Seminar on Arithmetic Geometry and Algebraic Groups
This seminar is focusing on various research topics in arithmetic geometry with special regard to algebraic groups, homogeneous spaces and related structures or problems.
Normally, one or two online talks are expected to be scheduled per month. The date and time of each talk will be flexibly arranged according to the speaker’s convenience.
The online talks are usually run via the software Voov Meeting (or equivalently, Tencent meeting in China mainland). Please read the instructions on downloading and using Voov here.
If you want to receive annoucements of the seminar talks, please email one of the organizers.
Organizers
CAO Yang (Shandong Univ., Jinan); yang###1988@email.sdu.edu.cn ###=Yang’s family name
HU Yong (Southern Univ. Sci. Tech., Shenzhen) ; ###@sustech.edu.cn ###=first 3 letters of “huyong”
HUANG Zhizhong (Chinese Acad. Sci., Beijing) ; zhizhong.#####@yahoo.com #####=Zhizhong’s family name
LEE Ting-Yu (Taiwan Univ., Taiwan); tingyu###@ntu.edu.tw ###=Tingyu’s family name
TIAN Yisheng (Harbin Institute Tech., Harbin); tys####@mail.ustc.edu.cn ####=first 4 letters of “mathematics”
XU Fei (Capital Normal Univ., Beijing); xuf##@math.ac.cn ##=last 2 letters of “fei”
Past sessions: 2022 Session 2023 Session
2024 Fall Session
The next talk on Thursday, December 19, 2024, 16:00--17:00 (Beijing Time).
Date: 19.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 16:00–17:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 19.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:00–10:00 (Central European Winter Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Flora Poon (National Center for Theoretical Sciences)
Title: Kuga-Satake construction on families of K3 surfaces of Picard rank 14
Abstract: Classically, it is known that the period domain D of a moduli space of K3 surfaces of Picard rank r > 13 is diffeomorphic to the period domain of a different moduli space of some polarized varieties. The lowest Picard rank known for such a coincidence happens is r = 14: there is a diffeomorphism from D to the period domain of a moduli of polarized abelian 8-folds with totally definite quaternion multiplication, which descends to a map between the corresponding moduli spaces. We will describe the latter map explicitly by considering the Kuga-Satake construction on lattice polarized K3 surfaces. Using lattice theoretical arguments, we will also show that the map of moduli exhibits exceptional behaviour when specialised to families of K3 surfaces of Picard rank 18 admitting a Shioda-Inose or a Kummer structure.
Ref:
Date: 18.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 16:30–17:30 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 18.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:30–10:30 (Central European Winter Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Florian Wilsch (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
Title: Integral points on affine cubic surfaces: heuristics and numerics
Abstract: We develop a heuristic for the number of integral solutions to cubic equations in three variables based on the circle method, predicting a logarithmic order of magnitude. This generalizes Heath-Browns conjecture on the number of representations k = x³ + y³ + z³ of an integer k (that is not a perfect cube) as a sum of three cubes. The heuristic can be tested against asymptotic formulae by Zagier on the Markoff surface and by Baragar and Umeda on variants of it. Moreover, we obtained numerical data on some families of surfaces to test our heuristic against. This is joint work with Tim Browning.
Ref:
F. Wilsch, Integral points on cubic surfaces: heuristics and numerics
Date: 13.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 16:00–17:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 13.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:00–10:00 (Central European Winter Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Azur Đonlagić (Paris-Saclay University)
Title: Brauer-Manin obstructions on homogeneous spaces of affine algebraic groups over global function fields
Abstract: Given a family of varieties X over a global field k, one is interested in the sufficiency of the Brauer-Manin obstruction to explain the possible failure of the Hasse principle and weak/strong approximation of adelic points on X. Let G be an affine algebraic group G over k, and our family of interest - the principal homogeneous spaces X of G.
In 1981, Sansuc proved this sufficiency for connected G over a number field k by reduction to the case of a torus and an application of Poitou-Tate duality. Since then, arithmetic duality theorems have proven useful in the study of similar problems.
In this presentation, we briefly recall the significant generalization by Rosengarten of the Poitou-Tate theory to all commutative affine algebraic groups G over a global field k of any characteristic. Then we explain how this theory allows us to extend the stated Brauer-Manin results to (the principal homogeneous spaces of) all such G, not necessarily smooth or connected, highlighting the difficulties which appear in the case when k is a global function field.
