Triangle Seminars

Week of 7 May 2007 - 13 May 2007

Tuesday, 8 May 2007

Critical edge behavior in unitary random matrix ensembles and the thirty fourth Painleve transcendent
Jorgen Ostensson (Leuven)
Venue: Brunel U. ยท Room: M128 ยท Time: 16:00 ยท Type: Regular Seminar
Abstract:
I will discuss a recent work which concerns the critical behavior of eigenvalues in ensembles
1/Z(n,N) det M(2 alpha) exp(-N Tr V(M)) dM with
alpha greater than -1/2, where the factor det M(2alpha) induces critical eigenvalue behavior near the origin. Supposing that the limiting mean eigenvalue density associated with V is
regular, and that the origin is a right endpoint of its support, one can compute (using the Deift-Zhou steepest-descent method) the limiting eigenvalue correlation kernel in the double scaling limit as n, N to infinity such that n(2/3) (n/N-1) = O(1). It turns out that the limiting kernel can be described through a distinguished solution of the thirty fourth Painleve equation. This solution is related to a particular solution of the Painleve II equation,
which however is different from the usual Hastings-McLeod solution.

The talk is based on joint work with Alexander Its and Arno Kuijlaars.
Posted by: brunel

Thursday, 10 May 2007

The twistor programme and twistor strings (From twistor-strings to quantum gravity)
Lionel Mason (Oxford University)
Venue: IC ยท Room: Huxley 503 ยท Time: 13:30 ยท Type: Regular Seminar
Abstract:
The twistor programme was introduced by Roger Penrose as an approach to quantum gravity in which twistor space should provide the primary geometric background for physics from which space-time should emerge. This talk will review the programme, i.e., the early successes in formulating the self-dual parts of Yang-Mills and gravity on twistor space. It will go on to review the impact of twistor-string theory, in giving at least a perturbative approach to full Yang Mills and conformal gravity, and outline arguments that prove the equivalence between the twistor-string models and the space-time theories. Finally, twistor-string models for Einstein gravity will be reviewed.
Posted by: IC
Completing MHV Rules via Equivalence Theorem Evasion
Tim Morris (Southampton)
Venue: QMW ยท Room: 112 ยท Time: 14:00 ยท Type: Regular Seminar

Week of 7 May 2007 - 13 May 2007