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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20260130T191058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260430T205709Z
UID:10003887-1776848400-1776853800@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Nicolai Reshetikhin (Tsinghua): Asymptotic representation theory
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nDate: April 22\, 2026 \nTime: 9:00 – 10:30 am ET \nLocation: via Zoom Webinar \nSpeaker: Nicolai Reshetikhin\, Yau Mathematical Sciences Center\, Tsinghua University \nTitle: Asymptotic representation theory \nAbstract: Loosely speaking asymptotic representation theory studies representations of “large” groups or algebras. One of the first results in this direction is the study of Plancherel measures on the symmetric group $S_N$ in the limit $N\to \infty$ by Vershik and Kerov and Logan and Shepp. The first part of the talk will be an overview of results on statistics of irreducible representations in large tensor products. Then we focus on more modern results on statistics of tilting and projective modules in large tensor products and on how some problems in asymptotic representation theory are related to dimer models in statistical mechanics. \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n  \n 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2026_nr/
LOCATION:CMSA Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Reshetikhin.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260310T084500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260310T101500
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20260127T153158Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T161125Z
UID:10003881-1773132300-1773137700@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Martin Bridson: Profinite rigidity: Chasing finite shadows of infinite groups
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \n \nDate: March 10\, 2026 \nTime: 8:45 – 10:15 am ET \nLocation: Harvard Science Center Hall A\, 1 Oxford Street\, Cambridge MA &  via Zoom Webinar \nSpeaker: Martin Bridson FRS is the Whitehead Professor of Pure Mathematics at Oxford and President of the Clay Mathematics Institute. \nTitle: Profinite rigidity: Chasing finite shadows of infinite groups \nAbstract: There are many situations in geometry or elsewhere in mathematics where it is natural or convenient to explore infinite groups of symmetries via their actions on finite objects. But how hard is it to find these finite manifestations and to what extent does the collection of all such actions determine the infinite group?\nIn this talk\, I will sketch some of the rich history of such problems and then describe some of the significant advances in recent years. \nWe’ll pay particular attention to groups that arise in 3-dimensional geometry and topology. \n  \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n  \n 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2026_mb/
LOCATION:MA
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Bridson-poster.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250408T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250408T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20250331T204029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T143732Z
UID:10003731-1744102800-1744108200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Scott Sheffield (MIT): Yang-Mills theory and random surfaces
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nDate: April 8\, 2025 \nTime: 9:00 – 10:30 am ET \nLocation: CMSA G10\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge MA & via Zoom \nSpeaker: Scott Sheffield (MIT) \nTitle: Yang-Mills theory and random surfaces \nAbstract: The Clay Institute famously offered one million dollars to anyone who could mathematically construct and understand a certain continuum version of “Yang-Mills gauge theory.” This theory is the basis of the standard model of physics\, and the heart of the problem is to understand the so-called “Wilson loop expectations.” Following recent work with Sky Cao and Minjae Park\, I will explain how the “Wilson loop expectations” in a lattice Yang-Mills model are equivalent to “insertion costs” of loops in a related random-closed-surface-ensemble model. In a sense\, these results allow us to convert one famously hard problem into another presumably hard problem. But the new problem is all about random surfaces and random permutations\, and it has a lot of relationships with and similarities to other problems we understand (think domino tilings\, random planar maps\, Young tableaux and symmetric group representation theory\, and the Weingarten calculus). It gives us some intuition for *why* certain things should be true like the “area law” or “exponential correlation decay” (what physicists call “quark confinement” or “mass gap”) even if we can’t prove all of them yet. \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars.
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2025_ss/
LOCATION:CMSA Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Sheffield_11x17-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20240923T152934Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241203T144846Z
UID:10003528-1732179600-1732185000@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Bjorn Poonen\, MIT
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nDate: November 21\, 2024 \nTime: 9:00 – 10:30 am ET \nLocation: CMSA G10\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge MA & via Zoom \nSpeaker: Bjorn Poonen\, MIT \nTitle: Ranks of elliptic curves \nAbstract: Elliptic curves are simplest varieties whose rational points are not fully understood\, and they are the simplest projective varieties with a nontrivial group structure.  In 1922 Mordell proved that the group of rational points on an elliptic curve is finitely generated.  We will survey what is known and what is believed about this group. \n  \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars.
