Calendar

Feb
17
Fri
Mushfeq Khan: The Homogeneity Conjecture II
Feb 17 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Feb
24
Fri
Logic seminar: David Ross @ Keller Hall 404
Feb 24 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Title: Some applications of logic to additive number theory

Abstract: I will review the Loeb measure construction; I will
assume some exposure to nonstandard analysis, or at least 1st order logic,
comparable to the review I gave last semester in my seminars on fixed
points. Time permitting I will give the Loeb-measure proof of Szemeredi’s
Theorem.

Mar
3
Fri
Logic seminar: David Ross
Mar 3 @ 2:30 pm – 3:20 pm

Logic seminar: David Ross
Title: Some applications of logic to additive number theory (cont.)
Room: Keller 404.

Abstract:
I will continue with some examples of results about sets of positive upper Banach density proved using Loeb measures.

Colloquium: Pamela Harris (Williams)
Mar 3 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Mar
6
Mon
Colloquium: Evan Gawlik (UCSD)
Mar 6 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Speaker: Evan Gawlik (UCSD)

Title: Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations on Evolving Domains

Abstract: Many important and challenging problems in computational science and
engineering involve partial differential equations with a high level
of geometric complexity. Examples include moving-boundary problems,
where the domain on which a PDE is posed evolves with time in a
prescribed fashion; free-boundary problems, where the domain is one of
the unknowns in and of itself; and geometric evolution equations,
where the domain is an evolving Riemannian manifold. Such problems are
inherently challenging to solve numerically, owing not only to the
difficulty of discretizing functions defined on evolving geometries,
but also to the coupling, if any, between the geometry’s evolution and
the underlying PDE. Similar difficulties, which are in some sense dual
to those just mentioned, are faced when the goal is to numerically
approximate functions taking values in a manifold. This talk will
focus on tackling these unique challenges that lie at the intersection
of numerical analysis, PDEs, and geometry.

Mar
8
Wed
Colloquium: Tam Nguyen Phan (Binghamton U.) @ Keller 401
Mar 8 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Speaker: Tam Nguyen Phan (Binghamton U.)

Title: Examples of negatively curved and nonpositively curved manifolds

Abstract: Let M be a noncompact, complete, Riemannian manifold. Gromov proved that if the sectional curvature of M negative and bounded, and if the volume of M is finite, then M is homeomorphic to the interior of a compact manifold overline{M} with boundary B. In other words, M has finitely many ends, and each end of M is topologically a product of a closed manifold C with a ray. A natural question is how the geometry (i.e. in terms of the curvature) of M controls the topology of C. The same question is interesting in nonpositive curvature settings. I will discuss what topological restrictions there are on each end and give old and new constructions of such manifolds.

Mar
10
Fri
Logic seminar: David Ross (III)
Mar 10 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Colloquium: John Holbrook (U. Guelph)
Mar 10 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Title: Matrix algebra dimensions

Abstract: What is the dimension of a triply generated commutative matrix algebra? It seems that not much is known, but we’ll discuss some relevant ideas. For example, an old result, often called Gerstenhaber’s Theorem, states that the algebra of polynomials in two commuting nxn matrices has dimension at most n. Here we discuss the possibility of extending this result to algebras generated by three commuting matrices. Related questions concern the reducibility of the variety of commuting triples and the question of “approximate simultaneous diagonalizability”. We present some experimental results based on the Weyr canonical form (an under–appreciated alternative to the JCF).