## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Travis Ens

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

TBA
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Travis Ens
Supervisor:   Dror Bar-Natan
Thesis title:

***

A copy of the thesis can be found here:

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Justin Martel

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Friday, August 9, 2019
2:10 p.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Justin Martel
Supervisor:   Robert McCann
Thesis title:  Applications of Optimal Transport to Algebraic Topology: A Method for Constructing Spines from Singularity

***

Our thesis describes new applications of optimal transport to algebraic topology. We use a variational definition of singularity based on semicouplings and Kantorovich duality, and develop a method for building Spines (Souls) of manifolds from singularities. For example, given a complete finite-volume manifold X we identify subvarieties Z of X and construct continuous homotopy-reductions from X onto Z using the above variational definition of singularities.

The main goal of the thesis is constructing compact Z with maximal codimension in X. The subvarieties Z are assembled from a contravariant functor arising from Kantorovich duality and solutions to a semicoupling program.

The program seeks semicoupling measures from a source (X,σ) to target (Y, τ) which minimize total transport with respect to a cost c. Best results are obtained with a class of anti-quadratic costs we call “repulsion costs”. We apply the above homotopy-reductions to the problem of constructing explicit small-dimensional EΓ classifying space models, where Γ is a finite-dimensional Bieri-Eckmann duality group.

A copy of the thesis can be found here: ut-thesis

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Li Chen

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Friday, July 26, 2019
2:10 p.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Li Chen
Supervisor:   Michael Sigal
Thesis title:  Macroscopic Electrostatics at Positive Temperature from the Density Functional Theory

***

The purpose of this thesis is to study local perturbations of equilibrium crystalline states of the density functional theory (DFT) at positive temperature through the Kohn-Sham equations with local-density approximation (LDA). Under suitable scaling and at low temperature, we prove an existence result for the Kohn-Sham equations and show that local macroscopic perturbations from periodic equilibrium states gives rise to the Poisson equation as an effective equation.

A copy of the thesis can be found here:  LiChen_thesis

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Jia Ji

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Monday, June 17, 2019
12:10 p.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Jia Ji
Supervisor:   Lisa Jeffrey
Thesis title:  Volume Formula and Intersection Pairings of N-fold Reduced Products

***

Let $G$ be a semisimple compact connected Lie group. An $N$-fold reduced product of $G$ is the symplectic quotient of the Hamiltonian system of the Cartesian product of $N$ coadjoint orbits of $G$ under diagonal coadjoint action of $G$. Under appropriate assumptions, it is a symplectic orbifold. Using the technique of nonabelian localization and the residue formula of Jeffrey and Kirwan, we investigate the symplectic volume and the intersection pairings of an $N$-fold reduced product of $G$. In 2008, Suzuki and Takakura gave a volume formula of $N$-fold reduced products of $\mathbf{SU}(3)$ via Riemann-Roch.

We compare our volume formula with theirs and prove that up to normalization constant, our volume formula completely matches theirs in the case of triple reduced products of $\mathbf{SU}(3)$.

The draft of the thesis can be found here:  ut-thesis_Ji_draft_v1_1

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Jihad Zerouali

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Friday, July 5, 2019
11:10 a.m.
BA6183

Supervisor:   Eckhard Meinrenken
Thesis title:  Twisted conjugation, quasi-Hamiltonian geometry, and Duistermaat-Heckman measures

***

Let $G$ be a Lie group, and let $\kappa\in\mathrm{Aut}(G)$. Let  $G\kappa$ denote the group $G$ equipped with the $\kappa$-twisted conjugation action, $\mathrm{Ad}_{g}^{\kappa}(h)=gh\kappa(g^{-1})$. A twisted quasi-Hamiltonian manifold is a triple $(M,\omega,\Phi)$, where $M$ is a $G$-space, the equivariant map $\Phi:M\to G\kappa$ is called the moment map, and $\omega$ is a certain invariant 2-form with properties generalizing those of a symplectic structure.

The first topic of this work is a detailed study of $\kappa$-twisted conjugation, for $G$ compact, connected, simply connected and simple, and for $\kappa$ induced by a Dynkin diagram automorphism of $G$. After recovering the classification of $\kappa$-twisted conjugacy classes by elementary means, we highlight several properties of the so-called \textit{twining characters} $\tilde{\chi}^{(\kappa)}:G\rightarrow\mathbb{C}$.

