocks. In particular, I will sketch how to use a joint project in progress with Adler, Mishra and Ohara to reduce a lot of problems about the (category of) representations of p-adic groups to problems about representations of finite groups of Lie type, where answers are often already known or are at least easier to achieve.
Talk at 3 pm in Science Center 507; Tea at 4 pm in the Math Common Room - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 16, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - SEMINARS: Mathematical Picture Language Seminar: Logical Quantum Processor Based on Reconfigurable Atom Arrays
Speaker: Dolev Bluvstein – Harvard 4:30 PM-5:30 PM April 16, 2024
Suppressing errors is one of the central challenges for useful quantum computing, requiring quantum error correction for large-scale processing. However, the overhead in the realization of error-corrected “logical” qubits, where information is encoded across many physical qubits for redundancy, poses significant challenges to large-scale logical quantum computing. In this talk we will discuss recent advances in quantum information processing using dynamically reconfigurable arrays of neutral atoms. With this platform we have realized programmable quantum processing with encoded logical qubits, combining the use of 280 physical qubits, high two-qubit gate fidelities, arbitrary connectivity, and mid-circuit readout. Using this logical processor with various types of error-correcting codes, we demonstrate that we can improve logical two-qubit gates by increasing code size, outperform physical qubit fidelities, create logical GHZ states, and perform computationally complex scrambling circuits using 48 logical qubits and hundreds of logical gates. We find that this logical encoding substantially improves algorithmic performance with error detection, outperforming physical qubits at both benchmarking and quantum simulations. These results herald the advent of early errorcorrected quantum computation, enabling new applications and inspiring a shift in both the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.
*In-person and on Zoom* QR Code & Link: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/779283357?pwd=MitXVm1pYUlJVzZqT3lwV2pCT1ZUQT09 Passcode: 657361 https://mathpicture.fas.harvard.edu/seminar
| 17 - SEMINARS: Physics Quantum Colloquium: Quantum advantage in scientific computation?
Speaker: Prof. Lin Lin – Department of Mathematics, UC Berkeley 12:00 PM-1:00 PM April 17, 2024 The advent of error-corrected quantum computers is anticipated to usher in a new era in computing, with Shor’s algorithm poised to demonstrate practical quantum advantages in prime number factorization. However, cryptography problems are typically not categorized as scientific computing problems. This raises the question: which scientific computing challenges are likely to benefit from quantum computers? I will first discuss some essential criteria and considerations towards realizing quantum advantages in these problems. I will then introduce some recent advancements in quantum algorithms, especially for simulating non-unitary quantum dynamics and open quantum system dynamics. The first half of the presentation is intended to be accessible to a broad audience, including both theoretical and experimental researchers. - NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR: Number Theory Seminar: On the distribution of class groups — beyond Cohen-Lenstra and Gerth
Speaker: Yuan Liu – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2:32 PM-4:00 PM April 17, 2024-April 17, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA The Cohen-Lenstra heuristic studies the distribution of the p-part of the class group of quadratic number fields for odd prime $p$. Gerth’s conjecture regards the distribution of the $2$-part of the class group of quadratic fields. The main difference between these conjectures is that while the (odd) $p$-part of the class group behaves completely “randomly”, the $2$-part of the class group does not since the $2$-torsion of the class group is controlled by the genus field. In this talk, we will discuss a new conjecture generalizing Cohen-Lenstra and Gerth’s conjectures. The techniques involve Galois cohomology and the embedding problem of global fields. For more info, see https://ashvin-swaminathan.github.io/home/NTSeminar.html - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 17, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - SEMINARS: Informal Seminar on Dynamics, Geometry and Moduli Spaces: Are fully intelligent robots coming soon?
