Soton Pure Maths Colloq

Pure Mathematics Colloquium talks at Southampton

The talks are all happening at University of Southampton (some virtually, some in person), Highfield Campus (SO17 1BJ). For the building and the room, see the individual postings. Email the organiser ( s (dot) nishikawa (at) soton.ac.uk ) for a meeting link.

We also run a few seminars: Pure Lunchtime Seminar, Topology Seminar, and Pure Postgraduate Seminar (link soon).

Upcoming talks

Wed 28 Jan 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): John Hunton (Durham University): Can chaotic attractors get knotted?

Abstract: Chaotic systems are, loosely speaking, dynamical systems whose long term behaviours are highly dependent on initial conditions - even the slightest difference between two start points can lead to radically different futures. A classic example is the Lorenz system, first studied through attempts to build models for weather prediction: you may have seen pictures of the so-called `Lorenz attractor', atopological space that models the long term behaviour of the system, looking roughly like a figure 8 but with Cantor set cross-section. Pictures of such chaotic attractors always look like simple geometric shapes, albeit with some Cantor like aspect, but in practice, in actual dynamics, are they so simple: can they be, for example, knotted in their state space? This talk gives a general introduction to such spaces and describes how in many cases they are indeed knotted, and moreover can be knotted in infinitely many ways, even within the same system.

Wed 4 Feb 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Brita Nucinkis (Royal Holloway, University of London): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 11 Feb 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Veronique Fischer (University of Bath): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 18 Feb 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Pavel Zalesskii (University of Brasília): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 25 Feb 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Sam Corson (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 4 Mar 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Harsh Patil (University of Bristol): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 11 Mar 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Lewis Stanton (Southampton): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 18 Mar 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Dawid Kielak (University of Oxford): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 25 Mar 2026 15:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Reserved:

Abstract: TBA

Wed 22 Apr 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Dan Ciubotaru (University of Oxford): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 29 Apr 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Mariam Pirashvili (University of Plymouth): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 6 May 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): John Mackay (University of Bristol): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 13 May 2026 16:00 (in B54 Room 10037 (10B)): Primoz Skraba (Queen Mary University of London): Title (TBA)

Abstract: TBA

here

Recent talks

Wed 7 Jan 2026 16:00: CANCELLED: Martin Gallauer (University of Warwick)

Abstract: TBA

Wed 10 Dec 2025 16:00: Ruizhi Huang (Chinese Academy of Sciences): An almost flat spinc manifold bounds

Abstract: We prove that every almost flat spinc manifold bounds a compact orientable manifold, thereby settling, in the spinc case, a long-standing conjecture of Farrell-Zdravkovska and S. T. Yau. This is a joint work with Fei Han and Weiping Zhang.

Wed 3 Dec 2025 13:00: GGSE

Schedule:

13:00--14:00 Giovanni Italiano (Oxford)

14:15--15:15 Collin Bleak (St Andrews)

15:15--15:45 Tea/coffee break

15:45--16:45 Tara Brendle (Glasgow)

Abstracts:

Giovanni Italiano

Title: Stronger virtual algebraic fibrations on high dimensional hyperbolic Coxeter groups

Abstract: In a recent paper, Lafont, Minemyer, Sorcar, Stover, and Wells built hyperbolic right-angled Coxeter groups that virtually algebraically fibre in any virtual cohomological dimension.
We provide a new construction that allows us to construct groups that virtually fibre with finitely presented kernel. We will explain how this step forward allows us (in principle) to use homological methods (due to Kielak and Fisher) to leverage even stronger finiteness properties.
This is joint work with Matteo Migliorini and Andrew Ng.

Collin Bleak

Title: Generating infinite simple groups

Abstract: It is well known that every finite simple group can be generated by just two elements, and indeed, much more is true. But, much less is known about the generation of infinite simple groups. In this talk, we focus on the class of finitely generated simple vigorous groups, which are infinite groups that act on Cantor space in a particularly nice way. Thompson's group V is the motivating example of such a group, but the class includes all the normal generalisations such as the Higman--Thompson groups G_{n,r}, the Brin--Thompson groups nV, as well as Nekrashevych's simple groups of dynamical origin (including Röver's group V(Γ), which fits in that class). It turns out that all of these groups can be generated by two elements. The talk will also highlight a variety of much stronger things that can be said, and include some further applications of these results. This is joint work with Donoven, Harper, and Hyde.