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2024_bp/
LOCATION:CMSA Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Poonen_11x17.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240918T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240918T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20240904T181255Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T150446Z
UID:10003442-1726650000-1726655400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Marc Lackenby
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nDate: Wednesday\, September 18\, 2024 \nTime: 9:00 – 10:30 am ET \nLocation: Via Zoom Webinar \nSpeaker: Marc Lackenby\, University of Oxford \nTitle: The complexity of knots \nAbstract: In his final paper in 1954\, Alan Turing wrote `No systematic method is yet known by which one can tell whether two knots are the same.’ Within the next 20 years\, Wolfgang Haken and Geoffrey Hemion had discovered such a method. However\, the computational complexity of this problem remains unknown. In my talk\, I will give a survey on this area\, that draws on the work of many low-dimensional topologists and geometers. Unfortunately\, the current upper bounds on the computational complexity of the knot equivalence problem remain quite poor. However\, there are some recent results indicating that\, perhaps\, knots are more tractable than they first seem. Specifically\, I will explain a theorem that provides\, for each knot type K\, a polynomial p_K with the property that any two diagrams of K with n_1 and n_2 crossings differ by at most p_K(n_1) + p_K(n_2) Reidemeister moves. \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars.
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2024_ml/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Lackenby_8.5x11.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240320T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240320T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20240105T062652Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T160245Z
UID:10001116-1710925200-1710930600@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Cameron Gordon
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nProf. Cameron Gordon presented a lecture in the CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture Series. \n \nDate: Wednesday\, March 20\, 2024 \nTime: 9:00–10:30 am ET \nLocation: Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge MA and via Zoom Webinar \nTitle: The Unknotting Number of a Knot \nAbstract: One of the oldest and most natural knot invariants is the unknotting number\, which is the minimum number of times a knot must be allowed to pass through itself in order to unknot it. Although this invariant was discussed by Tait almost 150 years ago\, it is still poorly understood. For instance it is not known if it is algorithmically computable\, and indeed there is an 8-crossing knot whose unknotting number is unknown. Nevertheless\, the many developments in knot theory since Tait have led to some understanding of unknotting number\, for example through its connection with 4-dimensional topology. We will give a historical account of this progress\, and discuss some of the questions that are still open. \n  \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n  \nCMSA COVID-19 Policies
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2024_cg/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Gordon_letter.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240207T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240207T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20240103T172620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T160057Z
UID:10001103-1707296400-1707301800@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Amie Wilkinson
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \nProf. Amie Wilkinson gave a lecture in the CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture Series. \nDate: Wednesday\, February 7\, 2024 \nTime: 9:00–10:30 am ET \nTitle: Stretching and shrinking: 85 years of the Hopf argument for ergodicity\nAbstract:  The early 20th century witnessed an explosion of activity\, much of it centered at Harvard\, on rigorizing the property of ergodicity first proposed by Boltzmann in his 1898  Ergodic Hypothesis for ideal gases. Earlier\, in the 1880’s\, Henri Poincaré and Felix Klein had also initiated a study of discrete groups of hyperbolic isometries. The geodesics in hyperbolic manifolds were discovered to carry a rich structure\, first investigated from a topological perspective by Emil Artin and Marston Morse.  The time was ripe to investigate geodesics in hyperbolic manifolds from an ergodic theoretic (i.e.\, statistical) perspective\, and indeed Gustav Hedlund proved in 1934 that the geodesic flow for closed hyperbolic surfaces is ergodic.\n\nIn 1939\, Eberhard Hopf published a proof of the ergodicity of geodesic flows for negatively curved surfaces containing a novel method\, now known as the Hopf argument.  The Hopf argument\, a “soft” argument for ergodicity of systems with some hyperbolicity (the “stretching and shrinking” in the title) has since seen wide application in geometry\, representation theory and dynamics.  I will discuss three results relying on the Hopf argument:\n\nTheorem (E. Hopf\, 1939\, D. Anosov\, 1967): In a closed manifold of negative sectional curvatures\, almost every geodesic is directionally equidistributed.\n\nTheorem (G. Mostow\, 1968) Let M and N be closed hyperbolic manifolds of dimension at least 3\, and let f:M->N be a homotopy equivalence.  Then f is homotopic to a unique isometry.\n\nTheorem (R. Mañé\, 1983\, A. Avila- S. Crovisier- A.W.\, 2022) The C^1 generic symplectomorphism of a closed symplectic manifold with positive entropy is ergodic.\n  \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2024_aw/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Wilkinson_letter.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231120T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231120T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20240108T175825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240222T055339Z
