Texas A&M University, Department of Mathematics, 216 Milner Hall, 14th of April 2004, 3:00-4:00

Groups and Dynamcs Seminar


From Ramanujan graphs to Ramanujan complexes

Alexander Lubotzky of Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Ramanujan graphs are k-regular graphs with optimal bounds on their eigenvalues. They play a central role in various questions in combinatorics and computer science. Their construction is based on the work of Deligne and Drinfeld on the Ramanujan conjecture for GL(2). The recent work of Lafforge which settles the Ramanujan conjecture for GL(n) over function fields opens the door to the study of Ramanujan complexes: these are higher dimensinal analogues which are obtained as quotients of the Bruhat-Tits building of PGL(n) over local fields.