1 – 3 April 2019 University of Bristol

We are pleased to announce we will be hosting two Distinguished Lecture Series in 2019, the first of which will be given by Geordie Williamson.

The talks will be held over three days:

Monday 1st April 16:00 (Colloquium) 1.15 Queens building followed by a wine reception in Pugsley foyer

Tuesday 2nd April, 16:00, SM2, Maths Building

Wednesday 3rd  April, 16:00, SM2, Maths Building

Please register for the colloquium here.

Registration not required for the talks of the 2nd and 3rd April.

Colloquium Title and Abstract:

Title: Semi-simplicity in representation theory
Abstract: Representation theory is the study of linear symmetry. Since the first papers on the representation theory of finite groups by Frobenius at the end of the 19th century, the theory has grown to form a fundamental tool of modern pure mathematics, with applications ranging from the standard model in particle physics to the Langlands program in number theory. Some of the most important theorems in representation theory assert some form of semi-simplicity. Examples include Maschke’s theorem on representations of finite groups over the complex numbers (proved in 1897), Weyl’s theorem on representations of compact Lie groups (proved in 1930), and the Kazhdan-Lusztig conjecture (proved by Beilinson-Bernstein and Brylinski-Kashiwara in 1980). The lectures will provide an introduction to these ideas, with an emphasis on our attempts to uncover further layers of hidden semi-simplicity.

Support for travel for UK based PhD students may be available, please contact heilbronn-coordinator@bristol.ac.uk with any requests by 18th March.

We are pleased to announce that we are able to consider applications for funding to support care costs*

This event is organised in collaboration with the Heilbronn Institute of Mathematical Research.

*Applies to expenses incurred exceptionally as a result of attending the lecture series. Please contact heilbronn-coordinator@bristol.ac.uk for further information.

Speaker: Fausto Martelli, IBM Research

Date / Time: Thursday 11 April, 6pm – 7pm

Venue: School of Mathematics, University of Bristol (Room SM1)

The discovery of the Hydrogen bond can be dated back to the early 1920’s. This discovery opened the way to a new understanding of the Chemistry and Physics of materials. In the 1940’s Nobel Laureate chemist Linus Pauling observed that water, if it weren’t for the hydrogen bonds, should freeze at around -120 Celsius. As odd as Pauling’s conclusion may seem, it is one of the first scientific foot steps that, little by little, uncovered a profound truth: water hides many strange behaviors. Since then, scientists have discovered a plethora of anomalous behaviors in water that make it truly exceptional, and wildly unconventional. We now count more than 70 anomalies, i.e., behaviors that deviate from the theories taught in textbooks on Chemistry and Physics.

Without its peculiar behaviors, life on our planet would have never existed. For example, ice floats instead of sinking (as normally occurs in all other materials), and liquid water at 4 Celsius is denser than at other temperatures. As a result, the surface of water freezes during winter, while the bottom maintain a comfortable constant temperature of approximately 4 Celsius that allows life to advance. If water would have been a “normal” material, water would freeze from the bottom up, thereby killing all marine life.

In this talk, I will offer a journey on the history of scientific explorations that led to the discovery of many of the water anomalies. In doing so, I will present some of its most remarkable and unconventional behaviors—behaviors that directly affect our daily life without us even noticing it.

How to register

The talk is open to all University of Bristol staff and students as well as the general public. We ask that all attendees please register in advance of the event via Eventbrite.

Join us on Monday 18 February, 6pm, SM2 for the first of this terms Matrix talks, designed to show off bits of maths that you won’t see in lectures – no special knowledge required!

Title: Password hacking, the de Bruijn way – Dan Fretwell

Abstract: How does one brute force a password of length n? You try all the possibilities of course*.

But what if the machine lets you type until the correct password is entered? Then you can do much better…by using de Bruijn sequences**!

Intrigued? Then come along. There might even be magic***…

(* not recommended)

(** also not recommended, but is definitely better…honest)

(*** a poor attempt at, but probably worth coming for just in case I mess it up)

Title: The Circles of Apollonius – Nick Rome

Abstract: Over 2000 years ago, the Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga described how given three touching circles you can construct two more that touch each of the original circles. This neat construction is still studied today leading to all sorts of interesting questions in geometry, fractals, group theory and number theory.

Title: Quantum algorithms from foundations to applications

Quantum computers are designed to use quantum mechanics to outperform any standard, “classical” computer based only on the laws of classical physics. Following many years of experimental and theoretical developments, it is anticipated that quantum computers will soon be built that cannot be simulated by today’s most powerful supercomputers. But to take advantage of a quantum computer requires a quantum algorithm: and designing and applying quantum algorithms requires contributions to be made at all levels of the theoretical “stack”, from underpinning mathematics through to detailed running time analysis. In this talk, I will describe one example of this process. First, an abstract quantum algorithm due to Aleksandrs Belovs is used to speed up classical search algorithms based on the technique known as backtracking (“trial and error”). Then this quantum algorithm can be applied to fundamental constraint satisfaction problems such as graph colouring, sometimes achieving substantial speedups over leading classical algorithms. The talk will aim to give a flavour of the mathematics involved in quantum algorithm design, rather than going into full details.

Further information

The talk will be held in Enderby Lecture Theatre, Physics, from 4pm – 5pm and will be followed by a drinks reception in the Maths common room.

The event is open to University of Bristol staff and students.