UID:10001130-1700470800-1700476200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Scott Kominers
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \n \nProf. Scott Kominers will present a lecture in the CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture Series. \nDate: Monday\, November 20\, 2023 \nTime: 9:00 – 10:30 am ET \nLocation: Via Zoom Webinar \nTitle: 60 Years of Matching: From Gale and Shapley to Trading Networks \nAbstract: Gale and Shapley’s 1962 American Mathematical Monthly paper\, “College Admissions and the Stability of Marriage\,” is by now one of the most cited articles in the journal’s history\, having served as the foundation for an entire branch of the field of market design. This success owes in large part to the beautiful\, applicable\, and surprisingly general theory of matching mechanisms uncovered in Gale and Shapley’s work. This talk traces the history and evolution of matching theory from that paper forward to the present day\, along the way touching on real-world applications to everything from medical residency matching to electricity markets. \nModerator: Sergiy Verstyuk \n\nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n  \nCMSA COVID-19 Policies
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/mathscilit2023/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_Kominers_8.5x11.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20221109T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20221109T110000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230705T045400Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200129Z
UID:10000060-1667986200-1667991600@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Large cardinals and small sets: The AD+ Duality Program
DESCRIPTION:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture \n \nProf. Hugh Woodin will present a lecture in the CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture Series. \nDate: Wednesday\, November 9\, 2022 \nTime: 9:30 – 11:00 am ET \nLocation: Via Zoom Webinar and Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge MA 02138 \n  \nTitle: Large cardinals and small sets: The AD+ Duality Program \nAbstract: The determinacy axiom\, AD\, was introduced by Mycielski and Steinhaus over 60 years ago as an alternative to the Axiom of Choice for the study of arbitrary sets of real numbers.  The modern view is that determinacy axioms concern generalizations of the borel sets\, and deep connections with large cardinal axioms have emerged. \nThe study of determinacy axioms has led to a specific technical refinement of AD\, this is the axiom AD+. The further connections with large axioms have in turn implicitly led to a duality program\, this is the AD+ Duality Program. \nThe main open problems here are intertwined with those of the Inner Model Program\, which is the central program in the study of large cardinal axioms. \nThis has now all been distilled into a series of specific conjectures. \n  \nTalk chair: Horng-Tzer Yau (Harvard Mathematics & CMSA) \nModerator: Alejandro Poveda Ruzafa (Harvard CMSA) \n  \nBeginning in Spring 2020\, the CMSA began hosting a lecture series on literature in the mathematical sciences\, with a focus on significant developments in mathematics that have influenced the discipline\, and the lifetime accomplishments of significant scholars. \n  \nCMSA COVID-19 Policies
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/math-science-literature-lecture/
LOCATION:CMSA Room G10\, CMSA\, 20 Garden Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_WOODIN.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220422T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220422T230000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230706T180541Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200643Z
UID:10000096-1650619800-1650668400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians: Auction Theory
DESCRIPTION:Eric Maskin (Harvard University) Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians \nApril 22\, 2022 | 9:30 – 11:00 am ET \nTitle: Auction Theory \nAbstract: Equivalences among four standard auctions: the high-bid auction (the high bidder wins and pays her bid); the second-bid auction (the high bidder wins and pays the second-highest bid); the Dutch auction (the auctioneer lowers the price successively until some bidder is willing to pay); and the English auction (bidders raise their bids successively until no one wants to bid higher). \nTalk chairs: Scott Kominers\, Sergiy Verstyuk \nSLIDES | VIDEO Answers to Questions from Talks 2 and 3
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/maskin_gametheory2022_3/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_MASKIN-1583x2048-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220420T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220420T110000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230706T180319Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200302Z
UID:10000095-1650447000-1650452400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians: Mechanism Design
DESCRIPTION:Eric Maskin (Harvard University) Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians \nApril 20\, 2022 | 9:30 – 11:00 am ET \nTitle: Mechanism Design \nAbstract: Given a social goal\, under what circumstances can we design a game to achieve that goal? \nTalk chairs: Scott Kominers\, Sergiy Verstyuk \nSLIDES | VIDEO
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/maskin_gametheory2022_2/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_MASKIN-1583x2048-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220418T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220418T110000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230706T180022Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200252Z
UID:10000094-1650274200-1650279600@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians: Game Theory Basics and Classical Existence Theorems
