Department of

Mathematics

Seminar Calendar
for Mathematical Physics events the month of Thursday, November 8, 2018.

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events for the
events containing

More information on this calendar program is available.
Questions regarding events or the calendar should be directed to Tori Corkery.
     October 2018          November 2018          December 2018
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1  2  3  4  5  6                1  2  3                      1
7  8  9 10 11 12 13    4  5  6  7  8  9 10    2  3  4  5  6  7  8
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30 31


Thursday, November 1, 2018

12:30 pm in 464 Loomis,Thursday, November 1, 2018

To Be Announced

Wati Taylor (MIT)

Thursday, November 8, 2018

12:30 pm in 464 Loomis,Thursday, November 8, 2018

Holomorphic SCFTs of small index

Theo Johnson-Freyd (Perimeter)

Abstract: Stolz and Teichner have conjectured that the moduli space of D=1+1, N=(0,1) QFTs provides a geometric model for Topological Modular Forms. Some important building blocks in this moduli space are the holomorphic superconformal field theories, and the conjecture leads to predictions about the possible values the supersymmetric index of such SCFTs can take. Specifically, the conjecture leads one to predict the existence of SCFTs of small nonzero index, and that the minimal possible index depends in an interesting way on the central charge of the SCFT. I will explain a construction of some SCFTs of indexes equal to the predicted minimal values. The construction leads to a new divisibility result in the seemingly unrelated field of algebraic coding theory. Based on joint work with Davide Gaiotto and Noam D Elkies.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

12:30 pm in 464 Loomis,Thursday, November 15, 2018

To Be Announced

Lampros Lamprou (MIT)

Thursday, November 29, 2018

12:30 pm in 464 Loomis,Thursday, November 29, 2018

To Be Announced

Netta Engelhardt (Princeton University)

Friday, November 30, 2018

3:00 pm in Altgeld Hall 145,Friday, November 30, 2018

Infinitesimals in Analysis, Topology, and Probability

Peter Loeb (Illinois Math)

Abstract: The notion of an infinitesimal quantity eluded rigorous treatment until the work of Abraham Robinson in 1960. Recent extensions and applications of his theory, called nonstandard analysis, have produced new results in many areas including operator theory, stochastic processes, mathematical economics and mathematical physics. Infinitely small and infinitely large quantities can play an essential role in the creative process. At the level of calculus, the integral can now be correctly defined as the nearest ordinary number to a sum of infinitesimal quantities. In Probability theory, Brownian motion can now be rigorously parameterized by a random walk with infinitesimal increments. In economics, an ideal economy can be formed from an infinite number of agents, each having an infinitesimal influence on the economy. After an introduction to this powerful method, I will discuss applications to calculus, the imbedding of topological spaces into compact spaces, and measure and probability theory. This includes the work of Y. Sun who showed that the measure spaces introduced by the present speaker can be used to finally make sense of the notion of an infinite number of equally weighted, independent random variables in probability theory and economics.