PhD students

Wednesday 20/05 – MSA 2.240 :

• • 12:30 – 14:00 : Lunch + Poster Session

• • 14:00 – 14:45 : Javier Fernandez Piriz – University of Luxembourg
    
    Grassmannians and representations of Lie groups

    Grassmannians are objects endowed with rich geometrical structures that have been studied in algebraic geometry since the 19th century. A useful way to understand these spaces is through the seemingly unrelated theory of representations of Lie groups. The goal of this talk is to present a brief overview of the interplay between these fields and to motivate how computers are useful in answering many related questions.

• • 14:45 – 15:30 : Rodolphe Abou Assali – IECL
    
    Steklov problems and spectral inequalities in planar domains

    Classical spectral problems, such as the Dirichlet and Neumann problems, focus on the analysis of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions with applications to heat conduction, sound propagation, and vibrational modes in domains with boundaries. Other well-known problems are the Steklov and biharmonic Steklov problems with various boundary conditions. Kuttler and Sigillito established fundamental inequalities relating the eigenvalues of these problems in planar domains. These results were later extended to the scalar case on Riemannian manifolds by Hassannezhad and Siffert. We recently generalized these inequalities to the setting of differential forms. In this talk, we present these spectral problems and the Kuttler-Sigillito inequalities in planar domains, and briefly discuss their generalization.

• • 15:30 – 16:00 : Break

• • 16:00 – 16:45 : Quirijn Boeren – University of Luxembourg
    
    Cusps in the AdS/CFT correspondence

    The AdS/CFT correspondence is a powerful tool in theoretical physics, relating string theories on hyperbolic (Anti-de Sitter) manifolds to a conformal field theory on a boundary manifold. It provides some of the most promising models of quantum gravity. As often in theoretical physics the theory struggles with divergences. I will walk you through one such divergence, caused by a construction from hyperbolic geometry: a manifold with cusp—a puncture at infinite distance—can generate infinite summands to the relation, producing a divergence.

• • 16:45 – 17:30 : Valentin Clarisse – IECL
    
    General relativity and Gregory-Laflamme instability

    The Einstein equations are central to general relativity. They relate the geometry of spacetime to the distribution of matter within it. As we will see later, they form a particularly challenging system of partial differential equations to study. The first major breakthrough in mathematical relativity was achieved by Y. Choquet-Bruhat, who proved in 1952 the local-in-time existence of solutions to the Einstein equations viewed as an evolution problem. More recently, in 1993 and 1994, R. Gregory and R. Laflamme numerically demonstrated the instability of certain types of black string extensions in dimensions greater than or equal to $5$. In 2012, R.M. Wald and S. Hollands developed a fairly general method and criterion for studying the linear stability of black holes, which can be applied to establish Gregory–Laflamme-type instabilities. The article we will focus on, which is more accessible, comes from the doctoral thesis of Sam C. Collingbourne. It was submitted in 2020 and is entitled The Gregory-Laflamme Instability of the Schwarzschild Black String Exterior. It provides a direct mathematical proof of the Gregory–Laflamme linear instability in dimension $5$.

Thursday 21/05 – MSA 2.240 :

• • 9:00 – 9:45 : Katarzyna Szczerba – University of Luxembourg
    
    AI-informed Non-linear Cox Regression for Time-to-event Analysis

    The Cox proportional hazards model is the most commonly used method for multivariate survival analysis. Despite its many advantages, such as simplicity and interpretability, it has a serious drawback: it fails to capture non-linear relationships. In this study, we propose AI-informed Non-linear Cox Model, a method that uses insights from a highly predictive machine learning model, extracted with an interpretable machine learning tool, to integrate non-linear relationships into the traditional Cox model via means of splines. On simulated data with a deliberately introduced non-monotonic relationship between the predictor and the outcome variable, the AI-informed Cox model outperformed the traditional proportional hazards (PH) Cox model. Its concordance index (C-index) was also comparable to that of the best-performing machine learning model – gradient boosted Cox model. Similar results were observed when the models were applied to a prospective dataset in running.

• • 9:45 – 10:30 : Yingtong Hou – IECL
    
    Butcher series: from ordinary differential equations to Rough Path Theory and Regularity Structures

    In this talk, I will give a gentle introduction to Butcher series (B-series), Rough Path Theory, Regularity Structures, and their underlying Hopf algebras. Rough Path Theory and Regularity Structures provide pathwise frameworks for solving rough differential equations (RDEs) and singular stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs), respectively. We will see that all these pathwise solution ansatz are obtained from iterating Taylor expansions. Therefore, Rough Path Theory and Regularity Structures can be viewed as generalisations of B-series designed for solving ordinary differential equations (ODEs). I will present the derivation of B-series-type solution ansatz for ODEs, RDEs, and SPDEs. Rooted trees and Hopf algebras appear naturally in encoding the expansions of solution ansatz. No prior background knowledge in rough analysis is required. Familiarity with Taylor expansions will be sufficient.