DESCRIPTION:Eric Maskin (Harvard University) Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians \nApril 18\, 2022 | 9:30 – 11:00 am ET \nTitle: Game Theory Basics and Classical Existence Theorems \nAbstract: Games in extensive and normal form. Equilibrium existence theorems by Nash\, von Neumann\, and Zermelo \nTalk chairs: Scott Kominers\, Sergiy Verstyuk \nSLIDES | VIDEO \n 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/maskin_gametheory2022_1/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Mathlit_MASKIN-1583x2048-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211209T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211209T143000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230705T082223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200233Z
UID:10000072-1639042200-1639060200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture - Karen Uhlenbeck
DESCRIPTION:Karen Uhlenbeck (Institute for Advanced Study) \nTitle: The Noether Theorems in Geometry: Then and Now \nAbstract: The 1918 Noether theorems were a product of the general search for energy and momentum conservation in Einstein’s newly formulated theory of general relativity. Although widely referred to as the connection between symmetry and conservation laws\, the theorems themselves are often not understood properly and hence have not been as widely used as they might be. In the first part of the talk\, I outline a brief history of the theorems\, explain a bit of the language\, translate the first theorem into coordinate invariant language and give a few examples. I will mention only briefly their importance in physics and integrable systems. In the second part of the talk\, I describe why they are still relevant in geometric analysis: how they underlie standard techniques and why George Daskalopoulos and I came to be interested in them for our investigation into the best Lipschitz maps of Bill Thurston. Some applications to integrals on a domain a hyperbolic surface leave open possibilities for applications to integrals on domains which are locally symmetric spaces of higher dimension. The talk finishes with an example or two from the literature. \nTalk Chair: Laura DeMarco \nVIDEO
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/12-9-21-math-science-literature-lecture-karen-uhlenbeck/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Uhlenbeck_12921.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210615T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210615T123000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T173422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240216T211240Z
UID:10001814-1623754800-1623760200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Nonlinear stability of Kerr black holes for small angular momentum
DESCRIPTION:Sergiu Klainerman (Princeton University) \nTitle: Nonlinear stability of Kerr black holes for small angular momentum \nAbstract: According to a well-known conjecture\,  initial data sets\,  for the Einstein vacuum equations\, sufficiently close to a Kerr solution with parameters $a\, m$\, $|a|/m <1$\, have maximal developments with complete future null infinity and with domain of outer communication (i.e complement of a future event horizon)   which approaches  (globally)  a nearby Kerr solution. I will describe the main ideas in my recent joint work with Jeremie Szeftel concerning the resolution of the conjecture for small angular momentum\, i.e. $\, $|a|/m $ sufficiently small. The work\, ArXiv:2104.11857v1\,  also depends on forthcoming work on solutions of nonlinear wave equations in realistic perturbations of Kerr\,  with Szeftel and Elena Giorgi\,  which I will also describe. \nTalk chair: Lydia Bieri  \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_klainerman/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Klainerman-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210427T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210427T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T172620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250305T174246Z
UID:10000913-1619514000-1619519400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Moment maps and the Yang-Mills functional
DESCRIPTION:Frances Kirwan (University of Oxford) \nTitle: Moment maps and the Yang-Mills functional \nAbstract: In the early 1980s Michael Atiyah and Raoul Bott wrote two influential papers\, ‘The Yang-Mills equations over Riemann surfaces’ and ‘The moment map and equivariant cohomology’\, bringing together ideas ranging from algebraic and symplectic geometry through algebraic topology to mathematical physics and number theory. The aim of this talk is to explain their key insights and some of the new directions towards which these papers led. \nThis talk is part of a subprogram of the Mathematical Science Literature Lecture series\, a Memorial Conference for the founders of index theory: Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch and Singer. \nTalk chair: Peter Kronheimer \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_kirwan/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Kirwan.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210423T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210423T183000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T172354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T185338Z
UID:10000912-1619193600-1619202600@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Indistinguishability Obfuscation: How to Hide Secrets within Software
