Geometry, Topology and Dynamics Seminar
Maxime Bergeron
University of Chicago
The Topology of Representation Varieties
Abstract: Let $\Gamma$ be a finitely generated group, let $G$ be a complex reductive algebraic group (e.g. a special linear group) and let $K$ be a maximal compact subgroup of $G$ (e.g. a special unitary group). I will discuss exceptional classes of groups $\Gamma$ for which there is a deformation retraction of $Hom(\Gamma,G)$ onto $Hom(\Gamma,K)$, thereby allowing us to obtain otherwise inaccessible topological invariants of these representation spaces.
Monday February 26, 2018 at 3:00 PM in SEO 636