Tara Brendle

Title: The kernel of the Birman-Craggs-Johnson homomorphism

Abstract: TheTorelligroup is the subgroup of the mapping class group of a surface that acts trivially on the first homology group of that surface. In the 1980s, Dennis Johnson wrote a series of groundbreaking papers describing the structure of this group, culminating in the calculation of its abelianization. The Birman-Craggs Johnson homomorphism measures the 2-torsion part of this abelianization, via certain 3- and 4-manifold invariants. In this talk, we will describe a simple generating set for the kernel of the Birman--Craggs--Johnson homomorphism, which can then be used to give a new and simpler proof of Johnson's calculation of the abelianization of theTorelligroup. This is joint work in progress with Andrew Putman.

Wed 26 Nov 2025 15:00: Alexander Stasinski (Durham University): The dimensions of irreducible representations of compact linear groups over local rings

Abstract: I will survey results of my PhD student Alexander Jackson saying that linear groups such as GL_n(o_r), where o_r is a local principal ideal ring of length r with finite residue field F_q, q a power of a prime p (e.g., o_r could be Z/p^r or F_q[t]/t^r) have the property that the dimensions of their irreducible representations are given by finitely many polynomials, evaluated at q (the point is that the same polynomials work for all o_r, hence for infinitely many q). This addresses part of a conjecture of Onn, which predicts polynomiality also for the number of representations of each dimension. The main ingredients of the proof is a finiteness result of Hadas, and a point counting result of Brion and Peyre for homogeneous varieties over finite fields. Hadas's result says that the representation dimensions are given by finitely many functions, uniformly in q. A corollary of this is that for every r > 1, there exists an N such that for all primes p > N and all natural numbers d, the groups GL_n(Z/p^r) and GL_n(F_p[t]/t^r) have the same number of irreducible representations of dimension d. I will explain some of the ideas behind this result and state some open questions.

Wed 19 Nov 2025 16:00: Corentin Bodart (University of Oxford): Subgroup membership and formal languages

Abstract: The intersection of Geometric Group Theory and Formal Language Theory has been a fruitful area in the last 50 years. I'll start by recalling some of the key results around the Word Problem, such as the Muller-Schupp theorem on groups with context-free Word Problem and Lehnert's conjecture on groups with co-context-free Word Problem. In joint work with André Carvalho and Carl-Fredrik Nyberg Brodda, we have been looking at similar languages related to another decision problem in groups: Subgroup Membership. I'll explain the toolbox we have been developing, apply it to a few examples and non-examples, and highlight some open problems along the way.

Wed 12 Nov 2025 16:00: Gregory Patchell (University of Oxford): Strict Comparison in C*-Algebras

Abstract: One of the most fundamental ways to compare matrices is via their rank. For two matrices X and Y, rank(X) is less than or equal to rank(Y) if and only if there are matrices S and T such that X = SYT. C*-algebras are infinite-dimensional analogs of matrix algebras. The rank can be generalized to C*-algebras using dimension functions and the latter algebraic condition can be generalized to a condition known as Cuntz subequivalence. C*-algebras for which the dimension functions recover Cuntz subequivalence are said to have strict comparison. Strict comparison is known to have applications to the classification of C*-algebras, including the influential Toms-Winter conjecture. In 1998 Dykema-Rørdam showed that infinite reduced free products have strict comparison, but even for the free group on two generators strict comparison of the reduced group C*-algebra was a long-standing open problem. In our work (joint with Tattwamasi Amrutam, David Gao, and Srivatsav Kunnawalkam Elayavalli) we show that the reduced group C*-algebra of the free group on two generators has strict comparison. Our methods are very general and lead to proving strict comparison for all acylindrically hyperbolic groups with rapid decay.

Wed 5 Nov 2025 16:00: Harry Iveson (Southampton): Twisted Conjugacy and the R-infinity Property for Groups with Infinitely Many Ends

Abstract: Given a group G and an automorphism phi of G, one can use phi to define a relation on G which is akin to conjugacy.
We then say that G has property R-infinity if for every automorphism of G, the determined relation partitions G into infinitely many equivalence classes.
In this talk, we will use a result of Levitt--Lustig to show that any finitely presented group with infinitely many ends has property R-infinity.
This is joint work with Armando Martino, Wagner Sgobbi, and Peter Wong.