DESCRIPTION:Amit Sahai  (UCLA) \nTitle: Indistinguishability Obfuscation: How to Hide Secrets within Software \nAbstract: At least since the initial public proposal of public-key cryptography based on computational hardness conjectures (Diffie and Hellman\, 1976)\, cryptographers have contemplated the possibility of a “one-way compiler” that translates computer programs into “incomprehensible” but equivalent forms. And yet\, the search for such a “one-way compiler” remained elusive for decades. \nIn this talk\, we look back at our community’s attempts to formalize the notion of such a compiler\, culminating in our 2001 work with Barak\, Goldreich\, Impagliazzo\, Rudich\, Vadhan\, and Yang\, which proposed the notion of indistinguishability obfuscation (iO). Roughly speaking\, iO requires that the compiled versions of any two equivalent programs (with the same size and running time) be indistinguishable to any efficient adversary. Leveraging the notion of punctured programming\, introduced in our work with Waters in 2013\, well over a hundred papers have explored the remarkable power of iO. \nWe’ll then discuss the intense effort that recently culminated in our 2020 work with Jain and Lin\, finally showing how to construct iO in such a way that\, for the first time\, we can prove the security of our iO scheme based on well-studied computational hardness conjectures in cryptography. \nTalk chair: Sergiy Verstyuk \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_sahai/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Sahai-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210420T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210420T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T172100Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T201355Z
UID:10000911-1618909200-1618914600@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: The Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem
DESCRIPTION:Dan Freed (The University of Texas at Austin) \nTitle: The Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem \nAbstract: The story of the index theorem ties together the Gang of Four—Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch\, and Singer—and lies at the intersection of analysis\, geometry\, and topology. In the first part of the talk I will recount high points in the early developments. Then I turn to subsequent variations and applications. Throughout I emphasize the role of the Dirac operator. \nThis talk is part of a subprogram of the Mathematical Science Literature Lecture series\, a Memorial Conference for the founders of index theory: Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch and Singer. \nTalk chair: Cumrun Vafa \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_freed/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Freed-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210416T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210416T143000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T171834Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T201348Z
UID:10000910-1618578000-1618583400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Deep Networks from First Principles
DESCRIPTION:Yi MaPhoto Copyright Noah Berger / 2019\n  \nYi Ma (University of California\, Berkeley) \nTitle: Deep Networks from First Principles \nAbstract: In this talk\, we offer an entirely “white box’’ interpretation of deep (convolution) networks from the perspective of data compression (and group invariance). In particular\, we show how modern deep layered architectures\, linear (convolution) operators and nonlinear activations\, and even all parameters can be derived from the principle of maximizing rate reduction (with group invariance). All layers\, operators\, and parameters of the network are explicitly constructed via forward propagation\, instead of learned via back propagation. All components of so-obtained network\, called ReduNet\, have precise optimization\, geometric\, and statistical interpretation. There are also several nice surprises from this principled approach: it reveals a fundamental tradeoff between invariance and sparsity for class separability; it reveals a fundamental connection between deep networks and Fourier transform for group invariance – the computational advantage in the spectral domain (why spiking neurons?); this approach also clarifies the mathematical role of forward propagation (optimization) and backward propagation (variation). In particular\, the so-obtained ReduNet is amenable to fine-tuning via both forward and backward (stochastic) propagation\, both for optimizing the same objective. This is joint work with students Yaodong Yu\, Ryan Chan\, Haozhi Qi of Berkeley\, Dr. Chong You now at Google Research\, and Professor John Wright of Columbia University. \nTalk chair: Harry Shum \nSlides | Video
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_ma/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Ma-1-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210408T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210408T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T171436Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T201342Z
UID:10000909-1617872400-1617877800@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Quantum error correcting codes and fault tolerance
DESCRIPTION:Peter Shor (MIT) \nTitle: Quantum error correcting codes and fault tolerance \nAbstract: We will go over the fundamentals of quantum error correction and fault tolerance and survey some of the recent developments in the field.\n\nTalk chair: Zhengwei Liu \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_shor/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Shor.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210406T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210427T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T171215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T192611Z
UID:10000908-1617699600-1619519400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Memorial Conference for the founders of index theory: Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch\, and Singer
