SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

December 22, 2024

Fields Workshop around Connes' Embedding Problem
May 16- 18, 2008
University of Ottawa


SITE A0150 Friday
SITE H0104 Saturday
SITE AO150 Sunday.
The room for coffee break is SITE J0106. All the above are the same building, 800 King Edward. Map of Campus

Organizers: Benoit Collins, Thierry Giordano, David Handelman, Vladimir Pestov
Scientific Advisory Committee: George Elliott, Roland Speicher.

Registration on site
Fee: $50 for faculty,
$30 for postdocs, $20 for students.
Fee waived for invited speakers
Schedule
Participant List
Abstracts Accommodation and Travel to Ottawa
OVERVIEW

The embedding conjecture was formulated by A. Connes in the seventies. Technically, the question asks whether any finite type von Neumann algebra can be embedded into the ultrapower of the hyperfinite factor. This classification question can be rephrased as a non-commutative moment problem; equivalently, it asks whether generators of any tracial von Neumann probability space admit a matrix model.

Many results of von Neumann algebras theory could be obtained assuming the conjecture. In addition, many striking equivalent statements have been obtained, and no example of non embeddable von Neumann algebra is known so far. While many tried to disprove this conjecture, many new techniques, using non-commutative algebra, real algebraic geometry, representation theory and random matrices have been introduced over the last years.

We believe that we are at a good time to make a synthesis of what the new research trends in this area are: the purpose of this meeting is to create an occasion for the experts to meet, but also for the students to learn in a very accessible way the most recent trends of one of the most important problems of operator algebras.

Schedule

Friday May 16 - SITE A0150 - 800 King Edward
8:45-9:15: Registration & coffee
9:15-10:00 Thierry Giordano (uOttawa)
Introduction to von Neumann algebras
10:15-11:15 Vladimir Pestov (uOttawa)
Ultrafilters and ultraproducts for beginners
11:15-11:45 coffee - SITE J0106
11:45-12:45: Nate Brown, Penn State University
Talk 1: Connes' Embedding Problem: An Introduction.
12:45-14:00:

Pizza-lunch - Math Department KED - 585 King Edward

14:00-15:00: Gabor Elek, The Alfred Renyi Institute of Mathematics
Talk 1: Sofic groups and Connes' Embedding Problem
15:15-16:15: Ilijas Farah, York University
Incompleteness, independence, and absoluteness or: When to call a set theorist?
Saturday May 17 - SITE H0104 - 800 King Edward
9:15-10:15:

Nate Brown, Penn State University
Talk 2: Metric spaces associated with embeddable factors.

10:15-10:45:

coffee - SITE J0106

10:45-11:45:

Wing Suet Li, Georgia Institute of Technology
Eigenvalue inequalities, in an embeddable factor and in other settings

12:00-13:00:

Gabor Elek, The Alfred Renyi Institute of Mathematics
Talk 2: Constant time algorithms and measurable equivalence relations.

13:00-14:30:

Lunch break

14:30-15:30:

Ken Dykema, Texas A&M University
A linearization of Connes' embedding problem

15:30-16:00:

coffee - SITE J0106

16:00-17:00:

Hari Bercovici, Indiana University
Schubert calculus for the practical person 1

17:00-18:00:

Discussion

19:30?-: Restaurant (to be specified)
Sunday May 18 - SITE AO150 - 800 King Edward
9:15-10:15: Markus Schweighofer, Université de Rennes 1
A purely algebraic formulation of Connes' embedding conjecture
10:15-10:45: coffee - SITE J0106
10:45-11:45 Hari Bercovici, Indiana University
Schubert calculus for the practical person 2
12:00-13:00 Igor Klep, University of Ljubljana
Sums of hermitian squares and the BMV conjecture

Participant List

Fullname University/Affiliation
Argerami, Martin University of Regina
Banica, Teodor Univ. Toulouse 3
Bercovici, Hari Indiana University
Brown, Nate Pennsylvania State University
Ciuperca, Alin University of Toronto
Collins, Benoît University of Ottawa
Darras, Mohammed University of Ottawa
de Lataillade, Joachim University of Ottawa
Dykema, Ken Texas A&M University
Elek, Gabor Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Elliott, George University of Toronto
Farah, Ilijas York University
Giordano, Thierry University of Ottawa
Hajji, Wadii University of Ottawa
Handelman, David University of Ottawa
Ivanov, Nikolay Queen's University
Kalantar, Mehrdad Carleton University
Kengne, Emmanuel University of Ottawa
Klep, Igor University of California, San Diego
Kousha, Termeh University of Ottawa
Lei, Tao York University
Li, Wing Suet Georgia Institute of Technology
Mbombo Dempowo, Brice Rodrigue University of Ottawa
Mingo, James A. Queen's University
Ng, Ping Wong University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Pestov, Vladimir University of Ottawa
Poulin, Denis Carleton University
Redelmeier, Emily Queen's University
Saad, Nadia University of Ottawa
Santiago Moreno, Luis University of Toronto
Sasyk, Roman University of Ottawa
Schweighofer, Markus Université de Rennes 1
Speicher, Roland Queen's University
Starling, Charles University of Ottawa
Wang, Jiun-Chau Indiana University
TO BE CONFIRMED  
Novak, Jonathan Queen's University
Viola, Maria Grazia Fields Institute


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