• • 10:30 – 11:00 : Break

• • 11:00 – 11:45 : Luís Maia – University of Luxembourg
    
    Fractional Brownian Fields at H=0: Constructions and Limit Theorems

    Fractional Brownian motion and fractional Brownian fields become singular at the endpoint H=0: the usual covariance degenerates. In this talk, I will explain two normalization that recover a meaningful object when $H=0$. The first, due to Neuman and Rosenbaum, treats one-dimensional fractional Brownian motion by subtracting a local average and rescaling. The second, due to Hager and Neuman, extends this idea to higher-dimensional fractional Brownian fields. In both cases, the normalized fields converge to log-correlated Gaussian distributions. I will then discuss results on Hermite functionals of these fields, both on fixed domains and on growing domains.

• • 11:45 – 12:30 : Juan Mardomingo-Sanz – IECL
    
    Slow-fast limits of stochastic particle systems arising in telomere biology

    The ends of linear chromosomes, called telomeres, shorten at each cell replication, eventually driving the cells to a senescent state when they become too short. The enzyme telomerase, present in cancerous cells and some unicellular organisms, elongates the telomeres and allows cells to continue replicating. Recent experiments show that if this enzyme is inactivated some rare survivors (ALT), which elongate their telomeres without telomerase, will appear and will eventually invade the cultures. I will present a simple stochastic particle system which accounts for the emergence and invasion of these ALT cells under an appropriate scaling with different speeds for each cell type.

• • 12:30 – 14:00 : Lunch

• • 14:00 – 14:45 : Szabolcs Buzogany – University of Luxembourg
    
    Galois and torsion-Kummer representations of elliptic curves

    The absolute Galois group $G_Q$ is the group of all isomorphisms from the field of all algebraic numbers to itself and remains a central object in contemporary number theory.
    A common way of studying $G_Q$ is to study its quotients, by the means of defining a group homomorphism between $G_Q$ and a well-studied group. Examples of these maps are Galois (respectively torsion-Kummer) representations, where the codomain is associated with n-torsion (respectively n-division points) of an elliptic curve. In this talk I will provide a gentle introduction to these representations.

• • 15:00 – 17:30 : Scavenger Hunt in the city (Luxembourg)

• • 19:00 : Social Dinner at Brasserie du Cercle (Luxembourg City)

Friday 22/05 – MSA 3.500 :

• • 9:00 – 9:45 : Gautier Schanzenbacher – IECL
    
    An Introduction to Hyperbolic Geometry: Surfaces, Geodesics, and Entropy

    For centuries, mathematicians tried to prove Euclid’s fifth axiom (the parallel postulate) using only the first four. In the 19th century, Gauss showed that replacing this axiom leads to a new, consistent geometry: non-Euclidean geometry. In particular, if we suppose that there are infinitely many lines parallel to a given line passing through a single point, we obtain Hyperbolic Geometry. In this talk, I will start from these foundations to define hyperbolic surfaces. We will then explore the world of curves, geodesics, and homotopy classes to understand the concept of entropy of the geodesic flow of a hyperbolic surface in the simplest way possible.

• • 9:45 – 10:30 : Francesco Tognetti – University of Luxembourg
    
    Who cares about coinduction?

    Everyone is familiar with the concept of (proof by) induction, though not as many are familiar with its dual. In this talk you will get an overview of what coinduction is, when it arises naturally and how it’s used throughout various areas of mathematics.

• • 10:30 – 11:00 : Break

• • 11:00 – 11:45 : Musbahu Idris – IECL
    
    Algorithmic Aspects of Newman Polynomials and Their Divisors

    A Newman polynomial is a polynomial with coefficients in ${0,1}$ and constant term $1$. We investigate which integer-coefficient polynomials divide a Newman polynomial, focusing on those with small Mahler measure. Using mixed-integer linear programming, we determine the divisibility status of all $8,438$ known polynomials with Mahler measure less than $1.3$. We further exhibit new polynomials that divide no Newman polynomial, improving the best known upper bound on a conjectural universal constant $\sigma$ to approximately $1.419$.

• • 11:45 – 12:30 : Francisco Pina – University of Luxembourg
    
    Statistics of Interacting Particle Systems

    Interacting particle systems can be seen as a system of N SDEs describing the evolution of a collection of agents whose behaviour depends not only on their own dynamics, but also on their interactions with the rest of the system. Such models arise in many different contexts, and a typical example is opinion dynamics, where the evolution of an individual’s opinion is influenced by the opinions of others.
    In this talk, we present the mathematical framework of interacting particle systems and discuss how statistical methods can be used to estimate the interaction law governing the system from observed particle trajectories. In particular, we introduce a nonparametric approach for estimating the underlying interaction function.