DESCRIPTION:In 2021\, the CMSA hosted a lecture series on the literature of the mathematical sciences. This series highlights significant accomplishments in the intersection between mathematics and the sciences. Speakers include Edward Witten\, Lydia Bieri\, Simon Donaldson\, Michael Freedman\, Dan Freed\, and many more. \nVideos of these talks can be found in this Youtube playlist. \n \nIn the Spring 2021 semester\, the CMSA hosted a sub-program on this series titled A Memorial Conference for the founders of index theory: Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch and Singer. Below is the schedule for talks in that subprogram \nApril 6\, 2021 | 9:00 – 10:30am ET\n\n\n\n\nEdward Witten (IAS) \nTitle: Isadore Singer’s Work on Analytic Torsion\n\n\n\n\n\nApril 13\, 2021 | 9:00 – 10:30am ET\n\n\n\n\nClaire Voisin (College de France) \nTitle: K-theory and characteristic classes in topology and complex geometry  (a tribute to Atiyah and Hirzebruch)\n\n\n\n\n\nApril 20\, 2021 | 9:00 – 10:30am ET\n\n\n\n\nDan Freed (the University of Texas at Austin) \nTitle: The Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem\n\n\n\n\n\nApril 27\, 2021 | 9:00 – 10:30am ET\n\n\n\n\nFrances Kirwan (University of Oxford) \nTitle: Moment maps and the Yang-Mills functional
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/memorial-conference-for-the-founders-of-index-theory-atiyah-bott-hirzebruch-and-singer/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Special Lectures
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210406T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210406T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T115709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T201336Z
UID:10000907-1617699600-1617705000@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Isadore Singer’s Work on Analytic Torsion
DESCRIPTION:Edward Witten (IAS) \nTitle: Isadore Singer’s Work on Analytic Torsion \nAbstract:  I will review two famous papers of Ray and Singer on analytic torsion written approximately half a century ago. Then I will sketch the influence of analytic torsion in a variety of areas of physics including anomalies\, topological field theory\, and string theory. \nThis talk is part of a subprogram of the Mathematical Science Literature Lecture series\, a Memorial Conference for the founders of index theory: Atiyah\, Bott\, Hirzebruch\, and Singer. \nTalk chair: Cumrun Vafa \nSlides | Video
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_witten-2/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Witten.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210330T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210330T223000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T115407Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250305T210259Z
UID:10000906-1617094800-1617143400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: On the History of quantum cohomology and homological mirror symmetry
DESCRIPTION:Maxim Kontsevich  (IHÉS) \nTitle: On the History of quantum cohomology and homological mirror symmetry \nAbstract: About 30 years ago\, string theorists made remarkable discoveries of hidden structures in algebraic geometry.  First\, the usual cup-product on the cohomology of a complex projective variety admits a canonical multi-parameter deformation to so-called quantum product\, satisfying a nice system of differential equations (WDVV equations).  The second discovery\, even more striking\,  is Mirror Symmetry\, a duality between families of Calabi-Yau varieties acting as a mirror reflection on the Hodge diamond. \nLater it was realized that the quantum product belongs to the realm of symplectic geometry\, and a half of mirror symmetry (called Homological Mirror Symmetry) is a duality between complex algebraic and symplectic varieties. The search of correct definitions and possible generalizations lead to great advances in many domains\, giving mathematicians new glasses\, through which they can see familiar objects in a completely new way. \nI will review the history of major mathematical advances in the subject of HMS\, and the swirl of ideas around it. \nTalk chair: Paul Seidel \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_kontsevich/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Kontsevich-.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210223T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210223T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T115234Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240103T093827Z
UID:10000905-1614070800-1614076200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Homological (homotopical) algebra and moduli spaces in Topological Field theories
DESCRIPTION:Kenji Fukaya (Simons Center for Geometry and Physics) \nTitle: Homological (homotopical) algebra and moduli spaces in Topological Field theories \nAbstract: Moduli spaces of various gauge theory equations and of various versions of (pseudo) holomorphic curve equations have played important role in geometry in these 40 years. Started with Floer’s work people start to obtain more sophisticated object such as groups\, rings\, or categories from (system of) moduli spaces. I would like to survey some of those works and the methods to study family of moduli spaces systematically. \nTalk chair: Peter Kronheimer \nSlides | Video
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_fukaya/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Fukaya-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210127T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210127T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T114914Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200938Z
UID:10000904-1611738000-1611743400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Discrepancy Theory and Randomized Controlled Trials
