Geometry Seminar

This weekly seminar aims to explore various types of modern geometries and the intricate relations between them, Mirror Symmetry being a prototypical example of such, from overviews of classical results to state-of-the-art breakthroughs, with an emphasis on the open problems and current gaps of knowledge. The scope for the first few months includes topics in algebraic, symplectic, tropical, non-Archimedean, and derived geometries. Our seminar operates with a flexible and dynamic structure, without a strict long-term program, where the subject of the oncoming session is decided on the spot by participants. A typical length of a presentation is expected to be from one to two hours, with the possibility of an extension for a free discussion.

Talks list

Tropical compactifications of moduli spaces – part 2, a talk by Lionel Lang

The Geometry Seminar of the ICMS presents a talk by Lionel Lang (University of Gävle). On 04.12.2024, 16:00, Sofia time he will describe various tropical compactifications of the moduli spaces of curves. He will discuss some motivations and applications coming from tropical geometry (joint with M. Melo, J. Rau and F. Viviani).

Categories: Geometry Seminar, News|

Tropical compactifications of moduli spaces – part one, a talk by Lionel Lang

The Geometry Seminar of the ICMS presents a talk by Lionel Lang (University of Gävle). On 27.11.2024, 16:00, Sofia time he will describe various tropical compactifications of the moduli spaces of curves. He will discuss some motivations and applications coming from tropical geometry (joint with M. Melo, J. Rau and F. Viviani).

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Hyperbolic amoebas, a talk by Mikhail Shkolnikov

Classical amoebas serve as a tool to study algebraic varieties and as one of the entry points to tropical geometry. The original definition involves a logarithmic projection of a subvariety of a complex algebraic torus, which can be interpreted as forgetting the phase, i.e. the arguments of complex numbers. In group-theoretic terms, this projection map may be thought of as passing to the quotient by the maximal compact subgroup. Suppose one replaces the algebraic torus with a complex three-dimensional matrix group $PSL_2 \mathbb{C}$. In that case, the analogous projection naturally has a three-dimensional hyperbolic space as its target, and it still makes sense to consider images, i.e. hyperbolic amoebas, of complex algebraic varieties under this map. I will review some of the basic properties of hyperbolic amoebas, extending a fascinating interplay between complex and hyperbolic geometries.

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Generalised Plucker formula, by Andrei Benguş-Lasnier

In order to classify objects in singularity theory and algebraic geometry, we define invariants associated to varieties or germs of singularities and hope to have enough tools to compute them easily. From classical projective duality, for any variety X, we can define a dual variety X∗ and we call the class of X the degree of X∗. Plücker’s formula allows one to compute this class for plane curves with a certain set of nodes, cusps and tacnodes.

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Reading seminar of geometric Lubin-Tate theory, by Jiachang Xu – part III

In the last few decades, Berkovich’s theory of k -analytic space has extended classic rigid geometry. Since k -analytic space has good topological properties, and the Berkovich analytification of algebraic varieties could be also dealt with via the geometry of the model and it has a strong connection with tropical geometry, this allows us to use the combinatorial techniques to study algebraic varieties. Our lectures will mainly discuss the contents of Berkovich space and its application in other aspects of mathematics, we plan to go over the basic properties of Berkovich space in both algebraic and topological ways for the first lecture. 

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Reading seminar of geometric Lubin-Tate theory, by Jiachang Xu – part II

In the last few decades, Berkovich’s theory of k -analytic space has extended classic rigid geometry. Since k -analytic space has good topological properties, and the Berkovich analytification of algebraic varieties could be also dealt with via the geometry of the model and it has a strong connection with tropical geometry, this allows us to use the combinatorial techniques to study algebraic varieties. Our lectures will mainly discuss the contents of Berkovich space and its application in other aspects of mathematics, we plan to go over the basic properties of Berkovich space in both algebraic and topological ways for the first lecture. 

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Reading seminar of geometric Lubin-Tate theory, by Jiachang Xu – part I

In the last few decades, Berkovich’s theory of k -analytic space has extended classic rigid geometry. Since k -analytic space has good topological properties, and the Berkovich analytification of algebraic varieties could be also dealt with via the geometry of the model and it has a strong connection with tropical geometry, this allows us to use the combinatorial techniques to study algebraic varieties. Our lectures will mainly discuss the contents of Berkovich space and its application in other aspects of mathematics, we plan to go over the basic properties of Berkovich space in both algebraic and topological ways for the first lecture. 

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Ellipsoid superpotentials: obstructing symplectic embeddings by singular algebraic curves, a talk by Grigory Mikhalkin

How singular can be a local branch of a plane algebraic curve of a given degree d? A remarkable series of real algebraic curves was constructed by Stepan Orevkov. It is based on even-indexed numbers in the Fibonacci series: a degree 5 curve with a 13/2 cusp, a degree 13 curve with a 34/5-cusp, and so on. We discuss this and other series of algebraic curves in the context of the problem of symplectic packing of an ellipsoid into a ball...

Categories: Geometry Seminar, News|

Linear embeddings of complex Grassmannians, a talk by Ivan Penkov

A linear embedding of Grassmannians, one of which could possibly be isotropic, is an embedding which respects the generators of Picard groups. Several years ago A.S. Tikhomirov and I classified such embeddings when both Grassmannians are simultaneously usual Grassmannians or isotropic Grassmannians of the same type(orthogonal or symplectic). In this talk I will discuss also the mixed case. A classification as above has an application to the classification of infinite-dimensional linear ind-Grassmannians, and I shall  briefly explain this at the end of the talk.

Categories: Geometry Seminar|

Refined curve counting, a talk by Mikhail Shkolnikov

Refining an enumerative problem upgrades the numerical solution to a polynomial so that its specialization gives the original number. A prototypical example of such refinement arises in the tropical curve counting from replacing Mikhalkin multiplicities, corresponding to counting complex curves, with Block-Goettsche multiplicities. I will speak about the invariance of this count and its various interpretations.

Categories: Geometry Seminar|
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