Fall, 2009

Fall, 2009

  • Speaker Birne Binegar, Oklahoma State University
    • Title W-Cells, Nilpotent Orbits, Primitive Ideals and Weyl Group Representations
    • Time/place 9/11/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 423
    • Abstract Let $G$ be the real points of a connected linear reductive complex algebraic group defined over $\mathbb{R}$ and let $\widehat {G}_{adm,\lambda}$ be the set of equivalences classes of irreducible admissible representations of $G$ of infinitesimal character $\lambda$, which we assume to be regular and integral. The Atlas software enumerates the representations in $\widehat{G}_{adm,\lambda}$, and computes the Kazhdan-Lusztig-Vogan polynomials $P_{x,y}\left( q\right) $ which not only prescribe the Jordan-H\"older decomposition of standard modules in terms of the irreducibles in $\widehat{G}_{\lambda,adm}$, the KLV polnomials can also be used to endow the set $\widehat{G}_{adm,\lambda}$ with the structure of a $W$-graph, a certain weighted directed graph. The strongly connected components of this $W$-graph are W-cells. In this talk I will describe how the weighted graph structure of an W-cell $\mathcal{C}$ allows one to compute the (common) associated variety of the annihilators of the representations in $\mathcal{C}$ and, moreover, allows one to determine exactly when two representations $x,y\in\mathcal{C}$ share the same annihilator.

  • Speaker Christopher Sadowski, Rutgers University
    • Title On a symmetry of the category of integrable modules (joint work with Bill Cook)
    • Time/place 9/18/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 423
    • Abstract This will be an introductory talk.
      Haisheng Li showed that given a module (W, Y_W(\cdot, x)) for a vertex algebra (V, Y (\cdot, x)), one can obtain a new V-module W^{\Delta}= (W, Y_W(\Delta(x)\cdot, x)) if \Delta(x) satisfies certain natural conditions. Li presented a collection of such \Delta-operators for V=L(k, 0) (a vertex operator algebra associated with an affine Lie algebra, k a positive integer). In a joint paper with Bill Cook, for each irreducible L(k, 0)-module W, I find a highest weight vector of W^{\Delta} when \Delta is associated with a minuscule coweight. From this we completely determine the action of these \Delta-operators on the set of isomorphism equivalence classes of L(k, 0)-modules.

  • Speaker Lev Borisov, Rutgers University
    • Title In search of families of dg-algebras related to resolutions of Gorenstein toric singularities
    • Time/place 10/2/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract A Gorenstein toric singularity can be described by simple combinatorial data, namely a convex polytope $P$ in ${\bf Z}^n$ with integer vertices. Different triangulations of $P$ with vertices given by integer points of $P$ give rise to different resolutions of the singularity. It has been shown that bounded derived categories of coherent sheaves on these resolutions are equivalent. It is reasonable to expect that there is in fact a continuous family of triangulated categories that includes these categories as its limit points. This is very much work in progress, and the main questions are still wide open. It is my hope that by bringing this problem to your attention I can inspire someone to find such construction.

  • Speaker Vladimir Retakh, Rutgers University
    • Title Towards noncommutative cluster algebras
    • Time/place 10/9/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract Commutative cluster algebras were introduced by Fomin and Zelevinsky in 2002. they appeared to be very useful in many areas of representations theory. In my talk I will discuss a number of examples that could lead to a theory of noncommutative cluster algebras.

  • Speaker Alex Feigold, Binghamton University, State University of New York
    • Title A New Perspective on the Frenkel-Zhu Fusion Rule Theorem
    • Time/place 10/16/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract Fusion rules are analogous to tensor product multiplicities, and play an important role in conformal field theory. They are dimensions of spaces of intertwining operators determined by a triple of irreducible modules for a vertex operator algebra. An important class of examples, known in physics as Wess-Zumino-Witten models, comes from the theory of affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras, where the modules are the standard modules of a fixed non-negative integral level. This talk is an exposition of joint work with Stefan Fredenhagen (2008) in which we prove a formula for fusion coefficients of affine Kac-Moody algebras first conjectured by Walton (1994). It is a reformulation of the Frenkel-Zhu affine fusion rule theorem (1992), written so that it can be seen as a beautiful generalization of the classical Parasarathy-Ranga Rao-Varadarajan tensor product theorem (1967).

