LMS General Meeting & Aitken Lecture 2022 (online)

Programme (all timings are in BST)

3.30 pm Opening of the meeting and LMS Business (open to all)

• Election of the LMS Honorary Members in 2022
• Announcement of the 2022 LMS Prize winners

3.30 pm Opening of the meeting and LMS Business (open to all)

3.45 pm First Lecture: Becky Armstrong (Muenster)

Groupoidology

Abstract: Many abstract mathematical concepts have well-known applications to popular puzzles and games, with one famous example being the connection between Group Theory and Rubik's Cubes. The Fifteen Puzzle consists of a 4-by-4 grid of sliding tiles numbered 1 to 15, and is considered solved when these tiles are arranged consecutively. In this talk I will introduce a generalisation of groups, called "groupoids", which can be exploited to solve the Fifteen Puzzle. I will then explain the major role that groupoids play in my research area of Operator Algebras, and what advantages they provide over groups.

4.45pm Break

5.15 pm LMS Aitken Lecture 2022: Lisa Orloff Clark (Victoria University of Wellington)

Equivalence relations, topology and C*-algebras

Abstract:  C*-algebras provide the mathematical underpinnings of quantum mechanics.  They have a rich theory that has been developed over the last century.  In 1943,  Gelfand and Naimark showed that every C*-algebra is isomorphic to a subalgebra of operators on a Hilbert space.  So, in the finite dimensional setting, the study of C*-algebras is essentially the study of matrices.    Yet even with this powerful theorem,  an abstract C*-algebra can be a complicated beast and understanding basic properties can be difficult.    In this talk we describe how to build a C*-algebra from an equivalence relation so that one can see properties of the algebra by looking at properties of the equivalence relation.    To get a robust class of C*-algebras in this way, we will consider equivalence relations on topological spaces.  This talk will include several examples and assumes no C*-algebraic background. 

6.15pm Close of meeting

6.30pm LMS Reception at De Morgan House

7.30pm Society Dinner at Trattoria Verdi, Southampton Row, London