Geometry Seminar

Date: February 19, 2018

Time: 3:00PM - 4:00PM

Location: BLOC 628

Speaker: Francis Bonahon, USC

Title: The relation (X+Y)^n = X^n + Y^n, and miraculous cancellations in quantum SL_2

Abstract: The convenient formula (X+Y)^n = X^n + Y^n is (unfortunately) frequently used by our calculus students. Our more advanced students know that this relation does hold in some special cases, for instance in prime characteristic n or when YX=qXY with q a primitive n-root of unity. I will discuss similar ``miraculous cancellations`` for 2-by-2 matrices, in the context of the quantum group U_q(sl_2).