FW: 4-13-2004 - Khovanov Homology for Tangles and Cobordisms; Dror Bar-Natan, University of Toronto

From: Kelli McGee \(Kelly Services Inc\) (a-kellim@microsoft.com)
Date: Thu Apr 08 2004 - 08:57:43 PDT

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    You are invited to attend...

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    WHO: Dror Bar-Natan

    AFFILIATION: University of Toronto

    TITLE: Khovanov Homology for Tangles and Cobordisms

    WHEN: Tue 4/13/2004

    WHERE: 113/1021 Research Lecture Room, Microsoft Research

    TIME: 1:30PM-3:00PM

    HOST: Michael Freedman

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    ABSTRACT:

    In my talk I will display one complicated picture and discuss it at
    length. Applying a certain 2D TQFT, we will get a homology theory whose
    Euler characteristic is the Jones polynomial. Not applying it, very
    cheaply we will get an invariant of tangles which is functorial under
    cobordisms and an invariant of 2-knots.

    Why is it interesting?

    * It is a knot/link/tangle invariant stronger than the Jones
    polynomial.
    * It may be stronger than the original "Khovanov Homology".
    * It has several generalizations, but as a whole, we hardly
    understand it. It may have significant algebraic and/or physical
    ramifications.
    * It is functorial in the appropriate sense, and Rasmussen
    (math.GT/0402131 <http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/math.GT/0402131> uses
    it to do some real topology.

     

     

    BIO:

    Dror Bar-Natan received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton
    University in 1991. Since 2002 he has been at the University of Toronto
    as an Associate Professor of Mathematics. His present field of research
    is Quantum Algebra and Topology.

     

     


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