QUEEN MARY AND WESTFIELD COLLEGE
MILE END ROAD, LONDON E1 4NS
SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
PURE MATHEMATICS MONDAY SEMINARS
SPRING 2000
All forthcoming seminars will be held on Monday's in the Maths. Seminar
Room, First Floor, Room 103 at 4.30 pm.
Tea will be served from 3.30 pm.
Wine, soft drinks and cheese may follow.
ALL ARE WELCOME
31 January C. Wiedorn (Imperial)
"Diagram Geometries, Parabolic Systems, and
Finite (Simple) Groups"
7 February Arturo Pianzola (Alberta & QMW)
"Simple Lie algebras, coverings, and descent"
14 February No Pure Maths Seminar (due to Anniversary celebration)
see attached handout
21 February C. Brookes (Cambridge)
T.B.A.
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A B S T R A C T S
C. Wiedorn
"Diagram Geometries, Parabolic Systems, and Finite (Simple) Groups"
I will introduce the most important concepts of diagram geometries and
parabolic systems, and illustrate them by means of easy examples. This
will give us some idea why geometries and parabolic systems play such an
important role in group theory; especially in the context of the
classification of finite simple groups. Finally, I will report on some new
characterisations of geometries for the sporadic simple group Fi_22, on
which I am presently working with A. Ivanov.
.
A. Pianzola
"Simple Lie algebras, coverings, and descent"
The classification of simple finite-dimensional complex Lie algebras is one
of mathematics' most striking results. I will say a few words about this,
and use it to motivate the construction of Kac-Moody Lie algebras.
Next we will look at the so-called affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras, and more
precisely at their realization by means of covering algebras. We will then
see that this leads to an interesting problem in Galois cohomology.
Organiser: Thomas Mueller (email: [log in to unmask])
ANNIVERSARY LECTURES
MONDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2000
(MATHEMATICS LECTURE THEATRE)
1600 - 1700
"Entire Functions of Finite Genus,
Finite Group Actions, and a Problem of Poincarι"
Dr. T.W. Mόller
1700
Tea in the Common Room
1730 - 1830
"Gravitational Lenses"
Dr. P. Saha
Followed by sherry in the School Common Room to which all are welcome, and
dinner in the Gallery Restaurant for invited guests.
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