CMSA

Macroscopic properties of buyer-seller networks in online marketplaces
2021-11-18 17:52 - 18:52 (America/New_York) | MA
Abstract: Online marketplaces are the main engines of legal and illegal e-commerce, yet the aggregate properties of buyer-seller networks behind them are poorly understood. We analyse two datasets containing 245M transactions (16B USD) between 2010 and 2021 involving online marketplaces: 28 dark web marketplaces (DWM), unregulated markets whose main currency is Bitcoin, and 144 product markets of one regulated e-commerce platform. We show how transactions in online marketplaces exhibit strikingly similar patterns of aggregate behavior despite significant differences in language, products, time, regulation, oversight, and technology. We find remarkable regularities in the distributions of (i) transaction amounts, (ii) number of transactions, (iii) inter-event times, (iv) time between first and last transactions. We then show how buyer behavior is affected by the memory of past interactions, and draw on these observations to propose a model of network formation able to reproduce the main stylised facts of the data. Our findings have important implications for understanding market power on online marketplaces as well as inter-marketplace competition.

China’s financial regulatory reform, financial opening-up, and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
2021-11-19 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Member Seminar
Speaker: Kan Lin
Title: China’s financial regulatory reform, financial opening-up, and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
Abstract: In this talk, I will explain the overall situation of China’s financial industry and review the development of China’s financial regulatory system reform from 1949 to 2021. Then, I will explain the policies of the 3 stages of financial opening-up, 2001–08, 2008–18, 2018≠present. In particular, the latest round of opening-up from 2018 has brought great opportunities for foreign institutions. China has the world’s largest banking industry with assets totaling $53 trillion, and accounts for 1/3 of the growth in global insurance premiums over the next 10 years. I will also introduce the progress of research & development of China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC, or E-CNY). By October 2021, 140 million people had opened E-CNY wallets, and 1.6 million merchants could accept payments using eCNY wallets, including utilities, catering services, transportation, retail, and government services.

On Curvature Propagation and ‘Breakdown’ of the Einstein Equations on U(1) Symmetric Spacetimes
2021-11-19 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
strong>Abstract: The analysis of global structure of the Einstein equations for general relativity, in the context of the initial value problem, is a difficult and intricate mathematical subject. Any additional structure in their formulation is welcome, in order to alleviate the problem. It is expected that the initial value problem of the Einstein equations on spacetimes admitting a translational, fixed-point free, spatial U(1) isometry group are globally well-posed. In our previous works, we discussed the special structure provided by the dimensional reduction of 3+1 dimensional U(1) symmetric Einstein equations to 2+1 Einstein-wave map system and demonstrated global existence in the equivariant case for large data. In this talk, after discussing some preliminaries and background, we shall discuss about yet another structure of the U(1) symmetric Einstein equations, namely the analogy with Yang-Mills theory via the Cartan formalism and reconcile with the dimensionally reduced field equations. We shall also discuss implications for ‘breakdown’ criteria of U(1) symmetric Einstein equations.

Taming the Landscape
2021-11-22 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Abstract: In this talk I will introduce a generalized notion of finiteness that provides a structural principle for the set of effective theories that can be consistently coupled to quantum gravity. More concretely, I will propose a ‘tameness conjecture’ that states that all scalar field spaces and coupling functions that appear in such an effective theory must be definable in an o-minimal structure. The fascinating field of tame geometry has seen much recent progress and I will argue that the results can be used to support the above swampland conjecture. The strongest evidence arises from a new finiteness theorem for the flux landscape which is shown using the tameness of the period map.

Wall crossing for moduli of stable log varieties
2021-11-23 09:30 - 10:30 | MA

Prague dimension of random graphs
2021-11-23 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Abstract: The Prague dimension of graphs was introduced by Nesetril, Pultr and Rodl in the 1970s: as a combinatorial measure of complexity, it is closely related to clique edges coverings and partitions. Proving a conjecture of Furedi and Kantor, we show that the Prague dimension of the binomial random graph is typically of order n/(log n) for constant edge-probabilities. The main new proof ingredient is a Pippenger-Spencer type edge-coloring result for random hypergraphs with large uniformities, i.e., edges of size O(log n).

11/24/21 Quantum Matter in Mathematics and Physics
2021-11-24 10:30 - 12:00 | MA

Multipartitioning topological phases and quantum entanglement
2021-11-24 10:30 - 12:00 | Virtual
Speaker: Shinsei Ryu (Princeton University)
Title: Multipartitioning topological phases and quantum entanglement
Abstract: We discuss multipartitions of the gapped ground states of (2+1)-dimensional topological liquids into three (or more) spatial regions that are adjacent to each other and meet at points. By considering the reduced density matrix obtained by tracing over a subset of the regions, we compute various correlation measures, such as entanglement negativity, reflected entropy, and associated spectra. We utilize the bulk-boundary correspondence to achieve such multipartitions and construct the reduced density matrix near the entangling boundaries. We find the fingerprints of topological liquid in these quantities, such as (universal pieces in) the scaling of the entanglement negativity, and a non-trivial distribution of the spectrum of the partially transposed density matrix.