| 18 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar: Geometric local systems on very general curves
Speaker: Aaron Landesman – MIT 10:15 AM-11:15 AM April 18, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
What is the smallest genus h of a non-isotrivial curve over the generic genus g curve? In joint work with Daniel Litt, we show h is more than $\sqrt{g}$ by proving a more general result about variations of Hodge structure on sufficiently general curves. As a consequence, we show that local systems on a sufficiently general curve of geometric origin are not Zariski dense in the character variety parameterizing such local systems. This gives counterexamples to conjectures of Esnault-Kerz and Budur-Wang. - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 18, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Ramsey and Turán numbers of sparse hypergraphs
Speaker: Jonathan Tidor – Stanford 4:00 PM-5:00 PM April 18, 2024 **Special Time and Location** The degeneracy of a graph is a central measure of sparseness in extremal graph theory. In 1966, Erdős conjectured that $d$-degenerate bipartite graphs have Turán number $O(n^{2-1/d})$. Though this is still far from solved, the bound $O(n^{2-1/4d})$ was proved by Alon, Krivelevich, and Sudakov in 2003. In a similar vein, the Burr–Erdős conjecture states that graphs of bounded degeneracy have Ramsey number linear in their number of vertices. (This is in contrast to general graphs whose Ramsey number can be as large as exponential in the number of vertices.) This conjecture was proved in a breakthrough work of Lee in 2017.In this talk, we investigate the hypergraph analogues of these two questions. Though the typical notion of hypergraph degeneracy does not give any information about either the Ramsey or Turán numbers of hypergraphs, we instead define a notion that we call skeletal degeneracy. We prove the hypergraph analogue of the Burr–Erdős conjecture: hypergraphs of bounded skeletal degeneracy have Ramsey number linear in their number of vertices. Furthermore, we give good bounds on the Turán number of partite hypergraphs in terms of their skeletal degeneracy. Both of these results use the technique of dependent random choice. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 19 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Quantum Matter in Math and Physics Seminar: Single-shot Readout of Topological Qubits
Speaker: Chetan Nayak – Microsoft & UCSB 10:00 AM-11:30 AM April 19, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Optimal mixing of the down-up walk on fixed-size independent sets
Speaker: Vishesh Jain – UIC 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 19, 2024 Markov chains provide a natural approach to sample from various distributions on the independent sets of a graph. For the uniform distribution on independent sets of a given size $k$ in a graph, perhaps the most natural Markov chain is the so-called “down-up walk”. The down-up walk, which essentially goes back to the foundational work of Metropolis, Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Teller and Teller on the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, starts at an arbitrary independent set of size $k$, and in every step, removes an element uniformly at random and adds a uniformly random legal choice. Davies and Perkins showed that there is a critical $k = \alpha(\Delta)n$ such that it is hard to (approximately) sample from the uniform distribution on independent sets for the class of graphs $G$ with $n$ vertices and maximum degree at most $\Delta$. They conjectured that for $k$ below this critical value, the down-up walk mixes in polynomial time. I will discuss a resolution of this conjecture, which additionally shows that the down-up walk mixes in (optimal) time $O_{\Delta}(n\log{n})$. Based on joint work with Marcus Michelen, Huy Tuan Pham, and Thuy-Duong Vuong. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 19, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - SEMINARS: Gauge Theory and Topology Seminar: Morse theory on moduli spaces of pairs and the Bogomolov-Miyaoka-Yau inequality
Speaker: Paul Feehan – Rutgers University 3:30 PM-4:30 PM April 19, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA We describe an approach to Bialynicki-Birula theory for holomorphic C^∗ actions on complex analytic spaces and Morse-Bott theory for Hamiltonian functions for the induced circle actions. A key principle is that positivity of a suitably defined “virtual Morse-Bott index” at a critical point of the Hamiltonian function implies that the critical point cannot be a local minimum even when it is a singular point in the moduli space. Inspired by Hitchin’s 1987 study of the moduli space of Higgs monopoles over Riemann surfaces, we apply our method in the context of the moduli space of non-Abelian monopoles or, equivalently, stable holomorphic pairs over a closed, complex, Kaehler surface. We use the Hirzebruch-Riemann-Roch Theorem to compute virtual Morse-Bott indices of all critical strata (Seiberg-Witten moduli subspaces) and show that these indices are positive in a setting motivated by a conjecture that all closed, smooth four-manifolds of Seiberg-Witten simple type (including symplectic four-manifolds) obey the Bogomolov-Miyaoka-Yau inequality.
