[Binghamton Geometry Topology Seminar] This week: Ross Geoghegan

[jwilliams at math.binghamton.edu]

This week we have Ross Geoghegan of Binghamton University.

Title: The semistability problem for CAT(0) groups

Abstract: Proper CAT(0) spaces are natural generalizations of simply
connected complete manifolds of non-positive sectional curvature. These
spaces have a simple and beautiful metric geometry, and their boundaries
at infinity are metric compacta. When a group G acts properly
discontinuously and cocompactly on a proper CAT(0) space (and this happens
in a variety of important mathematical situations) G is called a CAT(0)
group. In this situation the point-set topology of the compact boundary
reflects algebraic properties of the group. So this part of geometric
group theory is a natural meeting place for algebra and topology. I will
discuss the semistability problem for CAT(0) groups, a still-open problem
which nicely illustrates this meeting place.

Thursday, Nov 1 at 2:50pm in WH-100E