Seminar Schedule
October 25 - 29, 2004

All Seminars are held in Boyd Graduate Studies Bldg. unless otherwise noted.

MONDAY, October 25, 2004

Algebra
2:30-3:30p.m., Room 410
Speaker: Brian Boe, University of Georgia
Title of talk: Cohomology from Graphs
Abstract: I will describe how to associate a "moment graph" to a complex algebraic variety X having an action by an algebraic torus T. Following Braden-MacPherson (and earlier work of Goresky-Kottwitz-MacPherson) I will show how to construct "sheaves" attached to a moment graph, whose global sections give the intersection cohomology of X (T-equivariant or not) or the ordinary cohomology of X (T-equivariant or not), and whose stalks give local versions of these cohomology theories. In particular, if X is a Schubert variety, this gives a new algorithm for computing the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials associated to X.

Finally, I will discuss an ongoing project (in its very preliminary stages) to describe conditions on an "abstract moment graph" (not necessarily associated to a variety) which will ensure that the associated cohomology rings have good properties (joint with Bill Graham and Markus Hunziker).

I will describe all these ideas very concretely in the context of a simple example (projective space), so the talk will definitely be "G" rated -- suitable for graduate students.

Probability Theory
2:45-4:00pm, Room 302
Speaker: Q. Zhang, University of Georgia
Title of talk: Trillion Dollar Bet (Video)

Faculty and Graduate Social
3:00 p.m., Room 409
Coffee, Cookies, Tea

VIGRE Algebraic Geometry Group
3:30-4:30 p.m., Room 304

Topology
3:30-4:30pm, Room 326
Speaker: Gordana Matic, University of Georgia
Title of talk: Ozsvath-Szabo invariants (cont)

Lie Theory
3:30p.m., Room 303
No Meeting this week

TUESDAY, October 26, 2004

VIGRE Graduate Student Seminar
2:00p.m., Room 304
Speaker: Valerie Cormani, UGA
Title: Groebner Bases
Abstract: Groebner Bases are extremely useful in many areas of mathematics including commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, and combinatorics. I will introduce groebner bases and give plenty of examples. As an application, I will discuss one way to degenerate the Grassmanian to a toric variety using techniques of Groebner Bases. This talk will be accessable to all first year graduate students.

Dynamics on Berkovich Space
3:30-5:30p.m., Room 326
Speaker: Robert Rumely, University of Georgia
Title of talk: The structure of the Fatou Set of a rational function

Analysis Seminar
2:00p.m., Room 410
Speaker: Michael Lacey, Georgia Tech
Title of talk: An inequality of Talagrand
Abstract: We will explore a lovely, elementary inequality of Talagrand (1993) for Haar functions on the plane.
This inequality is trivial in one dimension; has an elementary proof in two dimensions; and is unknown in three dimensions.
It is related to covering numbers for functions of square integrable mixed derivatives, and certain questions in probability.

WEDNESDAY, October 27, 2004

Algebraic Geometry
2:30-3:45 p.m., Room 410
No Meeting this week

VIGRE – Cardiac Physiology
2:30p.m., Room 323

VIGRE – Clifford Algebras
2:30p.m., Room 322

Faculty and Graduate Social
3:00 p.m., Room 409
Coffee, Cookies, Tea

Number Theory
3:45-5:15pm, Room 304
No Meeting this week

THURSDAY, October 28, 2004

Fall Break

FRIDAY, October 29, 2004

Fall Break