| 20 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 20, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
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21 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 21, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 22 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 22, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 23 - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: The Chow ring of the universal Picard stack over the hyperelliptic locus
Speaker: Hannah Larson – UC Berkeley 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 23, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Understanding the line bundles on curves are essential to understanding the curves themselves. As such, the universal Picard stack J^d_g –> M_g parametrizing degree d line bundles on genus g curves is an important object of study. Recently, progress has been made on the intersection theory of M_g in low genus by stratifying the moduli space by gonality. The smallest piece in this stratification is the hyperelliptic locus. Motivated by this, I’ll present several results about the restriction of J^d_g to the hyperelliptic locus, denoted J^d_{2,g}. These include a presentation of the rational Chow ring of J^d_{2,g}. I also determine the integral Picard group of J^d_{2,g}, completing (and extending to the PGL_2-equivariant case) prior work of Erman and Wood. For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 23, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 24 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 24, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR: Number Theory Seminar: Shadow line distributions
Speaker: Jennifer Balakrishnan – Boston University 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 24, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Let $E/\mathbb{Q}$ be an elliptic curve of analytic rank $2$, and let $p$ be an odd prime of good, ordinary reduction such that the $p$-torsion of $E(\mathbb{Q})$ is trivial. Let $K$ be an imaginary quadratic field satisfying the Heegner hypothesis for $E$ and such that the analytic rank of the twisted curve $E^K/\mathbb{Q}$ is $1$. Further suppose that $p$ splits in $\mathcal{O}_K$. Under these assumptions, there is a $1$-dimensional $\mathbb{Q}_p$-vector space attached to the triple $(E, p, K)$, known as the shadow line, and it can be computed using anticyclotomic $p$-adic heights. We describe the computation of these heights and shadow lines. Furthermore, fixing pairs $(E, p)$ and varying $K$, we present some data on the distribution of these shadow lines. This is joint work with Mirela Çiperiani, Barry Mazur, and Karl Rubin. For more info, see https://ashvin-swaminathan.github.io/home/NTSeminar.html - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Bender–Knuth Billiards in Coxeter Groups When
Speaker: Colin Defant – Harvard 4:15 PM-5:15 PM April 24, 2024 Let (W,S) be a Coxeter system, and write S={s_i : i is in I}, where I is a finite index set. Consider a nonempty finite convex subset L of W. If W is a symmetric group, then L is the set of linear extensions of a poset, and there are important Bender–Knuth involutions BK_i (indexed by I) defined on L. For arbitrary W and for each i in I, we introduce an operator \tau_i on W that we call a noninvertible Bender–Knuth toggle; this operator restricts to an involution on L that coincides with BK_i when W is a symmetric group. Given an ordering i_1,…,i_n of I and a starting element u_0 of W, we can repeatedly apply the toggles in the order \tau_{i_1},…,\tau_{i_n},\tau_{i_1},…,\tau_{i_n},…. This produces a sequence of elements of W that can be viewed in terms of a beam of light that bounces around in an arrangement of transparent windows and one-way mirrors. Our central questions concern whether or not the beam of light eventually ends up in the convex set L. We will discuss several situations where this occurs and several situations where it does not. This is based on joint work with Grant Barkley, Eliot Hodges, Noah Kravitz, and Mitchell Lee. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 25 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar: The logarithmic double ramification locus [REMOTE]
Speaker: Alessandro Chiodo – Institut de Mathématiques de Jussieu-Paris Rive Gauche 10:30 AM-11:30 AM April 25, 2024
Given a family of smooth curves C -> S with a line bundle L on C, it is natural to study the locus of points x in S where L_x is trivial on C_x. When the family is stable, the definition can be extended, not directly on the base scheme S, but more naturally on a (logarithmic) blow-up S’ of S. The problem is in many ways analogue to the problem of defining a Néron model on the moduli space of stable curves (instead of a DVR). Over the past years, David Holmes and his collaborators pioneered a new approach on a logarithmic modification of the entire moduli space of curves. In this talk, we determine this logarithmic double ramification cycle and several variants and alternative presentations of it (work in collaboration with David Holmes). This seminar will take place on Zoom. Apr 25, 2024 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86442722062?pwd=V21aa2JlQnpsUHpvQ3BLVzA3MnNuQT09 Meeting ID: 864 4272 2062 Passcode: 941307 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 25, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
| 26 - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Quantum Matter in Math and Physics Seminar: What Observables are Safe to Calculate?
