Events

Kevin Hare, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"Entropy of Self-similar Measures"

It is known that a self-similar measure is either purely singular or absolutely continuous.  Despite this, for most measures we cannot say which case we are in.  One technique that has proved promising is the study of the Garsia Entropy of the measure.  In this talk I will discuss the history, properties and recent results for self-similar measures and Garsia Entropy.

MC 5417

Marco Handa, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"NIP IV"

We begin section 2.2.1 of Simon's Guide to NIP theories.

MC 5413

Gabriel Islambouli, Deaprtment of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"Smooth 4-manifolds and the Pants Complex"

Adian Diaconu, University of Minnesota

"Moments of L-functions"

I will begin by discussing some recent results (joint in part with Ian Whitehead) about moments of quadratic Dirichlet L-functions. While our understanding of these moments over number fields still remains largely elusive, their function field analogs are more tractable. The main focus will be to describe some partial results in the function field setting. (Joint work with Jonas Bergström, Dan Petersen and Craig Westerland.)

MC 5417

Luke MacLean, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"REVERSE MATHEMATICS"

While most of mathematics is concerned with using a set of axioms to prove theorems, reverse mathematics is a relatively new form of mathematical logic that seeks to determine which axioms are required to prove certain theorems. This gives a notion of the “strength” of a certain theorem by looking at which theorems imply it, and which are implied by it.

Zack Cramer, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"Compressible Matrix Algebras and the Distance from Projections to Nilpotents"

Don Hadwin, University of New Hampshire

"Tracial Stability for C*-algebras (and Groups)"

Dan Ursu, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"Ruler-compass constructions"

Alexander Yong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"Complexity, combinatorial positivity, and Newton polytopes"

The Nonvanishing Problem asks if a coefficient of a polynomial is nonzero. Many families of polynomials in algebraic combinatorics admit combinatorial counting rules and simultaneously enjoy having saturated Newton polytopes (SNP). Thereby, in amenable cases, Nonvanishing is in the complexity class of problems with “good characterizations”. This suggests a new algebraic combinatorics viewpoint on complexity theory. 

Luke MacLean, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

"Reverse Mathematics (part 2)"

Having heard a brief overview of the basics of reverse mathematics, we will continue to learn about the system RCA_0 and the theorems provable therein. 

Attendance of part 1 is not required, only an interest in logic and computability.

MC 5413