The Fractional Analytic Index

Speaker: 

Institute Professor Isadore Singer

Institution: 

M.I.T.

Time: 

Friday, January 18, 2008 - 4:00pm

Location: 

MSTB 254

The index theorem for an elliptic operator gives an integrality theorem; a characteristic integral over the manifold is an integer because it is the index of the operator. I will review some geometric examples: the Dirac operator on a spin manifold, the spin_C Dirac operator, and their analogues for complex manifolds.

When the manifold has no spin_C structure, these operators do not exist. Nevertheless one can define a 'projective' Dirac operator which has an analytic index with values in the rationals. This fractional analytic index can also be expressed as a characteristic integral. I'll describe a possible application to string theory. [Joint work with V. Mathai and R.B. Melrose, J. Diff Geom 74 no 2 (2006) math.DG/0206002]

The Interface of Mathematics and Physics 1967-2007

Speaker: 

Institute Professor Isadore Singer

Institution: 

M.I.T.

Time: 

Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 3:30pm

Location: 

RH 101

I'll begin with the Battelle Rencontre "Lectures in Mathematics and Physics" (Seattle, 1967) and end with S-duality as reflected in Mirror Symmetry and in the Electric-Magnetic Duality connection with the Geometric Langlands Program. In between will be a guided tour of special moments in the interaction of mathematicians and high energy theorists: gauge theory and fibre bundles, instantons and index theory, string theory and Calabi-Yau manifolds.

Stability and Constant Scalar Curvature Metrics in Kahler Geometry: analytic methods

Speaker: 

Professor Duong Phong

Institution: 

Columbia

Time: 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 3:00pm

Location: 

MSTB 254

We discuss some recent developments in the problem of Khler metrics of constant scalar curvature and stability in geometric invariant theory. In particular, we discuss various notions of stability, both finite and infinite-dimensional, and various analytic methods for the problem. These include estimates for energy functionals, density of states and Tian-Yau-Zelditch and Lu asymptotic expansions, geometric heat flows, and both a priori estimates and pluripotential theory for the complex Monge-Ampre equation.

Stability and Constant Scalar Curvature Metrics in Kahler Geometry: a survey

Speaker: 

Professor Duong Phong

Institution: 

Columbia

Time: 

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 4:00pm

Location: 

MSTB 254

We discuss some recent developments in the problem of Khler metrics of constant scalar curvature and stability in geometric invariant theory. In particular, we discuss various notions of stability, both finite and infinite-dimensional, and various analytic methods for the problem. These include estimates for energy functionals, density of states and Tian-Yau-Zelditch and Lu asymptotic expansions, geometric heat flows, and both a priori estimates and pluripotential theory for the complex Monge-Ampre equation.

Imaging in Random Media

Speaker: 

Robert Grimmett Professor George Papanicolaou

Institution: 

Stanford University

Time: 

Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 11:00am

Location: 

MSTB 254

Broadband, coherent array imaging can be made quite robust in random media by using interferometric
algorithms that tend to minimize the effect of random inhomogeneities. I will introduce and describe these algorithms in detail, and I will
show the results of several numerical simulations that assess their effectiveness.

Array Imaging

Speaker: 

Robert Grimmett Professor George Papanicolaou

Institution: 

Stanford University

Time: 

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - 11:00am

Location: 

NatSci II, Room 1201

I will introduce the emerging interdisciplinary field of array imaging with several examples such as sonar, seismic imaging, radar, ultrasonic non-destructive testing, etc. I will explain how resolution issues can be addressed in a unified
mathematical way, along with some new ideas about optimizing the image formation process. I will also show the results of several numerical experiments.

Non-commutative Iwasawa theory

Speaker: 

John Coates

Institution: 

University of Cambridge

Time: 

Thursday, May 10, 2007 - 4:00pm

Location: 

MSTB 254

Iwasawa theory, and especially its main conjectures, is the main tool for
studying the mysterious exact formulae in number theory linking the very
different mathematical worlds of purely arithmetic questions on the one
hand, with special values of complex L-functions on the other (typified by
the conjecture of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer). My lecture will attempt to
explain how, in the special case of elliptic curves, non-commutative
phenomena which arise in each of these worlds lead to very unexpected
consequences in the other world.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Ecosystem Patterning

Speaker: 

Professor Simon Levin

Institution: 

Princeton University

Time: 

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 2:00pm

Location: 

MSTB 254

There is a rich mathematical literature, going back at least to Vito Volterra, describing the dynamics of populations in ecological time. There are many reasons, however, to place such dynamics in an evolutionary framework, allowing examination of how behaviors and interactions change over longer time scales. Such approaches can inform the description of interactions on the faster time scales and explain why we observe the systems we do; furthermore, they can provide insights about how systems will change in response to changing environmental conditions. General approaches to such questions will be discussed, with specific application to problems of resource use and stoichiometry.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Distinguished Lectures