Speaker: Jesse Thaler – MIT 10:30 AM-12:00 PM April 26, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
In collider physics, perturbative quantum field theory is the workhorse framework for computing theoretical predictions to compare to experimental measurements. An observable is called “safe” if its cross section can be predicted order-by-order in perturbation theory with controlled non-perturbative corrections. In this talk, I show that naive definitions of “safety” are inadequate to determine which observable are perturbatively calculable. I then argue for a more refined definition of safety based on principles from optimal transport theory. Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/977347126 Password: cmsa - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Colored Interacting Particle Systems on the Ring: Stationary Measures from Yang–Baxter Equation
Speaker: Matthew Nicoletti – MIT 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 26, 2024 Recently, there has been much progress in understanding stationary measures for colored (also called multi-species or multi-type) interacting particle systems, motivated by asymptotic phenomena and rich underlying algebraic and combinatorial structures (such as nonsymmetric Macdonald polynomials). In this work, we present a unified approach to constructing stationary measures for several colored particle systems on the ring and the line, including (1) the Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process (mASEP); (2) the q-deformed Totally Asymmetric Zero Range Process (TAZRP) also known as the q-Boson particle system; (3) the q-deformed Pushing Totally Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process (q-PushTASEP). Our method is based on integrable stochastic vertex models and the Yang–Baxter equation. We express the stationary measures as partition functions of new “queue vertex models” on the cylinder. The stationarity property is a direct consequence of the Yang–Baxter equation. This is joint work with A. Aggarwal and L. Petrov. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 26, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/ - SEMINARS: Gauge Theory and Topology Seminar: Spectral GRID invariants and Lagrangian cobordisms
Speaker: Ina Petkova – Dartmouth College 3:30 PM-4:30 PM April 26, 2024 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Knot Floer homology is a powerful invariant of knots and links, developed by Ozsvath and Szabo in the early 2000s. Among other properties, it detects the genus, detects fiberedness, and gives a lower bound to the 4-ball genus. The original definition involves counting homomorphic curves in a high-dimensional manifold, and as a result the invariant can be hard to compute. In 2007, Manolecu, Ozsvath, and Sarkar came up with a purely combinatorial description of knot Floer homology for knots in the 3-sphere, called grid homology. Soon after, Ozsvath, Szabo, and Thurston defined invariants of Legendrian knots using grid homology. We show that the filtered version of these GRID invariants, and consequently their associated invariants in a certain spectral sequence for grid homology, obstruct decomposable Lagrangian cobordisms in the symplectization of the standard contact structure, strengthening a result of Baldwin, Lidman, and Wong. This is joint work with Jubeir, Schwartz, Winkeler, and Wong.
