Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Tuesday, September 25th, 2018

Time: 10:00 a.m.  Place: Jeffery Hall 422

Speaker: Neha Prabhu (Queen's University)

Title: The error term in the Sato-Tate theorem of Birch.

Abstract: In 1968, Birch proved a vertical analogue of the Sato-Tate conjecture for elliptic curves showing the asymptotic behaviour of $a_E(p)$, a quantity associated to an elliptic curve $E$ mod p. An error term for this result was obtained by Banks and Shparlinski in 2009 using the results of Katz and Neiderreiter. In this talk, we shall see that this error term can also be obtained in an elementary fashion using ideas in Birch's paper. This is joint work with Ram Murty.

Friday, September 21st, 2018

Time: 2:30 p.m.  Place: Jeffery Hall 234

Speaker: Boris Levit (Queen's University)

Title: Optimal Cardinal Interpolation in Approximation Theory, Nonparametric Regression, and Optimal Design

Abstract: For the Hardy classes of functions analytic in the strip around real axis of a size $2\beta$, an optimal method of cardinal interpolation has been proposed within the framework of Optimal Recovery. It will be shown that this method, based on the Jacobi elliptic functions, is also optimal according to the criteria of Nonparametric Regression and Optimal Design. In a stochastic non-asymptotic setting, the maximal mean squared error of the optimal interpolant is evaluated explicitly, for all noise levels away from $0$. A pivotal role is played by the interference effect, in which the oscillations exhibited by the interpolant's bias and variance mutually cancel each other. In the limiting case $\beta \rightarrow \infty $, the optimal interpolant converges to the well known Nyquist-Shannon cardinal sampling series.

Thursday, September 20th, 2018

Time: 11:30 a.m - 12:20 p.m Place: Jeffery Hall 422

Speaker: Richard Gottesman (Queen's University)

Title: Vector-Valued Modular Forms on $\Gamma_{0}(2)$C

Abstract: The collection of vector-valued modular forms form a graded module over the graded ring of modular forms. I will explain how understanding the structure of this module allows one to show that the component functions of vector-valued modular forms satisfy an ordinary differential equation whose coefficients are modular forms. In certain cases, we can use a Hauptmodul to transform such a differential equation into a Fuchsian differential equation on the projective line minus three points. We then are able to use the Gaussian hypergeometric series to explicitly solve this differential equation.
Finally, we make use of these ideas together with some algebraic number theory to study the prime numbers that divide the denominators of the Fourier coefficients of the component functions of vector-valued modular forms.

Monday, September 17th, 2018

Time: 4:30-5:30 p.m.  Place: Jeffery Hall 319

Speaker: Tianyuan Xu (Queen's University)

Title: Broken lines and the topological ordering of the alternating quiver of type A

Abstract:  The Positivity Conjecture in cluster algebra theory states that the coefficients of the Laurent expansion of any cluster variable in a cluster algebra are always positive integers. In 2014, Gross, Hacking, Keel and Kontsevich constructed a so-called Theta function basis to prove the conjecture for all cluster algebras of geometric type. A key ingredient in the construction of the Theta functions is the broken line model. In this talk, we will discuss the broken lines associated to the alternating quiver of type A, with an emphasis on relating its combinatorial properties to the topological ordering of the quiver, the partial order obtained by taking the transitive and reflexive losure of the relation “v<w if v->w is an edge” on the vertices of the quiver.

The talk is based work in progress with Ba Nguyen, David Wehlau and Imed Zaguia.

Friday, September 14th, 2018

Time: 10:30 a.m Place: Jeffery Hall 422

Speaker: Jacob Russell (CUNY)

Title: The geometry of groups via their boundaries

Abstract: Gromov revolutionized the study of finitely generated groups by purposing the study of groups as geometric objects. The success of this geometric viewpoint has inspired a whole program of classifying groups geometrically. From the geometry of the group, one can construct various boundaries; topological spaces which record the geometry of the group "at infinity". One of these boundaries, the Morse boundary, is particularly nice as the group has a natural action on it by homeomorphisms. The Morse boundary can also be equipped with a natural cross-ratio and we will discuss how the topology of the boundary coupled with this cross-ratio is actually sufficient to encode the entire geometry of the group.