Sophus Lie Days

     at Cornell University

            September 8–9, 2007

Come and hear about Lie groups and their applications to physics and differential equations.

• Reyer Sjamaar (Cornell), A quick introduction to Lie groups and Lie algebras —
  A Lie algebra is a vector space equipped with a certain kind of "multiplication law." The simplest example, familiar from vector calculus, is the three-dimensional Euclidean space R3 with the cross product. One can use vectors in R3 to parametrize rotations about the origin in R3, and the cross product of two vectors is closely related to (but not the same as) the product of two rotations. Likewise, to every Lie algebra is intimately associated, via the so-called exponential map, a certain kind of group called a Lie group. I will explain these notions and give various examples. This will be a basic introduction to the subject addressed to undergraduates.
   
• Gregg Zuckerman (Yale), Title TBA
   
• Victor Kac (MIT), Title TBA

All talks are accessible to advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. If you are interested in attending, please send a note to liedays@math.cornell.edu. If you need help with your travel expenses, let us know.

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