University of Georgia
Mathematics Department Colloquium
Joseph M. Landsberg
Universit\'e Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
November 4, 1999
Complex Lie algebras and Freudenthal's magic
square via geometry
Abstract: I will explain how one can construct the complex simple Lie
algebras using elementary differential and algebraic geometry, and
new results about homogeneous varieties obtained with these
constructions. The results include desingularizations of orbit closures
in the spirit of Kempf, and rigidity/deformation properties of classes of
homogeneous varieties. I'll also explain connections with the "universal"
Lie algebras conjectured by Deligne and Vogel.