Presentation topics, Representation Theory, Math 9140b, Winter 2012

All students are expected to attend all presentations and to arrive on time.

Possible Topics: These are suggestions, but you can also propose other topics. Topics need to be discussed with me and approved. You should choose a topic that is not something you already know about. When you meet with me, I can give more information about the topics and can suggest further references. You should also do some research about the topics.

Some of these may be covered in class, as the final choice of course material is still being worked out.

Sternberg's book is available here.

• the representation ring of a group
• representations of semidirect products of groups. 3.8 in Sternberg is one possible source, but I believe there are slicker ways to do it. See Section 8.2 of Serre's book on representation theory and/or Section 3.7 of Andy Baker's notes for brief treatments.
• the representations of the Poincare group, using the previous item. This gives Wigner's classification of particles by mass and spin. Sternberg does this in 3.9, but some parts aren't clear. Other references are given in this mathoverflow question, e.g. Varadarajan's book (Thm 9.4, 2nd ed.). This article by Straumann might be helpful. There's also a long, inconclusive discussion at the n-category cafe.
• representations of S_n (Steinberg, Chapter 10). This is too much for one presentation, but it could be split into two, with one focusing on the combinatorics of Young diagrams/tableaux/tabloids and the other on the representation theory. Even then, there would only be time for highlights.
• Voting and Fourier analysis on the symmetric group S_n, e.g. via the references mentioned in Example 5.5.8 of Steinberg (e.g. Diaconis, 1989).
• probability and random walks on groups (Steinberg, Chapter 11, especially 11.4)
• More on the relationship between representation theory and graph theory, e.g. via the references mentioned in Remark 5.4.13 of Steinberg.
• the fast Fourier transform; most treatments don't have much representation theory, so this is a bit tangential. (One exception is a survey paper by D. Maslen and D. Rockmore available here, but it's fairly intricate.)
• representations of SU(2) (e.g. Sternberg 4.3)
• representations of compact topological groups or Lie groups, possibly covering Haar measure and the Peter-Weyl theorem (e.g. Sternberg 4.1, 4.2 and Appendix E; or J.F. Adams, Lectures on Lie Groups)
• representations of Lie algebras and su(2) (Sternberg 4.10 and 4.11 is one possible source, but there are many others)
• representations of quantum groups/Hopf algebras, or just SL_q(2)
• Tannaka duality: to what extent does the category of representations determine the group? See, e.g., a paper by Andrew Dudzik, and also ask me for ideas.
• connections between representation theory and knot theory
• group cohomology (e.g. Carlson's book, Weibel's book on homological algebra, this expository article by Iskasen, etc.)
• modular representation theory, i.e. representations over finite fields; maybe also the stable module category of a group (e.g. Carlson's book)
• applications to particle physics (e.g. Sternberg 3.10, 3.12, 5.9 to 5.12, ...)
• applications to crystalography (e.g. Sternberg 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10)
• other applications (e.g Sternberg 4.5 to 4.9)

Duration: 45-55 minutes. The presentations are not long, so you will need to carefully select the appropriate amount of material to present. You should focus on the key ideas, with illustrative examples. You aren't expected to prove everything, but should give one or two short proofs. It should be regarded more like a seminar talk than a course lecture.

Grading: The presentations will be worth 1/3 of the overall mark in the course. They will be graded on:

• Knowledge of material. Be prepared to answer questions.
• Organization of material: what you choose to cover, and how you choose to organize it. Don't forget to include motivating examples, history (e.g. attributions and years), and context.
• Clarity and style of presentation: speaking clearly, looking at audience, giving clear explanations, etc.
• Blackboard use: use boards in order, don't erase what you've just written, don't stand in front of what you've written, use coloured chalk when appropriate, etc.
• Duration: if you end within the time span given, you get full marks for this category; otherwise, you lose marks. You might want to build some flexibility into the end of your presentation so you can adjust on the fly.

Timeline:

• Right away: look over topics and read about a couple of them.
• Meet with me May 21-25 to discuss topics and select a date. Talks will take place roughly June 18 to 29.
• Finalize choice of your topic ≥ 3 weeks ahead of your date.
• Give me an outline (1 to 2 pages) ≥ 2 weeks ahead of your date.
• Give me a draft of the whole talk ≥ 1 week ahead of your date. Indicate which parts you will say and which parts you will write on the board.