We show that as elements of $L^{2}(G\kappa)^{G}$, the twining characters generalize several properties of the usual characters in a natural way. We then discuss $\kappa$-twisted representation and fusion rings, in relation to recent work of J. Hong. The second topic of this work is the study of the Duistermaat-Heckman (DH) measure $\mathrm{DH}_{\Phi}\in\mathcal{D}'(G\kappa)^{G}$ of a twisted quasi-Hamiltonian manifold $(M,\omega,\Phi)$. After developing the necessary background, we prove a localization formula for the Fourier coefficients of the measure $\mathrm{DH}_{\Phi}$, and we illustrate the theory with several examples of twisted moduli spaces. These character varieties parametrize a class of local systems on bordered surfaces, for which the transition functions take values in $G\rtimes\mathrm{Aut}(G)$ instead of $G$.

A copy of the thesis can be found here:

Thesis_AJ_Zerouali_Draft_V20190702

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Val Chiche-Lapierre

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Monday, July 15, 2019
1:10 p.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Val Chiche-Lapierre
Supervisor:   Jacob Tsimerman
Thesis title:   Length of elements in a Minkowski basis for an order in a number field
(or a ring of integers of a number field)
Exam type:    One-defense

***
Abstract:

Suppose K is a number field of degree n, and R is an order in K with discriminant D. If K has r real embeddings and s pairs of complex embeddings then we can look at R as a lattice in \R^r x \C^s. We call the length of elements of R their Euclidean length in \R^r x \C^s and denote it by |.|. Let v1=1,v2,…,vn be a Minkowski basis for R. We are interested in the asymptotic lengths of these vi’s for a family or orders with arbitrarily large discriminant D. By the theory of Minkowski bases we have that 1\leq |v2| \leq … \leq |vn| and \prod |v_i| \asymp |D|^{1/2} and by \cite{J}, we also know that |v_n| << |D|^{1/n}.

We say a family of orders in number fields have Minkowski type \delta_2,…,\delta_n if the members of the family have arbitrarily large discriminant and each have a Minkowski basis of the form v1=1,v2,…,vn with |vi| \asymp |D|^{\delta_i} for each i, where D is the discriminant.

In the thesis, we are interested in possible Minkowski types. The first question is: Can we find sufficient and necessary bounds on some rational numbers \delta_2,…,\delta_n such that there is a family of orders in number fields having Minkowski type \delta_2,…,\delta_n?

We already know the following necessary conditions: \delta_2 \leq … \leq \delta_n and \delta_2+…+\delta_n=1/2 by Minkowski basis theory, and \delta_n \leq 1/n by \cite{J}. We prove that bounds of the form \delta_k << \delta_i+\delta_j for each i+j=k are sufficient bounds, and if K has no non trivial subfield, we conjecture that these bounds are actually necessary. We can prove this in some cases (of n,i,j,k). In particular, for n=3,4,5,6, we prove that all these bounds are necessary.

The second question is: For some fixed \delta_2,…\delta_n, “how many” orders in number fields have Minkowski type \delta_2,…,\delta_n. We will make sense of what we mean by “how many” using the Delone-Faddeev correspondence (n=3), and the correspondence of Bhargava (n=4,5). Using these correspondences and counting, we are also able to give a sieving argument to count those orders that are maximal (and therefore are ring of integers of number fields).

A copy of the thesis can be found in this link: val_chichelapierre_thesis

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Francis Bischoff

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Thursday, June 13, 2019
11:10 a.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Francis Bischoff
Supervisor:   Marco Gualtieri
Thesis title: Morita Equivalence and Generalized Kahler Geometry

***

Generalized Kahler (GK) geometry is a generalization of Kahler geometry, which arises in the study of super-symmetric sigma models in physics. In this thesis, we solve the problem of determining the underlying degrees of freedom for the class of GK structures of symplectic type. This is achieved by giving a reformulation of the geometry whereby it is represented by a pair of holomorphic Poisson structures, a holomorphic symplectic Morita equivalence relating them, and a Lagrangian brane inside of the Morita equivalence.

We apply this reformulation to solve the longstanding problem of representing the metric of a GK structure in terms of a real-valued potential function. This generalizes the situation in Kahler geometry, where the metric can be expressed in terms of the partial derivatives of a function. This result relies on the fact that the metric of a GK structure corresponds to a Lagrangian brane, which can be represented via the method of generating functions. We then apply this result to give new constructions of GK structures, including examples on toric surfaces.

Next, we study the Picard group of a holomorphic Poisson structure, and explore its relationship to GK geometry. We then apply our results to the deformation theory of GK structures, and explain how a GK metric can be deformed by flowing the Lagrangian brane along a Hamiltonian vector field. Finally, we prove a normal form result, which says that locally, a GK structure of symplectic type is determined by a holomorphic Poisson structure and a time-dependent real-valued function, via a Hamiltonian flow construction.

