Topology Seminar

2014-2015

Tuesday 11:10-12, Surge 268

March 31: Julie Bergner, Modeling homotopical categories

April 7: Julie Bergner, Modeling homotopical categories, continued

April 14: Akhil Mathew (UC Berkeley), The Galois group in stable homotopy theory

Abstract: To a "stable homotopy theory," we naturally associate a category of finite étale algebra objects and, using Grothendieck's categorical machine, a profinite group that we call the Galois group. The Galois group contains a purely algebraic piece coming from the classical theory, but in general there is an additional (topological) component. This was first observed by Rognes in the case of periodic real K-theory. We calculate the Galois groups in several examples. For instance, we show that the Galois group of the periodic E-algebra of topological modular forms is trivial and that the Galois group of K(n)-local stable homotopy theory is an extended version of the Morava stabilizer group.

April 21: Julie Bergner, The model structure for complete Segal spaces

April 28: No seminar

May 5: Eric Peterson (UC Berkeley), Determinantal K-theory and a few applications

Abstract: Chromatic homotopy theory is an attempt to divide and conquer algebraic topology by studying a sequence of what were first assumed to be “easier” categories. These categories turn out to be very strangely behaved — and furthermore appear to be equipped with intriguing and exciting connections to number theory. To give an appreciation for the subject, I’ll describe the most basic of these strange behaviors, then I’ll describe an ongoing project which addresses a small part of the “chromatic splitting conjecture”.

May 12: Julie Bergner, The model structure on simplicial categories

May 19: Angélica Osorno (Reed College), K-theory for 2-categories

Abstract: We give a K-theory construction for symmetric monoidal 2-categories, and use it to show that these model connective spectra, in the sense that the homotopy theories are equivalent.  Our methods require new coherence and strictification results which are of independent interest, and we will outline these.  We also outline a broader program to give algebraic models for stable 2-types, and describe how it makes use of this work.  This is joint with Nick Gurski and Niles Johnson.

May 26: Matthew Barber, An introduction to algebraic theories

June 2: Julie Bergner, Theories and Segal categories


January 6: Julie Bergner, Overview of abstract homotopy theory

January 13: Matthew Barber – practice oral exam talk

January 20: Julie Bergner, Simplicial objects

January 27: Julie Bergner, Model structures for simplicial spaces

February 3: Greg Chadwick, Cobordism, Thom spectra, and stable homotopy theory

February 10: Greg Chadwick, Cobordism, Thom spectra, and stable homotopy theory, part 2

February 17: Julie Bergner, The Reedy model structure for simplicial spaces

February 24: Sam Nariman (Stanford), On characteristic classes of flat manifold bundles

Abstract: We prove that group homology of the diffeomorphism group of the g-fold connect sum of S^n x S^n, as a discrete group is independent of g in a range, provided that n>2. This was motivated by a conjecture posed by Morita about discrete surface diffeomorphism groups. The stable homology is isomorphic to the homology of a certain infinite loop space related to the Haefliger's classifying space of foliations. One geometric consequence of this description of the stable homology is a splitting theorem that implies certain classes called generalized Mumford-Morita-Miller classes can be detected on a flat #^g S^n x S^n bundle. If time permits, I will report on the progress about the surface case.

 

March 3: Seminar cancelled

March 10: Matthew Barber, Model structure on dendroidal sets


October 7: Greg Chadwick, Nilpotence in stable homotopy theory

October 14: Julie Bergner, Localization of categories

October 21: Julie Bergner, Model categories

October 28: Julie Bergner, Homotopies in a model category

November 4: Marcy Robertson (UCLA), Rational Homotopy Type of Colored Operads 

Abstract: We give a filtration special pushouts of colored operads that allow us to define a type of relative left properness and relative change of base theorem for colored operads. As a consequence, we show how to compute the rational homotopy type of a colored operad. This is joint work with Philip Hackney and Donald Yau. 

 

November 11: No seminar – Veterans Day

November 18: Julie Bergner, Quillen equivalences of model categories

November 25: Julie Bergner, Simplicial sets and topological spaces

December 2: Matthew Barber, Dendroidal sets

December 9: Jacob West, An introduction to quasi-categories


http://www.math.ucr.edu/~jbergner/topologysem1415.htm                   Last updated: 2 June 2015