Departmental Colloquium
Bryna Kra
Northwestern University
Nilsystems in dynamics
Abstract: The connection between ergodic theory and additive
combinatorics dates back to the 1970's, with Furstenberg's proof of
Szemeredi's Theorem via ergodic theory. Certain algebraic constraints
(arising from nilsystems) play a key role in understanding objects
that arise in Furstenberg's proof. More recently, nil-structures have
been imported into the finite combinatorial setting, playing a role in
finding patterns in the primes. I will give an overview of where
nilsystems arise in ergodic theory and topological dynamics,
explaining some of the connections to additive combinatorics.
Friday November 6, 2009 at 3:00 PM in SEO 636