Speaker: Ralf Spatzier, University of Michigan

Title: Higher Rank in Geometry and Dynamics - How isometric and hyperbolic behavior force rigidity

Time: Thursday April 23, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
Location: Binghamton University, Science 2, Room 140

followed by a Reception at 4.30, in The President's Reception Room, Anderson Performing Center, Binghamton University. This reception is for the whole Binghamton Mathematics Community as well as for our visitors.

Flyer for the lecture

Abstract:

Higher rank phenomena have led to surprising rigidity results in group theory, geometry and dynamics. Examples start with Margulis superrigidity theorem for lattices in higher rank semisimple Lie groups, followed by the classification of nonpositively curved Riemannian manifolds with lots of flats. In recent years similar phenomena have been found in dynamics, in particular in the classification of hyperbolic actions on tori and nilmanifolds of higher rank Abelian groups and their measure rigidity.