This talk is based on the speaker’s recent preprint, available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.12127.
Ref:
Date: 06.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 16:30–17:30 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 06.12.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:30–10:30 (Central European Winter Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Jakob Glas (Leibniz Universität Hannover)
Title: Terminality of moduli spaces of curves on hypersurfaces via the circle method
Abstract: I will report on joint work with Matthew Hase-Liu that shows that the moduli space of genus g curves of degree e on a smooth hypersurface of low degree only has terminal singularities, provided e is sufficiently large with respect to g. Using a spreading argument together with a result of Mustata, we reduce the problem to counting points over finite fields on the jet schemes of these moduli spaces. We solve this counting problem by developing a suitable version of the circle method.
Ref:
Date: 04.11.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 16:00–17:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 04.11.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:00–10:00 (Central European Winter Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Morena Porzio (Columbia University)
Title: On the stable birationality of Hilbert schemes of points on surfaces
Abstract: In this talk, we will address the question for which pairs of integers (n,n’) the variety Hilb^n_X is stably birational to Hilb^n’_X, when X is a surface with H^1(X,O_X)=0. In order to do so we will relate the existence of degree n’ effective cycles on X with the existence of degree n ones using curves on X. We will then focus on geometrically rational surfaces, proving that there are only finitely many stable birational classes among the Hilb^n_X’s. If time permits, we will see how to deduce from this the rationality of a generalization of the Hasse-Weil zeta function Z(X, t) in K_0(Var/k)/([A^1_k])[[t]] when char(k) = 0.
Ref:
M. Porzio, On the Stable Birationality of Hilbert schemes of points on surfaces
Date: 21.10.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 15:30–16:30 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 21.10.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:30–10:30 (Central European Summer Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Christian Bernert (Leibniz Universität Hannover)
Title: Points of bounded height on quintic del Pezzo surfaces over number fields
Abstract: I will report on joint work with Ulrich Derenthal, where we establish Manin’s conjecture for split smooth quintic del Pezzo surfaces over arbitrary number fields with respect to fairly general anticanonical height functions, using universal torsors. This is the first instance where Manin’s conjecture is established over number fields different from Q for a non-toric smooth del Pezzo surface.
Ref:
Date: 09.10.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 21:30–22:30 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 09.10.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy) Time: 09:30–10:30 (US Eastern Time)
Zoom Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Katharine Woo (Princeton University)
Title: Manin’s conjecture for Châtelet surfaces
Abstract: We resolve Manin’s conjecture for all Châtelet surfaces over Q; we find asymptotics for the number of rational points of increasing height. The key analytic ingredient is estimating sums of Fourier coefficients of modular forms along polynomial values.
Ref:
K. Woo, On Manin’s conjecture for Châtelet surfaces
2024 Spring Session
Date: 22.05.2024 Time: 16:00–17:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 22.05.2024 Time: 10:00–11:00 (Paris Time)
Voov Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Quang-Duc DAO (Sorbonne Université and Université Paris Cité)
Title: Local-global principles for integral points on certain Markoff-type surfaces
Abstract: Ghosh and Sarnak; Loughran and Mitankin; and Colliot-Thélène, Wei, and Xu have recently studied integral points on Markoff surfaces, which are affine cubic surfaces defined by a Diophantine equation. In this talk, inspired by these works and a recent paper of Fuchs, Litman, Silverman, and Tran, I will present some recent results on the Brauer–Manin obstruction to local-global principles for integral points on affine Markoff-type cubic and K3 surfaces along with some counting results in this context.
Ref:
Date: 26.04.2024 Time: 15:00–16:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 26.04.2024 Time: 10:00–11:00 (Israel Time)
Voov Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Mikhail Borovoi (Tel Aviv University)
Title: The power operation in Galois cohomology of reductive groups over number fields
Abstract: Let $K$ be a number field (say, $\mathbf{Q}$) and let G be a connected reductive group over $K$ (say, SO(n)). One needs the first Galois cohomology $H^1(K,G)$ for classification problems in algebraic geometry and linear algebra over $K$.
