CBMS Conference: K-theory of Operator Algebras and Its Applications to Geometry and Topology

University Of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan PR

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support for the NSF/CBMS regional conference: K-theory of operator algebras and its applications to geometry and topology, to be held during August 17-21, 2020 at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. The principal speaker is Guoliang Yu, Powell Chair in Mathematics and University Distinguished professor at Texas A&M University. There will also be lectures on complementary topics delivered by invited speakers. In the last decade, there have been exciting developments in this field of research with applications to several areas of mathematics. The principle speaker and his collaborators have made significant contributions to introducing and studying new concepts. The conference lectures will highlight the recent advances, identify promising new research directions, and help a diverse group of students and early career mathematicians navigate to the frontier of this exciting yet challenging research field. K-theory is a unifying theme in several important areas of mathematics including operator algebras, geometry, topology, and number theory. K-groups are receptacles for both primary and secondary invariants of elliptic operators. Guoliang Yu and his coauthors have made several significant contributions to introducing and studying these invariants and developing new tools such as quantitative/controlled K-theory and localization algebra. Yu, Weinberger, and Xie recently solved the long standing open problem regarding additivity of higher rho invariants. This result has important applications to non-rigidity of manifolds. Yu-Guentner-Tessera developed a theory of geometric complexity to prove the stable Borel conjecture on rigidity of manifolds when the geometric complexity is finite. This CBMS lecture series will be designed to be a friendly introduction to these recent developments. For more information, see the conference website- https://math.uprrp.edu/nfs_cbms_uprrp/ This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.