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Algebra Seminar

Monday, April 10, 2017 - 3:15pm

Alena Pirutka

Courant Institute, NYU

Location

University of Pennsylvania

DRL 4N30

Let X be a projective algebraic variety, the set of solutions of a
system of homogeneous polynomial equations. Several classical
notions describe how "unconstrained'' the solutions are, i.e., how close X is
to projective space: there are notions of rational, unirational and
stably rational varieties. Over the field of complex numbers, these
notions coincide in dimensions one and two, but diverge in higher
dimensions. In this talk I will discuss classical examples of
rational and nonrational varieties, as well as recent advances in this
area.

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