Chen Wan : A local twisted trace formula for some spherical varieties
- Number Theory ( 30 Views )In this talk, I will discuss the geometric expansion of a local twisted trace formula for some special varieties. This generalizes the local (twisted) trace formula for reductive groups proved by Arthur and Waldspurger. By applying the trace formula, we prove a multiplicity formula for these spherical varieties. And I will also discuss some applications to the multiplicity of the Galois model and the unitary Shalika model. This is a joint work with Raphael Beuzart-Plessis.
Dean Bottino : Evaluating Strategies for Overcoming Rituximab (R) Resistance Using a Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) model of Antibody-Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity & Phagocytosis (ADCC & ADCP): An Academic/Industrial Collaboration
- Mathematical Biology ( 48 Views )Despite the impressive performance of rituximab (R) containing regimens like R-CHOP in CD20+ Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), 30-60% of R-naïve NHL patients are estimated to be resistant, and approximately 60% of those patients will not respond to subsequent single agent R treatment. Given that antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and phagocytosis (ADCP) are thought to be the major mechanisms of action of Rituximab, increasing the activation levels of natural killer (NK) and macrophage (MP) cells may be one strategy for overcoming R resistance.
During (and after) the Fields Institute Industrial Problem Solving Workshop in August 2019, academic participants and industry mentors developed and calibrated to literature data a quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) model of ADCC/ADCP to interrogate which mechanisms of R resistance could be overcome by increased NK or MP activation, and how much effector cell activation would be required to overcome a given degree and mechanism of R resistance.
This work was motivated by a real-world pharmaceutical drug development question, and the academic-industry interactions during and after the workshop resulted in sharknado plots as well as a published QSP model (presented at American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting, 2021) that was able to address some of the key questions around overcoming R resistance. The published model was then incorporated into an in-house QSP model supporting the development of a Takeda investigational drug which is being developed to restore R sensitivity in an R-resistant patient population.
Duncan Dauvergne : Geodesic networks in random geometry
- Presentations ( 30 Views )The directed landscape is a random directed metric on the plane that is the scaling limit for models in the KPZ universality class. In this metric, typical pairs of points are connected by a unique geodesic. However, certain exceptional pairs are connected by more exotic geodesic networks. The goal of this talk is to describe a full classification for these exceptional pairs. I will also discuss some connections with other models of random geometry.
Farid Hosseinijafari : On the Special Values of Certain L-functions: G_2 over a Totally Imaginary Field
- Number Theory ( 63 Views )In this talk, I will present an overview of the framework originally proposed by Harder and further developed in collaboration with Raghuram to address rationality problems for special values of certain automorphic L-functions. I will then proceed to state my main results on the rationality of the special values of Langlands-Shahidi L-functions appearing in the constant term of the Eisenstein series associated with the exceptional group of type G_2 over a totally imaginary number field. This study marks the first instance where rank-one Eisenstein cohomology is employed to investigate the arithmetic of automorphic L-functions in the presence of multiple L-functions.
Duncan Dauvergne : Random planar geometry and the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class
- Presentations ( 35 Views )Consider the lattice Z^2, and assign length 1 or 2 to every edge by flipping a series of independent fair coins. This gives a random weighted graph, and looking at distances in this graph gives a random planar metric. This model is expected to have a continuum scaling limit as we decrease the spacing between lattice points. Moreover, most natural models of random planar metrics and random interface growth (the so-called `KPZ universality class') are expected to converge to the same limiting geometry. The goal of this talk is to introduce this limit, known as the directed landscape, and describe at least one model where we can actually prove convergence.
Lenny Ng : New algebraic invariants of Legendrian links
- Geometry and Topology ( 45 Views )For the past 25 years, a key player in contact topology has been the Floer-theoretic invariant called Legendrian contact homology. I'll discuss a package of new invariants for Legendrian knots and links that builds on Legendrian contact homology and is derived from rational symplectic field theory. This includes a Poisson bracket on Legendrian contact homology and a symplectic structure on augmentation varieties. Time permitting, I'll also describe an unexpected connection to cluster theory for a family of Legendrian links associated to positive braids. Parts of this are joint work in progress with Roger Casals, Honghao Gao, Linhui Shen, and Daping Weng.
Anna Skorobogatova : Area-minimizing currents: structure of singularities and uniqueness of tangent cones
- Geometry and Topology ( 46 Views )The problem of determining the size and structure of the interior singular set of area-minimizing surfaces has been studied thoroughly in a number of different frameworks, with many ground-breaking contributions. In the framework of integral currents, when the surface has higher codimension than 1, the presence of singular points with flat tangent cones creates an obstruction to easily understanding the interior singularities. Until recently, little was known in this direction, particularly for surfaces of dimension higher than two, beyond Almgren’s celebrated dimension estimate on the interior singular set. In this talk I will discuss joint works with Camillo De Lellis and Paul Minter, where we establish (m-2)-rectifiability of the interior singular set of an m-dimensional area-minimizing integral current and classify tangent cones at \mathcal{H}^{m-2}-a.e. interior point.
Chun-Hsien Hsu : Weyl algebras on certain singular affine varieties
- Number Theory ( 113 Views )The module theory of the Weyl algebra, known as the theory of $D$-modules, has profound applications in various fields. One of the most famous results is the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence, establishing equivalence between holonomic $D$-modules and perverse sheaves on smooth complex varieties. However, when dealing with singular varieties, such correspondence breaks down due to the non-simplicity of Weyl algebras on singular varieties. In our ongoing work, we introduce a new ring of differential operators on certain singular affine varieties, whose definition is analytically derived from harmonic analysis. It should contain the Weyl algebra as a proper subring and shares many properties with the Weyl algebra on smooth varieties. In the talk, after a brief review of the Weyl algebra, I will explain how the new ring of differential operators arises as a consequence of an explicit form of the Poisson summation conjecture and discuss its properties.
Erik Bates : The Busemann process of (1+1)-dimensional directed polymers
- Probability ( 55 Views )Directed polymers are a statistical mechanics model for random growth. Their partition functions are solutions to a discrete stochastic heat equation. This talk will discuss the logarithmic derivatives of the partition functions, which are solutions to a discrete stochastic Burgers equation. Of interest is the success or failure of the “one force-one solution principle” for this equation. I will reframe this question in the language of polymers, and share some surprising results that follow. Based on joint work with Louis Fan and Timo Seppäläinen.
Samit Dasgupta : Ribets Lemma and the Brumer-Stark Conjecture
- Number Theory ( 48 Views )In this talk I will describe my recent work with Mahesh Kakde on the Brumer-Stark Conjecture and certain refinements. I will give a broad overview that motivates the conjecture and gives connections to explicit class field theory. I will conclude with a description of recent work (joint w/ Kakde, Jesse Silliman, and Jiuya Wang) in which we complete the proof of the conjecture. Moreover, we deduce a certain special case of the Equivariant Tamagawa Number Conjecture, which has important corollaries. The key aspect of the most recent results, which allows us to handle the prime p=2, is the proof of a version of Ribet's Lemma in the case of characters that are congruent modulo p.