Seminar at SMU Delhi

September 7, 2011 (Wednesday) , 3:30 PM at Webinar
Speaker: Maneesh Thakur, Indian Statistical Institute
Title: Group of rational points of algebraic groups
Abstract of Talk
Let $G$ be an algebraic group (a group defined by polynomial equations) over a field $K$ (not nec. algebraically closed, e.g., field of rationals, reals). If $K$ is infinite, the group $G(K)$ of $K$-points is dense in $G,$ in most of situations. Hence group theoretic properties of $G(K),$ e.g. its simplicity, its representation theory etc, are important in the study of $G$ itself. In this talk, we will discuss some celebrated problems concerning $G(K)$ (e.g. the Kneser-Tits problem) and mention some recent research in the subject.