Talks

Let F be a non-Archimedean local field F with ring of integers O and a finite residue field k of characteristic greater than three. While the representations of finite groups of Lie type GL_n(k) and of the p-adic groups GL_n(F) are well studied, the representations of GL_n(O) remain far less understood.

In this talk, we will explore the challenges involved in constructing the complex irreducible representations of GL_n(O), highlighting key differences from the case of GL_n(k). We will then present a method for constructing irreducible representations of GL_3(O). This is based on a recent joint work with Uri Onn and Amritanshu Prasad.

Non-local operators, supported on submanifolds of spacetime, often encode fascinating physical insights about a theory and can serve as order parameters for phase transitions. In this talk, we will explore various aspects of 1/2​ BPS surface operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills. Specifically, I will show how supergravity computes exactly the planar limit of certain correlation functions of surface operators, even though they receive nontrivial quantum corrections. In particular, we will compute correlation functions with Chiral Primary Operators by localizing N = 4 super Yang-Mills on S^4 to a deformed version of 2d Yang-Mills on S^2. These correlation functions, which have a finite number of quantum corrections, can also be computed perturbatively in four dimensions. I will show the exact agreement between these approaches and the corresponding supergravity result. This talk is based on 2406.08541, work in collaboration with Changha Choi and Jaume Gomis.

In the symmetric group S_n, there are n^{n-2} ways to write each n-cycle as a product of the minimum number of transpositions. This theorem has numerous extensions: in the symmetric group, such questions are tied to the enumeration of embedded maps on surfaces and moduli spaces of curves, while in real and complex reflection groups the analogous theorem is one ingredient in the Catalan--Coxeter theory and the study of the lattice of W-noncrossing partitions.

About a decade ago, with Vic Reiner and Dennis Stanton, we studied the analogue of this result for the general linear group over a finite field F_q. In this setting, the role of the n-cycle is taken by a Singer cycle, and that of the transpositions by the reflections; we showed that the number of factorizations is (q^n - 1)^{n - 1}. In this talk, I will discuss ongoing work, joint with C. Ryan Vinroot, that extends this work to a larger family of linear and unitary groups over a finite field.

This is an expository talk on some combinatorial aspects of matrix groups over rings. We first discuss results on different types of bounded factorizations of elementary Chevalley groups over certain commutative rings. These rings include local rings, finite fields, rings of matrix-valued holomorphic maps on Stein spaces as well as number rings. The results are intimately related to deep properties such as the congruence subgroup property and Kazhdan’s property T among other things. We also briefly mention growth functions which arise naturally, whose analytic information encodes group theoretic information.

Directional dark matter detectors using diamond as a target material offer a novel solution to overcome solar neutrino backgrounds. Sub-micron damage tracks from nuclear recoils can be read out via advanced quantum sensing techniques with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. I will discuss recent advancements in strain-sensitive quantum interferometry that enable precise strain imaging, paving the way for directional particle detection. These developments highlight the potential of diamond-based detectors for advancing dark matter and neutrino physics, as well as material science applications.

Emergent Modified Gravity (EMG) is a post-Einsteinian theory of canonical gravity. In this formulation, modified constraints are required to preserve an algebra of hypersurface deformation form and will in general imply modified structure functions. This procedure leads to the conclusion that spacetime is an emergent object with a nontrivial dependence on the gravitational phase space variables through the modified structure functions. Consistency conditions are imposed on the modified constraints and the emergent spacetime metric to ensure general covariance. The resulting modifications allowed by EMG go beyond those obtained from adding higher curvature terms and can result in nonpolynomial dependencies on extrinsic curvature components. In this talk, we discuss how a particular interpretation of such modifications as holonomy terms makes it possible to use EMG as a covariant framework for effective (loop) quantum gravity. We then focus on dynamical solutions of the spherically symmetric model which include nonsingular black holes, new effects to gravitational collapse, and MOND-like effects at intermediate scales.