Quantum cohomology as a deformation of symplectic cohomology
2021-11-24 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
Abstract: Let X be a compact symplectic manifold, and D a normal crossings symplectic divisor in X. We give a criterion under which the quantum cohomology of X is the cohomology of a natural deformation of the symplectic cochain complex of X D. The criterion can be thought of in terms of the Kodaira dimension of X (which should be non-positive), and the log Kodaira dimension of X D (which should be non-negative). We will discuss applications to mirror symmetry. This is joint work with Strom Borman and Umut Varolgunes.

Scale separated AdS vacua?
2021-11-29 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Abstract: In this talk I will review massive type IIA flux compactifications that seem to give rise to infinite families of supersymmetric 4d AdS vacua. These vacua provide an interesting testing ground for the swampland program. After reviewing potential shortcomings of this setup, I will discuss recent progress on overcoming them and getting a better understanding of these solutions.

K_2 and Quantum Curves
2021-11-30 09:30 - 10:30 | Virtual

Resistance curvature – a new discrete curvature on graphs
2021-11-30 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Abstract: The last few decades have seen a surge of interest in building towards a theory of discrete curvature that attempts to translate the key properties of curvature in differential geometry to the setting of discrete objects and spaces. In the case of graphs there have been several successful proposals, for instance by Lin-Lu-Yau, Forman and Ollivier, that replicate important curvature theorems and have inspired applications in a variety of practical settings.
In this talk, I will introduce a new notion of discrete curvature on graphs, which we call the resistance curvature, and discuss some of its basic properties. The resistance curvature is defined based on the concept of effective resistance which is a metric between the vertices of a graph and has many other properties such as a close relation to random spanning trees. The rich theory of these effective resistances allows to study the resistance curvature in great detail; I will for instance show that “Lin-Lu-Yau >= resistance >= Forman curvature” in a specific sense, show strong evidence that the resistance curvature converges to zero in expectation for Euclidean random graphs, and give a connectivity theorem for positively curved graphs. The resistance curvature also has a naturally associated discrete Ricci flow which is a gradient flow and has a closed-form solution in the case of vertex-transitive and path graphs.
Finally, if time permits I will draw a connection with the geometry of hyperacute simplices, following the work of Miroslav Fiedler.
This work was done in collaboration with Renaud Lambiotte.

The Hitchin connection for parabolic G-bundles
2021-12-01 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Speaker: Richard Wentworth, University of Maryland
Title: The Hitchin connection for parabolic G-bundles
Abstract: For a simple and simply connected complex group G, I will discuss some elements of the proof of the existence of a flat projective connection on the bundle of nonabelian theta functions on the moduli space of semistable parabolic G-bundles over families of smooth projective curves with marked points. Under the isomorphism with the bundle of conformal blocks, this connection is equivalent to the one constructed by conformal field theory. This is joint work with Indranil Biswas and Swarnava Mukhopadhyay.

12/1/21 Quantum Matter in Mathematics and Physics
2021-12-01 10:00 - 11:30 | MA

The Principles of Deep Learning Theory
2021-12-01 14:00 - 14:30 | Virtual
Speaker: Dan Roberts, MIT & Salesforce
Title: The Principles of Deep Learning Theory
Abstract: Deep learning is an exciting approach to modern artificial intelligence based on artificial neural networks. The goal of this talk is to provide a blueprint — using tools from physics — for theoretically analyzing deep neural networks of practical relevance. This task will encompass both understanding the statistics of initialized deep networks and determining the training dynamics of such an ensemble when learning from data.
In terms of their “microscopic” definition, deep neural networks are a flexible set of functions built out of many basic computational blocks called neurons, with many neurons in parallel organized into sequential layers. Borrowing from the effective theory framework, we will develop a perturbative 1/n expansion around the limit of an infinite number of neurons per layer and systematically integrate out the parameters of the network. We will explain how the network simplifies at large width and how the propagation of signals from layer to layer can be understood in terms of a Wilsonian renormalization group flow. This will make manifest that deep networks have a tuning problem, analogous to criticality, that needs to be solved in order to make them useful. Ultimately we will find a “macroscopic” description for wide and deep networks in terms of weakly-interacting statistical models, with the strength of the interactions between the neurons growing with depth-to-width aspect ratio of the network. Time permitting, we will explain how the interactions induce representation learning.
This talk is based on a book, The Principles of Deep Learning Theory, co-authored with Sho Yaida and based on research also in collaboration with Boris Hanin. It will be published next year by Cambridge University Press.