  • Speaker Nigel Boston, University of Wisconsin
    • Title Random Groups and Random Galois Groups
    • Time/place 10/23/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract In analogy to work of Dunfield and Thurston in topology, we computed the probability that a random pro-p presentation will yield a given p-group G. Now in joint work with Jordan Ellenberg we give a heuristic for the probability that the maximal pro-p extension of Q unramified outside a random set of primes will have Galois group G. This is guided by the Cohen-Lenstra heuristics and the theory of pro-p braid groups.

  • Speaker Georgia Benkart, University of Wisconsin
    • Title Quantum sl(2) and Temperley-Lieb-type Combinatorics
    • Time/place 10/30/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract This talk will feature various algebras of diagrams (some old, some new) that have beautiful algebraic and combinatorial properties and are related to the representation theory of quantum sl(2).

  • Speaker Dmitry Gourevitch, Institute for Advanced Study
    • Title Smooth Transfer of Kloosterman Integrals (the Archimedean case)
    • Time/place 11/6/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract We establish the existence of a transfer, which is compatible with Kloosterman integrals, between Schwartz functions on GL(n,R) and Schwartz functions on the variety of non-degenerate Hermitian forms. Namely, we consider an integral of a Schwartz function on GL(n,R) along the orbits of the two sided action of the groups of upper and lower unipotent matrices twisted by a non-degenerate character. This gives a smooth function on the torus. We prove that the space of all functions obtained in such a way coincides with the space that is constructed analogously when GL(n,R) is replaced with the variety of non-degenerate hermitian forms. We also obtain similar results for gl(n,R). This theorem is important in the relative trace formula.

      The non-Archimedean case is done by Jacquet in 2003 and our proof follows the same lines. However we had to face serious additional difficulties that appear only in the Archimedean case.

  • Speaker Zhenghan Wang, Microsoft and University of California at Santa Barbara
    • Title CFT, MTC, and FQH states
    • Time/place 11/13/2009, Friday, 11:55 am in Hill 425 (Note that the seminar will start at 11:55 am instead of 11:45 am)
    • Abstract We will discuss the CFT approach to groundstate wavefunctions of electrons in fractional quantum Hall (FQH) liquids initiated by G. Moore and N. Read in 1991. In this approach, groundstates of an electron liquid are given by conformal blocks of a rational CFT, and the topological properties of the quasi-particles are described by the associated modular tensor category. Open problems include the Moore-Read Holo=Mono conjecture, and classifications of FQH states.

  • Speaker Haisheng Li, Rutgers University, Camden
    • Title Vertex algebras associated with elliptic affine Lie algebras
    • Time/place 12/4/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract Elliptic affine Lie algebras, similar to the usual affine Lie algebras, are a family of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras associated to finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras. It has been long known that affine Lie algebras have a canonical association with vertex algebras and their modules. In this talk, we will show how to associate elliptic affine Lie algebras with what are called vertex $\C((z))$-algebras and their modules in a certain category.

  • Speaker Jochen Heinloth, University of Amsterdam (talk canceled)
    • Title Moduli spaces of bundles related to twisted loop groups
    • Time/place 12/11/2009, Friday, 11:45 am in Hill 425
    • Abstract The geometry of moduli spaces of bundles on Riemann surfaces is closely related to the geometry of loop groups. Pappas and Rapoport, motivated by their study of twisted affine flag manifolds - suggested a class of moduli spaces that should include spaces having the same relation to twisted loop groups.

      In this talk I would like to motivate the setup of their conjectures by some explicit examples and explain why the flexibility of the general setup can be very useful to prove some of the conjectures.