Title: Spreading the word.
Speaker: Nir Avni
Speaker Info: Northwestern University
Brief Description:
Special Note:
Abstract:
If you randomize two elements x,y uniformly in a group G, the distribution of their commutator x y x^- y^-, is no longer uniform. This commutator distribution captures a lot of information on the representation theory of G. More generally, you can take instead a different expression in x,y (such expressions are called words; they correspond to elements of the free group on two elements) and compute the resulting distribution. There are many open questions regarding these distributions and I'll try to explain as many as I can.Date: Friday, May 7, 2021