This is the calendar of the Illinois' Math Department Topology Seminar. Talks are generally on Tuesdays at 11am, followed by an (optional) lunch with the speaker.
In Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, the seminar room is Altgeld Hall 241 (unless specified otherwise).
Étalé homotopy is a theory that enables the study of algebraic and arithmetic concepts through geometric perspectives. Barry Mazur observed that, from this viewpoint, square-free integers are analogous to links in three-dimensional space. We will explore this analogy and propose a way to give it a statistical flavor. Informally, we assert that a random square-free integer of size approximately X resembles the closure of a random braid on roughly logX strands. We will make this statement more precise by introducing a number-theoretical analog for a family of numerical link invariants (called Kei's) and use this analogy to propose a conjecture regarding their asymptotic behavior. We will also present a few cases where this conjecture has been proven.
Department of Mathematics
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
273 Altgeld Hall
1409 W. Green Street (MC-382)
Urbana, IL 61801
Telephone: 217-333-3350
Email: math@illinois.edu