EVENT DETAILS AND ABSTRACT

Title: Ball quotients and Algebraic Geometry
Speaker: Eduard Looijenga
Speaker Info: University of Chicago
Brief Description:
Special Note:
Abstract:

Some moduli spaces in algebraic geometry come with a Kaehler metric of constant negative holomorphic curvature or more precisely, can be identified (usually via a period map) with a Zariski open subset of a complex ball quotient. About 27 years ago Allcock found a ball quotient of dimension 13, which is intriguing for two reasons: its expected connections with some of the sporadic finite simple groups (such as the Monster group) and the likelihood of it having a modular interpretation. I shall first review the most important known examples of ball quotients with a modular interpretation (all of dimension at most 10) and then describe recent progress on the 'moonshine properties' of the Allcock ball quotient.