Categorical and geometric aspects of quantum mechanics
We will review some currently-studied connections between quantum mechanics and other areas of pure mathematics, focusing on categorical and diagrammatic formulations. In particular, I will discuss work on axiomatic characterizations for the category of Hilbert spaces, and links between entanglement, geometric invariant theory, symplectic reduction, and singularity theory.
Lecturer
Date
14th March ~ 4th July, 2022
Website
Prerequisite
Some basic category theory and algebraic geometry would be helpful
Video Public
Yes
Notes Public
Yes
Lecturer Intro
Will Donovan joined Yau MSC, Tsinghua U in 2018. Since 2021 he is an Associate Professor, and Adjunct Associate Professor at BIMSA. His focus is geometry, in particular applying ideas from physics and noncommutative algebra to study varieties, using tools of homological algebra and category theory. He studied at Cambridge U, completed his PhD at Imperial College London, and was postdoctoral researcher at Edinburgh U, UK. From 2014-18 he was research fellow at Kavli IPMU, U Tokyo, where he is now Visiting Associate Scientist. His work is published in journals including Communications in Mathematical Physics and Duke Mathematical Journal. He is supported by China Thousand Talents Plan, and received a Japan Society for Promotion of Science Young Scientist grant award.