For a number field $K$ admitting a real embedding (say, $K=\mathbf{Q}$), we show that it is impossible to define a group structure, functorial in $G$, on the Galois cohomology pointed set $H^1(K,G)$ for all connected reductive $K$-groups $G$. However, over an arbitrary number field $K$, we define an operation of raising to power n (which we denote by $\Diamond$): $(x,n) \mapsto x^{\Diamond n}: H^1(K,G) \times \mathbf{Z}\to H^1(K,G).$
We show that this new operation has nice functorial properties. When $G$ is a torus (hence an abelian group), the pointed set $H^1(K,G)$ has a natural abelian group structure, and our new operation coincides with the usual power operation $(x,n)\mapsto x^n$.
For a cohomology class $x$ in $H^1(K,G)$, we define the period (or order) $per(x)$ to be the least integer $n>0$ such that the $n$-th power $x^{\Diamond n}=1$, and we define the index $ind(x)$ to be the greatest common divisor of the degrees $[L:K]$ of finite extensions $L/K$ splitting $x$. We show that $per(x)$ divides $ind(x)$, but they need not be equal. However, $per(x)$ and $ind(x)$ have the same set of prime factors.
All terms will be defined and examples will be given. Based on a joint work with Zinovy Reichstein.
Ref: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.07659
Date: 12.04.2024 Time: 20:30–21:30 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 12.04.2024 Time: 08:30–09:30 (Santiago Winter Time)
Voov Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Giancarlo LUCCHINI ARTECHE (Universidad de Chile)
Title: Transfer principles in Galois cohomology and Serre’s Conjecture II
Abstract: Serre’s Conjecture II states that if K is a field of cohomological dimension ≤ 2, G is a semisimple simply connected K-group and X is a G-torsor, then X is trivial. This conjecture has been proved for several families of fields, and alternatively for several families of groups, but it is still open in its full generality. The usual way of tackling this conjecture consists in “simplifying” the structure of the groups involved, proving that the torsors come from subgroups for which the conjecture has already been proved. In joint work with Diego Izquierdo, we rather focus on “simplifying” the structure of the fields involved. For this, we formulated certain “transfer principles”, which allow us to construct fields with simpler properties, while controlling at the same time their cohomological dimension. In this talk I will give an idea of the present situation of the conjecture and how some of these transfer principles allow us to reduce it to the case of countable fields of characteristic 0.
Date: 22.03.2024 Time: 17:00–18:00 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 22.03.2024 Time: 10:00–11:00 (Paris Time)
Voov Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Elyes Boughattas (Sorbonne Université Paris Nord)
Title: The Tame Approximation Problem for nonsolvable groups
Abstract: Studying the arithmetic of homogeneous spaces of SL_n is a promising angle of attack to the Inverse Galois Problem and to local-global variants such as the Tame Approximation Problem. After giving a historical overview of this approach initiated by Emmy Noether, I will focus on recent developments on a remarkable closed subset of adelic points: the Brauer–Manin set. I will particularly show that the Brauer-Manin set is the closure of the set of rational points for homogeneous spaces of the form X=SL_n/G where G ranges through new families of nonsolvable groups, yielding to new positive answers to the Tame Approximation Problem. This is joint work with Danny Neftin.
Date: 22.03.2024 Time: 15:45–16:45 (Beijing Time)
or
Date: 22.03.2024 Time: 08:45–09:45 (Paris Time)
Voov Meeting ID: available upon request
Speaker: Mathieu Florence (Sorbonne Université)
Title: Linear algebraic groups as automorphism group schemes
Abstract: Let F be a field, and let X/F be a projective variety. The automorphism group functor Aut(X) is represented by a group scheme, locally of finite type over F (Grothendieck). Conversely, given an algebraic group G/F, does there exist a smooth projective variety X/F, such that Aut(X)=G? This question has a rich history. Significant progress was recently made by several authors- especially for abelian varieties. After recalling known results, I’ll explain that the answer to question above is positive when G is affine. This is unconditional: G may be non-smooth. One may then take X to be a suitable blow-up, at a smooth center, of a projective space. The proof features a new structure result for linear algebraic groups.
Ref: M. Florence, Realisation of linear algebraic groups as automorphism groups