Conference on Geometric Methods in Representation Theory; November 19-21, 2016, University of Missouri, Columbia

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

The fourth and fifth conferences on Geometric Methods in Representation Theory will be held at the University of Missouri on November 19-21, 2016, and at the University of Iowa on November 18-20, 2017. Representation theory is a branch of modern algebra studying symmetries in linear spaces. It interacts with many other areas in mathematics, mathematical physics, and theoretical computer science. Geometric methods have become more and more fundamental in all of these areas. One of the main objectives of these conferences is to introduce beginning researchers in representation theory to the power of geometric methods. The keynote speakers for these conferences will be Harm Derksen in 2016 and Julia Pevtsova in 2017. Each keynote speaker will give two one-hour lectures, emphasizing geometric methods; these talks will be accessible to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. There will also be several expository lectures given by other experts. The remainder of the lectures will be research talks given by both senior and junior mathematicians. These will include several talks by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers related to their Ph.D. theses. The conference will provide an inviting atmosphere in which new collaborations can be formed and young researchers have the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge geometric methods in representation theory. Moreover, the conference will enable junior representation theorists to present their work and interact with the broader research community. Over the last 40 years, the representation theory of finite dimensional algebras has enjoyed a great impact of methods from algebraic geometry, in particular from geometric invariant theory and transformation groups. At the same time, this influence has led to the feedback of ideas and techniques from representation theory to geometry. One of the goals of the conferences on Geometric Methods in Representation Theory is to help strengthen and advance this interaction between geometry and representation theory. The topics of these conferences will include: semi-invariants for bound quivers; representations of group schemes of constant Jordan type and vector bundles; geometric aspects of cluster algebras; degenerations of modules and the geometry of orbit closures in module varieties; moduli problems for finite dimensional algebras; and universal deformation rings and their connection to moduli spaces. More information about these conferences on Geometric Methods in Representation Theory at the University of Missouri-Columbia and at the University of Iowa can be found at http://homepage.math.uiowa.edu/~fbleher/CGMRT.html