[Binghamton Geometry/Topology Seminar] Geometry/Topology Seminar

[Christoforos Neofytidis]

BINGHAMTON GEOMETRY/TOPOLOGY SEMINAR

   Date: Thursday, February 2nd, 2017

   Time: 2.50 pm

   Place: Whitney Hall, Room 100E

   Speaker: Matt Zaremsky (Cornell University)

   Title: Local to global: Discrete Morse theory and topological
properties of infinite groups.

Abstract: Discrete Morse theory is a tool for turning difficult global
problems into easier local ones. For example, one might wish to know
whether or not a certain cell complex is connected, simply connected, or
n-connected for some higher n, or whether a filtration of a cell complex
is homologically stable. Morse theory can reduce these difficult "global"
problems to easier "local" questions about the so-called ascending or
descending links of vertices. In this talk I will first discuss some
background on discrete Morse theory and some historical applications to
important questions in  geometric group theory, and then describe some of
my own contributions.

NOTE:  The seminar has a webpage where the semester's program is listed:

http://www2.math.binghamton.edu/p/seminars/topsem