MSCS Graduate Student Seminar
Fall 2000
November 17
SPEAKER: Alex Furman
TITLE: Introduction to an exciting family of group
-lattices in simple Lie groups.
ABSTRACT: > A typical example of a simple Lie group is G=SL(n,R)
- the group of n x n real matrices with det=1.
A lattice L in such G is a discrete subgroup which is sufficiently
large (in a sense to be explained). L=SL(n,Z) is an example of
a lattice in G=SL(n,R). Simple (or semisimple) Lie groups and
their lattices appear naturally in geometry, dynamics, group theory,
number theory and even in combinatorics and probability theory.
In the talk we shall mention some of these relations, and state
some of the remarkable results of Margulis on lattices.
The talk is also meant to advertise a graduate course
"lattices semisimple Lie groups" (Math 570), given in the
spring semester.