DESCRIPTION:Dan Spielman (Yale University) \nTitle: Discrepancy Theory and Randomized Controlled Trials \nAbstract: Discrepancy theory tells us that it is possible to partition vectors into sets so that each set looks surprisingly similar to every other.  By “surprisingly similar” we mean much more similar than a random partition. I will begin by surveying fundamental results in discrepancy theory\, including Spencer’s famous existence proofs and Bansal’s recent algorithmic realizations of them. Randomized Controlled Trials are used to test the effectiveness of interventions\, like medical treatments. Randomization is used to ensure that the test and control groups are probably similar.  When we know nothing about the experimental subjects\, uniform random assignment is the best we can do. When we know information about the experimental subjects\, called covariates\, we can combine the strengths of randomization with the promises of discrepancy theory. This should allow us to obtain more accurate estimates of the effectiveness of treatments\, or to conduct trials with fewer experimental subjects. I will introduce the Gram-Schmidt Walk algorithm of Bansal\, Dadush\, Garg\, and Lovett\, which produces random solutions to discrepancy problems. I will then explain how Chris Harshaw\, Fredrik Sävje\, Peng Zhang\, and I use this algorithm to improve the design of randomized controlled trials. Our Gram-Schmidt Walk Designs have increased accuracy when the experimental outcomes are correlated with linear functions of the covariates\, and are comparable to uniform random assignments in the worst case. \nTalk chair: Salil Vadhan \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_spielman/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_-Spielman-1-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210113T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210113T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T114651Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250305T210038Z
UID:10000903-1610528400-1610533800@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Quantum topology and new types of modularity
DESCRIPTION:Don Zagier (Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and International Centre for Theoretical Physics) \nTitle: Quantum topology and new types of modularity \nAbstract: The talk concerns two fundamental themes of modern 3-dimensional topology and their unexpected connection with a theme coming from number theory. A deep insight of William Thurston in the mid-1970s is that the vast majority of complements of knots in the 3-sphere\, or more generally of 3-manifolds\, have a unique metric structure as hyperbolic manifolds of constant curvature -1\, so that 3-dimensional topology is in some sense not really a branch of topology at all\, but of differential geometry. In a different direction\, the work of Vaughan Jones and Ed Witten in the late 1980s gave rise to the field of Quantum Topology\, in which new types of invariants of knot complements and 3-manifolds are introduced that have their origins in ideas coming from quantum field theory. These two themes then became linked by Kashaev’s famous Volume Conjecture\, now some 25 years old\, which says that the Kashaev invariant _N of a hyperbolic knot K (this is a quantum invariant defined for each positive integer N and whose values are algebraic numbers) grows exponentially as N tends to infinity with an exponent proportional to the hyperbolic volume of the knot complement. About 10 years ago\, I was led by numerical experiments to the discovery that Kashaev’s invariant could be upgraded to an invariant having rational numbers as its argument (with the original invariant being the value at 1/N) and that the Volume Conjecture then became part of a bigger story saying that the new invariant has some sort of strange transformation property under the action x -> (ax+b)/(cx+d) of the modular group SL(2\,Z) on the argument. This turned out to be only the beginning of a fascinating and multi-faceted story relating quantum invariants\, q-series\, modularity\, and many other topics. In the talk\, which is intended for a general mathematical audience\, I would like to recount some parts of this story\, which is joint work with Stavros Garoufalidis (and of course involving contributions from many other authors). The “new types of modularity” in the title refer to a specific byproduct of these investigations\, namely that there is a generalization of the classical notion of holomorphic modular form – which plays an absolutely central role in modern number theory – to a new class of holomorphic functions in the upper half-plane that no longer satisfy a transformation law under the action of the modular group\, but a weaker extendability property instead. This new class\, called “holomorphic quantum modular forms”\, turns out to contain many other functions of a more number-theoretical nature as well as the original examples coming from quantum invariants. \nTalk chair: Mark Kisin \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_zagier/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_-Zagier.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20201204T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20201204T093000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T114517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240216T211848Z
UID:10000902-1607068800-1607074200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Michael Atiyah: Geometry and Physics
DESCRIPTION:Nigel Hitchin (University of Oxford) \nTitle: Michael Atiyah: Geometry and Physics \nAbstract: In mid-career\, as an internationally renowned mathematician\, Michael Atiyah discovered that some problems in physics responded to current work in algebraic geometry and this set him on a path to develop an active interface between mathematics and physics which was formative in the links which are so active today. The talk will focus\, in a fairly basic fashion\, on some examples of this interaction\, which involved both applying physical ideas to solve mathematical problems and introducing mathematical ideas to physicists. \nTalk chair: Peter Kronheimer \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_hitchin/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Hitchin-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20201202T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20201202T093000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T114306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T192441Z
UID:10000901-1606896000-1606901400@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Is relativity compatible with quantum theory?