Wed 29 Oct 2025 15:00: Kasia Rejzner (University of York): Mathematical Quantum Field Theory: between algebra and analysis

Abstract: In this talk I will explore the rich interplay between algebraic and analytic methods in the mathematically rigorous formulation of quantum field theory (QFT). Starting from the foundational framework of algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) (local algebras of observables described using functional analysis and operator algebraic techniques), I will then shift focus to perturbative aspects (perturbative AQFT) where homological algebra and description in terms of formal power series play central role. In both cases, microlocal analysis and propagation of singularities allow one to construct models on a large class of Lorentzian manifolds. I will also illustrate the general mathematical framework with examples from physics.

Wed 22 Oct 2025 15:00: Nir Lazarovich (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology): Highly twisted knot diagrams

Abstract: One easy way of representing a knot is via a knot diagram. However, inferring properties of the knot from its diagram and deciding when two diagrams represent the same knot are quite difficult problems. Surprisingly, when the diagram is sufficiently twisty then some structure starts to emerge. I will discuss two results of this nature: hyperbolicity of highly twisted knot diagrams and uniqueness of highly twisted plat diagrams.

Based on joint works with Yoav Moriah, Tali Pinsky and Jessica Purcell. All relevant notions will be explained in the talk.

Wed 15 Oct 2025 15:30: Sofiya Yatsyna (Royal Holloway, University of London): Cohomological Finiteness Properties of Almost Automorphism Groups

Abstract: In 1965, Thompson introduced a group V, with subgroups F ≤ T ≤ V, to provide (counter-)examples of finitely presented groups for certain conjectures. Today, they form a very important class of groups with many interesting and uncommon properties. One such property, shown by Brown and Geoghegan in 1982, shows that Fis the first known group of type FP_∞whose cohomology vanishes with coefficients in the group ring ℤF.

In this talk, we will focus on the totally disconnected locally compact analogue of Thompson's F, known asalmost automorphism groups,and building from the work of Sauer and Thurmann, we will show that these almost automorphism groups satisfy similar cohomological properties. This is joint work with Laura Bonn, Bianca Marchionna and Lewis Molyneux.

Wed 8 Oct 2025 16:45: Vitaliy Kurlin (University of Liverpool): The geo-mapping problem in Geometric Data Science

Abstract: The talk is based on the papers [1,2,3] extending
Topological Data Analysis (TDA) to a wider area of Geometric Data
Science, which aims to continuously parametrise moduli spaces of real
objects under practical equivalences. The key example is a cloud A of
unordered points under isometry in R^n. Standard filtrations
(Vietoris-Rips, Cech, Delaunay) of complexes on A are invariant under
isometry (any distance-preserving transformation). Hence, persistent
homology of these filtrations can be considered a partial solution to
the following geo-mapping problem: design an invariant I of clouds of
m unordered points satisfying the conditions below. (a) Completeness:
any clouds A,B in R^n are related by rigid motion if and only if
I(A)=I(B); (b) Realisability: the invariant space {I(A) for all clouds
A in R^n} is explicitly parameterised so that any sampled value I(A)
can be realised by a cloud A, uniquely under motion in R^n; (c)
Bi-continuity: the bijection from the space of clouds to the space of
complete invariants is Lipschitz continuous in both directions in a
suitable metric d on the invariant space; (d) Computability: the
invariant I, the metric d, and a reconstruction of A in R^n from I(A)
can be obtained in polynomial time in the size of A, for a fixed
dimension n. The talk will outline a full solution to this problem,
which remains open for other data (embedded graphs, meshes, or
complexes) and relations (dilation, affine, or projective maps).
[1] V.Kurlin. Complete and continuous invariants of 1-periodic
sequences in polynomial time. SIAM Journal of Mathematics of Data
Science, 2025.
[2] P.Smith, V.Kurlin. Generic families of finite metric spaces with
identical or trivial 1-dimensional persistence. J Applied and
Computational Topology, v.8, p.839-855 (2024).
[3] D.Widdowson, V.Kurlin. Recognizing rigid patterns of unlabeled
point clouds by complete and continuous isometry invariants with no
false negatives and no false positives. Proceedings of CVPR 2023,
p.1275-1284.

