Department of

Mathematics

Seminar Calendar
for events the day of Thursday, February 9, 2006.

.
events for the
events containing

Questions regarding events or the calendar should be directed to Tori Corkery.
     January 2006          February 2006            March 2006
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1  2  3  4  5  6  7             1  2  3  4             1  2  3  4
8  9 10 11 12 13 14    5  6  7  8  9 10 11    5  6  7  8  9 10 11
15 16 17 18 19 20 21   12 13 14 15 16 17 18   12 13 14 15 16 17 18
22 23 24 25 26 27 28   19 20 21 22 23 24 25   19 20 21 22 23 24 25
29 30 31               26 27 28               26 27 28 29 30 31



Thursday, February 9, 2006

12:00 pm in 464 Loomis,Thursday, February 9, 2006

The A-model as a Thom Form

Josh Guffin (UIUC Physics)

Abstract: I will show that the A-model path integral is a representative of the Thom form of a certain infinite dimensional vector bundle on MAP(\Sigma,X). I will also prove that the path integral localizes to holomorphic maps.

1:00 pm in 347 Altgeld Hall,Thursday, February 9, 2006

Uniform convergence groups and the mapping class group.II

Chris Leininger (UIUC Math)

Abstract: Abstract: I'll go through the proof that a non-elementary subgroup of Mod(S) is convex cocompact if and only if it acts as a uniform convergence group on the zero locus of its limit set. This is joint work with Richard Kent.

1:00 pm in 241 Altgeld Hall,Thursday, February 9, 2006

Shards of proofiness about the Stern sequence

Bruce Reznick (UIUC Math )

Abstract: Isaac Stern was a serious violinist. Howard Stern is on Sirius radio. The Stern sequence is a hilariously interesting mathematical object, defined recursively by s(0) = 0, s(1) = 1, s(2n) = s(n), s(2n+1) = s(n) + s(n+1). We will present some hysterical recent results, taken from the speaker's ongoing course Math 595 SNT

2:00 pm in 443 Altgeld Hall,Thursday, February 9, 2006

Exotic 7-spheres

David Lispky (UIUC Math)

Abstract: I will present Milnor's paper "On Manifolds Homeomorphic to the 7-Sphere." In this paper, Milnor defines a diffeomorphism invariant "lambda" for certain smooth 7-dimensional manifolds. He then constructs, for each integer k, a smooth manifold M_k homeomorphic to the 7-sphere. Amazingly enough, lambda(M_k) varies with k, which means that homeomorphic smooth manifolds need not be diffeomorphic. In particular, there exist several distinct smooth structures on the 7-sphere. I will cover some background material and the beginning of Milnor's construction this week, and will continue next week if needed.

2:00 pm in 241 Altgeld Hall,Thursday, February 9, 2006