• CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture: Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians: Auction Theory

    Virtual

    Eric Maskin (Harvard University) Three Introductory Lectures on Game Theory for Mathematicians April 22, 2022 | 9:30 – 11:00 am ET Title: Auction Theory Abstract: 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 […]

  • Higgs = SPT

    CMSA 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11vWx0H-PKs&list=PL0NRmB0fnLJQAnYwkpt9PN2PBKx4rvdup&index=14 Speaker: Ruben Verresen Title: Higgs = SPT Abstract: The Higgs phase of a gauge theory is important to both fundamental physics (e.g., electroweak theory) as well as condensed matter systems (superconductors and other emergent phenomena). However, such a charge condensate seems subtle and is sometimes described as the spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry (or a […]

  • Algebraic Statistics with a View towards Physics

    Abstract: We discuss the algebraic geometry of maximum likelihood estimation from the perspective of scattering amplitudes in particle physics. A guiding examples the moduli space of n-pointed rational curves. The scattering potential plays the role of the log-likelihood function, and its critical points are solutions to rational function equations. Their number is an Euler characteristic. Soft […]

  • Modularity of mirror families of log Calabi–Yau surfaces

    Virtual

    Abstract:   In “Mirror symmetry for log Calabi–Yau surfaces I,” given a smooth log Calabi–Yau surface pair (Y,D), Gross–Hacking–Keel constructed its mirror family as the spectrum of an explicit algebra whose structure coefficients are determined by the enumerative geometry of (Y,D). As a follow-up of the work of Gross–Hacking–Keel, when (Y,D) is positive, we prove the […]

  • Workshop on Nonlinear Algebra and Combinatorics from Physics

    CMSA 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    On April 27–29, 2022, the CMSA hosted a workshop on Nonlinear Algebra and Combinatorics. Organizers: Bernd Sturmfels (MPI Leipzig) and Lauren Williams (Harvard). In recent years, ideas from integrable systems and scattering amplitudes have led to advances in nonlinear algebra and combinatorics. In this short workshop, aimed at younger participants in the field, we will […]

  • Long common subsequences between bit-strings and the zero-rate threshold of deletion-correcting codes

    Speaker: Venkatesan Guruswami, UC Berkeley Title: Long common subsequences between bit-strings and the zero-rate threshold of deletion-correcting codes Abstract: Suppose we transmit n bits on a noisy channel that deletes some fraction of the bits arbitrarily. What’s the supremum p* of deletion fractions that can be corrected with a binary code of non-vanishing rate? Evidently p* is at […]

  • Aspects of 4d supersymmetric dynamics and geometry

    Virtual

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6_RbJS8CoM&list=PL0NRmB0fnLJQAnYwkpt9PN2PBKx4rvdup&index=14&t=2s Abstract: We will overview the program of geometrically engineering four dimensional supersymmetric QFTs as compactifications of six dimensional SCFTs. In particular we will discuss how strong coupling phenomena in four dimensions, such as duality and emergence of symmetry, can be better understood in such geometric constructions.

  • Building active nematic and active polar liquids out of biological machines

    Virtual

    Speaker: Guillaume Duclos (Brandeis) Title: Building active nematic and active polar liquids out of biological machines Abstract: Active matter describes out-of-equilibrium materials composed of motile building blocks that convert free energy into mechanical work. The continuous input of energy at the particle scale liberates these systems from the constraints of thermodynamic equilibrium, leading to emergent collective behaviors not found in passive materials. In this talk, I […]

  • Intersection number and systole on hyperbolic surfaces

    Abstract: Let X be a compact hyperbolic surface. We can see that there is a constant C(X) such that the intersection number of the closed geodesics is  \leq C(X) times the product of their lengths. Consider the optimum constant C(X). In this talk, we describe its asymptotic behavior in terms of systole,  length of the shortest […]

  • A new proof for the nonlinear stability of slowly-rotating Kerr-de Sitter

    Abstract: The nonlinear stability of the slowly-rotating Kerr-de Sitter family was first proven by Hintz and Vasy in 2016 using microlocal techniques. In my talk, I will present a novel proof of the nonlinear stability of slowly-rotating Kerr-de Sitter spacetimes that avoids frequency-space techniques outside of a neighborhood of the trapped set. The proof uses […]

  • Machine Learning the Gravity Equation for International Trade

    Virtual

    Member Seminar Speaker: Sergiy Verstyuk Title: Machine Learning the Gravity Equation for International Trade Abstract: We will go through modern deep learning methods and existing approaches to their interpretation. Next, I will describe a graph neural network framework. You will also be introduced to an economic analog of gravity. Finally, we will see how these […]

  • General Relativity Workshop

    CMSA 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    General Relativity Workshop on scalar curvature, minimal surfaces, and initial data sets Dates: May 2–5, 2022 Location: Room G10, CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138 and via Zoom webinar. Advanced registration for in-person components is required. Organizers: Dan Lee (CMSA/CUNY), Martin Lesourd (CMSA/BHI), and Lan-Hsuan Huang (University of Connecticut). Speakers: Zhongshan An, University of Connecticut […]