Wed 1 Oct 2025 15:00: Leverhulme Lecture by Andrew Toms (Purdue University): Homotopy groups of Cuntz classes in C*-algebras

Abstract: The Cuntz semigroup of a C*-algebra A consists of equivalence classes of positive elements, where equivalence means roughly that two positive elements have the same rank relative to A. It can be thought of as a generalization of the Murray von Neumann semigroup to positive elements and is an incredibly sensitive invariant. We give a brief introduction to this object and its relevance to the classification theory of separable nuclear C*-algebras. We then present a calculation of the homotopy groups of these Cuntz classes as topological subspaces of A when A is classifiable in the sense of Elliott.

Fri 16 May 2025 15:00: Jack Button (Cambridge): SQ universality of finitely presented groups

Abstract: One notion indicating vastness for a given finitely
presented group G is whether or not G contains a non-abelian
free subgroup. Another, stronger, notion is that of being SQ
universal: every countable group is a Subgroup of a Quotient
of G. We investigate which finitely presented groups are known
to be SQ universal.

Fri 9 May 2025 15:00: Ian Charlesworth (Cardiff): Free Probability, Convolution, and Regularity

Abstract: The essentially-bounded random variables on a probability space form an example of a tracial von Neumann algebra, as $L^\infty(\Omega, \mathbb{P})$ can be viewed as bounded operators acting on $L^2(\Omega, \mathbb{P})$ by pointwise multiplication. This leads one to consider arbitrary tracial von Neumann algebras as essentially-bounded non-commutative random variables on a formal non-commutative probability space, and the field of free probability leverages this point of view to great effect. One common question is of how much information can be learned about a von Neumann algebra from the joint law of a generating tuple: for example, when can a family of freely independent variables generate an algebra with a finite-dimensional direct summand? How does the distribution of a sum of freely independent variables depend on their individual distributions? When can one rule out algebraic relations between a (not necessarily freely independent) set of variables?

In this talk I will give a survey of the field -- including basic definitions and examples -- and some of the tools used to tackle the above questions. I will mention connections to random matrices and more traditional approaches to von Neumann algebra theory. I will conclude with some discussion of recent and ongoing work with David Jekel investigating finite dimensional summands in algebras arising through mixtures of classical and free independence.

Fri 2 May 2025 15:00: Haluk Sengun (Sheffield): Old and new synergies between representation theory and operator algebras

Abstract: The representation theory of locally compact groups and operator algebra theory had important interactions very early in their infant years but they began to move in separate directions soon afterwards. Recent years have seen efforts to bring the two theories back together in the fundamental case of reductive groups.

In this expository talk, we will touch upon some of these synergies; the interactions in the theory of unitary induction dating back to the 1970s and the recently discovered interactions in the theory of theta correspondence (aka Howe duality). This is based on joint works with Bram Mesland (Leiden) and with Magnus Goffeng (Lund).

Fri 28 Mar 2025 15:00: Andrea Guidolin (Southampton): Decompositions, invariants, and metrics in persistent homology

Abstract: Persistent homology is one of the main methods of Topological Data Analysis, a field that studies principled ways of extracting geometric and topological information from data. A fundamental ingredient in the theory of persistent homology are decompositions of certain algebraic objects, which are used to define and compute invariants associated with the data. While based on classical results, decompositions and invariants in Topological Data Analysis are studied from a new metric perspective, with a focus on their stability properties. In this talk, I will discuss the interactions between decompositions, invariants,and metrics in the context of persistent homology, showing some applications to data analysis.

Fri 21 Mar 2025 15:00: Safoura Zadeh (Bristol): Dilation theory in operator algebra

Abstract: Dilation theory provides a framework for understanding operators by realizing them as compressions of larger, better behaved operators. Classical results, such as those of Sz.-Nagy, Stinespring, Akcoglu, and Rota, illustrate how this approach leads to deeper structural insights. In this talk, I will introduce some of the fundamental dilation results and discuss some applications. I will also highlight an obstruction to extending Akcoglu's dilation theorem to the noncommutative setting.