A copy of the thesis can be found here: ut-thesis

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Evan Miller

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019
1:10 p.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Evan Miller
Supervisor:   Robert McCann
Thesis title:  The Navier-Stokes strain equation with applications to enstrophy growth and global regularity

***

The resulting identity allows us to prove a new family of scale-critical necessary and sufficient conditions for blow-up of the solution in finite time $T_{max}<+\infty$, which depend only on the history of the positive part of the second eigenvalue of the strain matrix. Since this matrix is trace-free,
this severely restricts the geometry of any finite-time blow-up.  This regularity criterion provides analytic evidence of the numerically observed tendency of the vorticity to align with the eigenvector corresponding to the middle eigenvalue of the strain matrix.

We then consider a vorticity approach to the question of almost two-dimensional initial data, using this same identity for enstrophy growth and an isometry relating the third column of the strain matrix to the first two components of the vorticity. We prove a new global regularity result for initial data with two components of the vorticity sufficiently small. Finally, we prove the existence and stability of blowup for a toy model ODE of the strain equation.

A copy of the thesis can be found: Miller_Thesis_Draft

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Ozgur Esentepe

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019
11:10 a.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Ozgur Esentepe
Co-Supervisors:   Joel Kamnitzer, Graham Leuschke
Thesis title:  Annihilation of Cohomology over Gorenstein Rings

***

One of the fundamental links between geometry and homological algebra is that smooth affine schemes have coordinate rings of finite global dimension. The roots of this link goes back to Hilbert’s syzygy theorem and later to the work of Auslander and Buchsbaum and also of Serre.

Having finite global dimension can be characterized by Ext-modules. Namely, a ring $R$ has finite global dimension if and only if there is a natural number $n$ such that $\Ext_R^n(M,N) = 0$ for every pair $M,N$ of $R$-modules. Hence, in the singular case, there are nonzero Ext-modules for arbitrarily large $n$. So, for a commutative Noetherian ring $R$, one is interested in the cohomology annihilator ideal which consists of the ring elements that annihilate all $\Ext$-modules for arbitrarily large $n$.

The main theme of this thesis is to study the cohomology annihilator ideal over Gorenstein rings. Over Gorenstein rings, the cohomology annihilator ideal can be seen as the annihilator of the stable category of maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules.

The first main result concerns the cohomology annihilator ideal of a complete local coordinate ring of a reduced algebraic plane curve singularity. We show that that the cohomology annihilator ideal coincides with the conductor ideal in this case. We use this to investigate the relation between the Jacobian ideal and the cohomology annihilator ideal.

The second main result shows that if the Krull dimension of $R$ is at most $2$, then the cohomology annihilator ideal is equal to the stable annihilator ideal of a non-singular $R$-order. We also give several generalizations of this which brings us to the second part and the closing section of this thesis. Namely, we study the dominant dimension of orders over Cohen-Macaulay rings. We provide examples and prove results on tilting modules for orders with positive dominant dimension.

A copy of the thesis can be found:  ozgurthesis-1

## Departmental PhD Thesis Exam – Fabian Parsch

Everyone is welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served in the Math Lounge before the exam.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019
11:10 a.m.
BA6183

PhD Candidate:  Fabian Parsch
Supervisor:   Alex Nabutovsky
Thesis title:  Geodesic Nets with Few Boundary Points

***

Geodesic nets on Riemannian manifolds form a natural class of stationary objects generalizing geodesics. Yet almost nothing is known about their classification or general properties even when the ambient Riemannian manifold is the Euclidean plane or the round 2-sphere.
We survey some results and open questions (old and new) about geodesic nets on Riemannian manifolds. A particular focus will be put on the question if the number of inner vertices (balanced vertices) in a geodesic net can be bounded by the number of boundary points (unbalanced vertices) or the total imbalance.
We prove that a geodesic net with three unbalanced vertices on a non-positively curved plane has at most one balanced vertex. We do not assume any a priori bound for the degree of unbalanced vertices. The result seems to be new even in the Euclidean case.
We demonstrate by examples that the result is not true for metrics of positive curvature on the plane, and that there are no immediate generalizations of this result for geodesic nets with four unbalanced vertices which can have a significantly more complicated structure. In particular, an example of a geodesic net with four unbalanced vertices and sixteen balanced vertices that is not a union of simpler geodesic nets is constructed. The previously known irreducible geodesic nets with four unbalanced vertices have at most two balanced vertices.
We provide a partial answer for a related question, namely a description of a new infinite family of geodesic nets on the Euclidean plane with 14 unbalanced vertices and arbitrarily many balanced vertices of degree three or more.

A copy of the thesis can be found here: parsch_thesis_2019-04-09