Lagrangians and mirror symmetry in the Higgs bundle moduli space
2021-12-01 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
Abstract: The talk concerns recent work with Tamas Hausel in asking how SYZ mirror symmetry works for the moduli space of Higgs bundles. Focusing on C^*-invariant Lagrangian submanifolds, we use the notion of virtual multiplicity as a tool firstly to examine if the Lagrangian is closed, but also to open up new features involving finite-dimensional algebras which are deformations of cohomology algebras. Answering some of the questions raised requires revisiting basic constructions of stable bundles on curves.

12/2/21 Quantum Matter in Mathematics and Physics
2021-12-02 10:30 - 12:00 | MA

Symmetry in quantum field theory and quantum gravity 2
2021-12-02 10:30 - 12:00 | MA
Speaker: Daniel Harlow (MIT)
Title: Symmetry in quantum field theory and quantum gravity 2
Abstract: In this talk I will give an overview of semi-recent work with Hirosi Ooguri arguing that three old conjectures about symmetry in quantum gravity are true in the AdS/CFT correspondence. These conjectures are 1) that there are no global symmetries in quantum gravity, 2) that dynamical objects transforming in all irreducible representations of any gauge symmetry must exist, and 3) all internal gauge symmetries must be compact. Along the way I will need to carefully define what we mean by gauge and global symmetries in quantum field theory and quantum gravity, which leads to interesting applications in various related fields. These definitions will be the focus of the first talk, while the second will apply them to AdS/CFT to prove conjectures 1-3).

Kerr Geodesics and Self-consistent match between Inspiral and Transition-to-merger
2021-12-02 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Abstract: The two-body motion in General Relativity can be solved perturbatively in the small mass ratio expansion. Kerr geodesics describe the leading order motion. After a short summary of the classification of polar and radial Kerr geodesic motion, I will consider the inspiral motion of a point particle around the Kerr black hole subjected to the self-force. I will describe its quasi-circular inspiral motion in the radiation timescale expansion. I will describe in parallel the transition-to-merger motion around the last stable circular orbit and prove that it is controlled by the Painlevé transcendental equation of the first kind. I will then prove that one can consistently match the two motions using the method of asymptotically matched expansions.

Hydrodynamics and multi-scale order in confluent epithelia
2021-12-02 13:15 - 14:30 | MA
Abstract: In this talk I will review our ongoing theoretical and experimental efforts toward deciphering the hydrodynamic behavior of confluent epithelia. The ability of epithelial cells to collectively flow lies at the heart of a myriad of processes that are instrumental for life, such as embryonic morphogenesis and wound healing, but also of life-threatening conditions, such as metastatic cancer. Understanding the physical origin of these mechanisms requires going beyond the current hydrodynamic theories of complex fluids and introducing a new theoretical framework, able to account for biomechanical activity as well as for scale-dependent liquid crystalline order.

12/2/2021 Interdisciplinary Science Seminar
2021-12-02 14:28 - 15:28 | MA
Title: Polyhomogeneous expansions and Z/2-harmonic spinors branching along graphs
Abstract: In this talk, we will first reformulate the linearization of the moduli space of Z/2-harmonic spinorsv branching along a knot. This formula tells us that the kernel and cokernel of the linearization are isomorphic to the kernel and cokernel of the Dirac equation with a polyhomogeneous boundary condition. In the second part of this talk, I will describe the polyhomogenous expansions for the Z/2-harmonic spinors branching along graphs and formulate the Dirac equation with a suitable boundary condition that can describe the perturbation of graphs with some restrictions. This is joint work with Andriy Haydys and Rafe Mazzeo.

Black Holes, 2D Gravity, and Random Matrices
2021-12-03 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Member Seminar
Speaker: Dan Kapec
Title: Black Holes, 2D Gravity, and Random Matrices
Abstract: I will discuss old and new connections between black hole physics, 2D quantum gravity, and random matrix theory. Black holes are believed to be very complicated, strongly interacting quantum mechanical systems, and certain aspects of their Hamiltonians should be well approximated by random matrix theory. The near-horizon effective dynamics of near-extremal black holes is two-dimensional, and many theories of 2D quantum gravity are known to have random matrix descriptions. All of these expectations were recently borne out in surprising detail with the solution of the Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) model, but this result raises more questions than it answers. If time permits, I will discuss some extensions of these results and possible future directions.