Fri 14 Mar 2025 15:00: Henry Wilton (Cambridge): Surface groups among cubulated groups

Abstract : Free groups and surface groups are often thought of as cousins. One way to make this precise is through their subgroup structure: they share the property that every subgroup of infinite index is free. In fact, it turns out that this property characterises free and surface groups among cubulated hyperbolic groups, and also among other natural classes including one-relator groups. I will discuss these results and their proofs. The main new tool is the Whitehead complex associated to a convex subcomplex of a CAT(0) cube complex. The Whitehead complex generalises the classical Whitehead graph used to study automorphisms of free groups.

Fri 7 Mar 2025 15:00: Pavel Zalesskii (University of Brasília): Prosoluble subgroups of the profinite completion of 3-manifold groups

Abstract: In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in detecting
properties of the fundamental group $\pi_1M$ of a $3$-manifold via its
finite quotients, or more conceptually by its profinite completion.
This motivates the study of the profinite completion $\widehat
{\pi_1M}$ of the fundamental group of a $3$-manifold. I shall discuss
a description of the finitely generated prosoluble subgroups of the
profinite completions of all 3-manifold groups and of related groups
of geometric nature.

Fri 28 Feb 2025 15:00: Alice Pozzi (Bristol): From Complex to Real Multiplication: a p-adic story

Abstract: Elliptic Curves are algebraic plane curves defined by certain cubic equations. An elliptic curve is said to have complex multiplication if it has extra symmetries, that is, if its endomorphism ring is larger than the integers. The theory of elliptic curves with complex multiplication has yielded some striking applications, ranging from questions in transcendence theory to Diophantine geometry. This has shed light on many questions related to the arithmetic of imaginary quadratic fields.

For real quadratic fields, similar questions remain much more mysterious. Can one formulate a theory of real multiplication? In this talk, I will discuss a recent (and largely conjectural) p-adic approach via rigid cocycles, certain group cocycles for the action of p-arithmetic groups on p-adic symmetric spaces.

Fri 21 Feb 2025 15:00: Matthew Tointon (Bristol): Structure, expansion and probability in vertex-transitive graphs

Abstract:Celebrated theorems of Gromov, Trofimov and Coulhon--Saloff-Coste combine to give a remarkable dichotomy for vertex-transitive graphs: such graphs must either resemble highly structured Cayley graphs, or must exhibit expansion in a certain sense. This in turn has had a number of striking applications, particularly to probability, such as Varopoulos's famous characterisation of those transitive graphs on which the random walk is recurrent (i.e. eventually returns to its starting point with probability 1). I will describe a number recent quantitative, finitary refinements of these results that allow us to give meaningful extensions of results like Varopoulos's to finite transitive graphs and finite regions of infinite transitive graphs.

Fri 14 Feb 2025 15:00: Shaked Bader (Oxford): Subgroups of word hyperbolic groups in dimension 2 over arbitrary rings

Abstract: In 1996 Gersten proved that if G is a word hyperbolic group of cohomological dimension 2 and H is a finitely presented subgroup (and actually it's enough to assume the algebraic condition FP_2), then H is hyperbolic as well. The definitions of cohomological dimension and FP_2 can be generalised for arbitrary rings. In this talk, I will present a joint work with Robert Kropholler and Vlad Vankov generalising Gersten's result to show that the same is true if G is only assumed to have cohomological dimension 2 over some arbitrary ring R and H is of type FP_2(R).

Fri 7 Feb 2025 15:00: Helena Verrill (Warwick): Folding curves and Fractal dragons

Abstract: John Heighway invented the fractal dragon curve in 1966 by repeatedly folding a strip of paper. This is a special case of folding curves, further developed by many other authors. I will discuss the L-systems of space filling folding curves and their boundaries, and other aspects of these curves, and different ways they can be constructed.

Fri 31 Jan 2025 15:00: Macarena Arenas (Cambridge): Taut smoothings and shortest geodesics

Abstract: In this talk we will discuss the connection between combinatorial properties of minimally self-intersecting curves on a surface S and the geometric behaviour of geodesics on S when S is endowed with a Riemannian metric. In particular, we will explain the interplay between asmoothing, which is a type of surgery on a curve that resolves a self-intersection, andk-systoles, which are shortest geodesics having at least k self-intersections, and we will present some results that partially elucidate this interplay.

Fri 10 Jan 2025 15:00: Runlian Xia (Glasgow): Hilbert transforms for groups acting on right-angled buildings

Abstract: https://drive.google.com/file/d/108I_nL2BZE85NxFeT3_Qv5F0v2zFph20/view?usp=sharing

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