| 27 - HARVARD-MIT COMBINATORICS SEMINAR: Richard P. Stanley Seminar in Combinatorics: Szemer\’edi’s theorem and nilsequences
Speaker: James Leng – UCLA 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 27, 2024-April 27, 2024 Suppose A is a subset of the natural numbers with positive density. A classical result in additive combinatorics, Szemeredi’s theorem, states that for each positive integer k, A must have an arithmetic progression of nonzero common difference of length k. In this talk, we shall discuss various quantitative refinements of this theorem and explain the various ingredients that recently led to the best quantitative bounds for this theorem. This is joint work with Ashwin Sah and Mehtaab Sawhney. =============================== For more info, see https://math.mit.edu/combin/
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28 | 29 - CMSA EVENT: Workshop on Global Categorical Symmetries
9:00 AM-5:00 PM April 29, 2024-May 3, 2024 The CMSA will be hosting a Workshop on Global Categorical Symmetries from April 29–May 3, 2024. Organizers: Dan Freed (Harvard CMSA & Math) Constantin Teleman (UC Berkeley) Participation in the workshop is by invitation. - CMSA EVENT: CMSA Colloquium: The DNA of Particle Scattering
Speaker: Lance Dixon – SLAC, Stanford University 4:30 PM-5:30 PM April 29, 2024 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
At the Large Hadron Collider, the copious scattering of quarks and gluons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) produces Higgs bosons and many backgrounds to searches for new physics. At short distances, scattering in QCD can be evaluated in perturbation theory and leads to highly intricate, multivariate mathematical functions such as generalized polylogarithms. To gain further insight, one can study a cousin of QCD called planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Some processes in this theory can be computed to eighth order in perturbation theory, versus second or third order in QCD. The computation and analysis of these results rely on a Hopf algebra coaction on polylogarithms. Its maximal iteration is called the `symbol’, which serves as a `genetic code’ for amplitudes. The symbol is a linear combination of words, sequences of letters analogous to sequences of DNA base pairs. Understanding the alphabet, and then reading the code, exposes the physics and mathematics of quantum scattering, including bizarre new symmetries. For example, the two scattering amplitudes that are known to the highest orders in perturbation theory (8 loops) are related to each other by an `antipodal duality’, which involves reading the code backwards as well as forwards. A third scattering amplitude, which contains the other two as limits, has an antipodal self-duality which `explains’ the other duality. However, we still don’t know `who ordered’ this property, or what it really means.
| 30 - CMSA EVENT: Workshop on Global Categorical Symmetries
9:00 AM-5:00 PM April 30, 2024-May 3, 2024 The CMSA will be hosting a Workshop on Global Categorical Symmetries from April 29–May 3, 2024. Organizers: Dan Freed (Harvard CMSA & Math) Constantin Teleman (UC Berkeley) Participation in the workshop is by invitation. - HARVARD-MIT ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY SEMINAR: Harvard-MIT Algebraic Geometry Seminar: Campana rational connectedness
Speaker: Qile Chen – Boston College 3:00 PM-4:00 PM April 30, 2024
The notion of Campana points were introduced by Campana and Abramovich, which interpolate between rational points and integral points. In this talk, we will focus on the geometric side and introduce Campana rational connectedness — a version of rational connectedness for varieties with simple normal crossings boundaries. We further prove that over function fields, weak approximations by Campana points at good places hold assuming Campana rational connectedness of fibers, generalizing a theorem of Hassett and Tschinkel. We further verify Campana rational connectedness for many basic examples. Our approach relies on the theory of stable log maps and their moduli. This is a joint work in progress with Brian Lehmann and Sho Tanimoto. =================================== For more information, please see https://researchseminars.org/seminar/harvard-mit-ag-seminar - SEMINARS: Introductory Math Seminar: Choosing Your First Math Class
Speaker: Monique Harrison – University of Pennsylvania 3:00 PM-5:00 PM April 30, 2024 Dr. Monique Harrison will be sharing her work with the Harvard Math Department, the conclusion of a survey and interview study in the Fall 2023 semester. Math courses at Harvard serve the majority of undergraduates who matriculate and often can have large impacts on subsequent student decision-making. She will discuss the findings of this study, which targeted first-year course selection and course experiences. Implications for department and university policies will be discussed.
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