Alistair Savage
University of Ottawa
February 26, 2015 from 16:00 to 18:00 (Montreal/EST time) On location
Colloquium presented by Alistair Savage (University of Ottawa)
This will be an expository talk concerning the idea of categorification and its role in representation theory. We will begin with some very simple yet beautiful observations about how various ideas from basic algebra (monoids, groups, rings, representations etc.) can be reformulated in the language of category theory. We will then explain how this viewpoint leads to new ideas such as the "categorification" of the abovementioned algebraic objects. We will conclude with a brief synopsis of some current active areas of research involving the categorification of quantum groups. One of the goals of this idea is to produce four-dimensional topological quantum field theories. Very little background knowledge will be assumed.
Address
McGill University, Burnside Hall, 805 rue Sherbrooke 0., Montréal, room 920