Approximate lattices in algebraic groups

Mon Nov 28, 2022 4:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m.
Exterior of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall featuring a stone carving of Yale's coat of arms and motto

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Seminar: 
Group Actions, Geometry and Dynamics

Event time: 
Monday, November 28, 2022 - 4:00pm

Speaker: 
Simon Machado

Speaker affiliation: 
IAS

Event description: 
Approximate lattices in locally compact groups are approximate subgroups that are discrete and have finite co-volume. They provide natural examples of objects at the intersection of the theory of discrete subgroups of Lie groups, ergodic theory and additive combinatorics.

A central question arising from seminal work of Yves Meyer asks whether approximate lattices have an arithmetic origin. I will present a complete structure theorem for approximate lattices in linear algebraic groups in terms of bounded cohomology that, in particular, answers this question. I will pinpoint key instances where the interplay between additive combinatorics and other fields - e.g. ergodic theory and algebraic groups - is particularly fruitful.