Extremal Black Hole Corrections from Iyer-Wald
2021-12-06 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Abstract: Extremal black holes play a key role in our understanding of various swampland conjectures and in particular the WGC. The mild form of the WGC states that higher-derivative corrections should decrease the mass of extremal black holes at fixed charge. Whether or not this conjecture is satisfied depends on the sign of the combination of Wilson coefficients that control corrections to extremality. Typically, corrections to extremality need to be computed on a case-by-case basis, but in this talk I will present a universal derivation of extremal black hole corrections using the Iyer-Wald formalism. This leads to a formula that expresses general corrections to the extremality bound in terms of the stress tensor of the perturbations under consideration, clarifying the relation between the WGC and energy conditions. This shows that a necessary condition for the mild form of the WGC to be satisfied is a violation of the Dominant Energy Condition. This talk is based on 2111.04201.

2d N=(0,1) gauge theories, Spin(7) orientifolds and triality
2021-12-07 09:30 - 10:30 | Virtual

The singularity probability of random symmetric matrices
2021-12-07 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Abstract: Let M_n be drawn uniformly from all n by n symmetric matrices with entries in {-1,1}. In this talk I’ll consider the following basic question: what is the probability that M_n is singular? I’ll discuss recent joint work with Marcelo Campos, Marcus Michelen and Julian Sahasrabudhe where we show that this probability is exponentially small. I hope to make the talk accessible to a fairly general audience.

Induced subgraphs and tree decompositions
2021-12-08 09:30 - 10:30 | MA
Speaker: Maria Chudnovsky, Princeton
Title: Induced subgraphs and tree decompositions
Abstract: Tree decompositions are a powerful tool in both structural
graph theory and graph algorithms. Many hard problems become tractable if the input graph is known to have a tree decomposition of bounded “width”. Exhibiting a particular kind of a tree decomposition is also a useful way to describe the structure of a graph.
Tree decompositions have traditionally been used in the context of forbidden graph minors; bringing them into the realm of forbidden induced subgraphs has until recently remained out of reach. Over the last couple of years we have made significant progress in this direction, exploring both the classical notion of bounded tree-width, and concepts of more structural flavor. This talk will survey some of these ideas and results.

Defects, link invariants and exact WKB
2021-12-08 10:30 - 12:00 | Virtual
Speaker: Fei Yan (Rutgers)
Title: Defects, link invariants and exact WKB
Abstract: I will describe some of my recent work on defects in supersymmetric field theories. The first part of my talk is focused on line defects in certain large classes of 4d N=2 theories and 3d N=2 theories. I will describe geometric methods to compute the ground states spectrum of the bulk-defect system, as well as implications on the construction of link invariants. In the second part I will talk about some perspectives of surface defects in 4d N=2 theories and related applications on the exact WKB method for ordinary differential equations. This talk is based on past joint work with A. Neitzke, various work in progress with D. Gaiotto, S. Jeong, A. Khan, G. Moore, as well as work by myself.

Hierarchical Transformers are More Efficient Language Models
2021-12-08 14:00 - 15:00 | Virtual
Speaker: Piotr Nawrot, University of Warsaw
Title: Hierarchical Transformers are More Efficient Language Models
Abstract: Transformer models yield impressive results on many NLP and sequence modeling tasks. Remarkably, Transformers can handle long sequences which allows them to produce long coherent outputs: full paragraphs produced by GPT-3 or well-structured images produced by DALL-E. These large language models are impressive but also very inefficient and costly, which limits their applications and accessibility. We postulate that having an explicit hierarchical architecture is the key to Transformers that efficiently handle long sequences. To verify this claim, we first study different ways to upsample and downsample activations in Transformers so as to make them hierarchical. We use the best performing upsampling and downsampling layers to create Hourglass – a hierarchical Transformer language model. Hourglass improves upon the Transformer baseline given the same amount of computation and can yield the same results as Transformers more efficiently. In particular, Hourglass sets new state-of-the-art for Transformer models on the ImageNet32 generation task and improves language modeling efficiency on the widely studied enwik8 benchmark.

CMSA Math-Science Literature Lecture - Karen Uhlenbeck
2021-12-09 09:30 - 14:30 | Virtual
Karen Uhlenbeck (Institute for Advanced Study)
Title: The Noether Theorems in Geometry: Then and Now
Abstract: 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.
Talk Chair: Laura DeMarco
VIDEO

12/9/21 Interdisciplinary Science Seminar
2021-12-09 14:29 - 15:29 | MA
Title: Numerical Higher Dimensional Geometry
Abstract: In 1977, Yau proved that a Kahler manifold with zero first Chern class admits a Ricci flat metric, which is uniquely determined by certain “moduli” data. These metrics have been very important in mathematics and in theoretical physics, but despite much subsequent work we have no analytical expressions for them. But significant progress has been made on computing numerical approximations. We give an introduction (not assuming knowledge of complex geometry) to these problems and describe these methods.