DESCRIPTION:Arthur Jaffe (Harvard University) \nTitle: Is relativity compatible with quantum theory? \nAbstract: We review the background\, mathematical progress\, and open questions in the effort to determine whether one can combine quantum mechanics\, special relativity\, and interaction together into one mathematical theory. This field of mathematics is known as “constructive quantum field theory.”  Physicists believe that such a theory describes experimental measurements made over a 70 year period and now refined to 13-decimal-point precision—the most accurate experiments ever performed. \nTalk chair: Zhengwei Liu \nVideo
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_jaffe/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Jaffe-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20201125T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20201125T103000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T114042Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200913Z
UID:10000900-1606294800-1606300200@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Theorems of Torelli type
DESCRIPTION:Eduard Jacob Neven Looijenga (Tsinghua University & Utrecht University) \nTitle: Theorems of Torelli type \nAbstract: Given a closed manifold of even dimension 2n\, then Hodge showed around 1950 that a  kählerian complex structure on that manifold determines a decomposition of its complex cohomology. This decomposition\, which can potentially vary continuously with the complex structure\, extracts from a non-linear given\,  linear data. It can contain a lot of information. When there is essentially no loss of data in this process\, we say that the Torelli theorem holds.  We review the underlying theory and then survey some cases where this is the case. This will include the classical case n=1\, but the emphasis will be on K3 manifolds (n=2) and more generally\, on hyperkählerian manifolds. These cases stand out\, since one can then also tell which decompositions occur. \nTalk chair: Gerard van der Geer \nVideo 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_looijenga/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Looijenga-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20201123T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20201123T113000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T113517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200851Z
UID:10000898-1606125600-1606131000@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Subfactors–in Memory of Vaughan Jones
DESCRIPTION:Zhengwei Liu (Tsinghua University) \nTitle: Subfactors–in Memory of Vaughan Jones \nAbstract: Jones initiated modern subfactor theory in the early 1980s and investigated this area for his whole academic life. Subfactor theory has both deep and broad connections with various areas in mathematics and physics. One well-known peak in the development of subfactor theory is the discovery of the Jones polynomial\, for which Jones won the Fields Medal in 1990. Let us travel back to the dark room at the beginning of the story\, to appreciate how radically our viewpoint has changed. \nTalk chair: Arthur Jaffe \nSlides | Video 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_liu/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Liu-pdf.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20201123T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20201123T093000
DTSTAMP:20260504T205406
CREATED:20230707T113744Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250328T200904Z
UID:10000899-1606118400-1606123800@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture: Noncommutative Geometry\, the Spectral Aspect
DESCRIPTION:Alain Connes (Collège de France) \nTitle: Noncommutative Geometry\, the Spectral Aspect \nAbstract: This talk will be a survey of the spectral side of noncommutative geometry\, presenting the new paradigm of spectral triples and showing its relevance for the fine structure of space-time\, its large scale structure and also in number theory in connection with the zeros of the Riemann zeta function. \nTalk chair: Peter Kronheimer \nVideo 
URL:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/event/cmsa-math-science-literature-lecture_connes/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Event,Math Science Literature Lecture Series,Public Lecture,Special Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cmsa.fas.harvard.edu/media/Lecture_Connes-pdf.jpeg
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