• • 12:30 – 14:00 : Lunch

Le laplacien est un opérateur différentiel qui apparaît dans de nombreux problèmes physiques. Ses valeurs propres correspondent, par exemple, aux notes que l’on entend lorsque l’on tape sur un tambour. Elles sont fortement liées à la géométrie de l’objet qu’on étudie (aire, périmètre, longueur de certaines courbes…). L’objectif de ma thèse est de proposer une manière intuitive et pratique de choisir des surfaces aléatoirement, et de donner des informations sur la répartition des valeurs propres du laplacien sur ces surfaces.

Les équations d’Einstein de la relativité décrivent le couplage entre le champ gravitationnel représenté par une métrique Lorentzienne g et la matière. Sous un certain choix de jauge, les équations d’Einstein peuvent s’écrire sous la forme d’un système d’EDP d’évolution, plus précisément des équations d’ondes quasilinéaires pour les composantes de la métrique (g), pour lesquelles le d’Alembertien est l’opérateur d’onde associé à la métrique Lorentzienne (g). La compréhension du comportement des solutions de ces équations en temps long est l’un des thèmes principaux de la relativité générale mathématique.

Au cours de cet exposé, je vais introduire les équations d’Einstein, expliquer certaines de leurs propriétés géométriques telles que leur covariance (de jauge) générale qui nous permettent de les considérer comme des EDP d’évolution (non-linéaires). J’expliquerai ensuite des idées générales pour aborder des résultats d’existence globaux (en temps) pour ces équations. En particulier, je soulignerai l’importance de donner du sens à des solutions à faible régularité pour obtenir des résultats d’existence globaux pour de nombreuses équations d’évolution non-linéaires.

Résume à venir

Étant donnée une équation différentielle linéaire, une question
importante est de savoir si celle-ci admet une (unique) solution. Un
problème un peu moins contraignant est de se demander si l’équation est Fredholm, c’est à dire “presque inversible” (dans un sens qu’on
précisera). Mon but est de montrer que cette question conduit
naturellement à étudier certaines algèbres d’opérateurs (appelées (C^*)-algèbres) qui ont une structure très riche. On verra que quand
on regarde une équation différentielle sur (mathbb{R}^n), la (C^*)-algèbre associée
est commutative, ce qui fournit une réponse complète au problème.
J’essaierai d’exposer les questions plus générales qui restent ouvertes
lorsqu’on étudie des espaces moins réguliers.

Ce court exposé porte principalement sur l’équivalence locale fondamentale (FLE) de Dennis Gaitsgory du programme quantum Langlands. Son origine est l’équivalence géométrique Satake. Afin de déformer l’équivalence d’origine, nous devons passer au modèle de Whittaker (objets (N (K), chi)-équivalents d’une catégorie). L’équivalence fondamentale veut établir une équivalence entre le modèle de Whittaker et le modèle de Kazhan-Lusztig. Dans cet exposé, je vais expliquer pourquoi les gens s’intéressent à ce programme et aux progrès récents en la matière. Si nous avons plus de temps, je me concentrerai sur mes travaux récents sur la FLE entre la catégorie Whitter tordue sur drapeau affine et la catégorie représentation mixte du groupe quantique.

Einstein’s equations have sparked much imagination in pop culture, but mathematically, are still very mysterious. In this talk, I will introduce the question of stability and long-time asymptotic behavior in mathematical relativity, beginning with the crucial result of Choquet-Bruhat that allowed Einstein’s equations to be viewed as a system of second-order hyperbolic equations. From there, I will introduce the basic concepts at the heart of the vectorfield method (which led to the pioneering work of Christodoulou and Klainerman demonstrating nonlinear stability of Minkowski space), using the free wave as the underlying motivator. Finally, I will present some brief ideas related to integrated local energy and geometric difficulties that come up when studying asymptotic behavior on non-flat spacetimes.

Je présenterai le modèle de la marche aléatoire branchante, qui est un système de particules qui alterne entre une phase de reproduction et une phase de déplacement. Cela revient à observer un grand nombre de variables aléatoires dont la structure de corrélation est donné par l’arbre généalogique de la population. Nous verrons l’influence de ces corrélations sur la position des particules les plus hautes à un instant donné, ce qui permettra de rappeler et d’illustrer les différentes notions de convergence utilisée en probabilités.

Les arbres récursifs des arbres enracinés (graphes connexes sans cycle avec un sommet distingué) étiquetés de telle façon à ce que l’étiquette de chaque sommet soit plus grande que celle de son parent.
Ces arbres peuvent représenter le résultat d’un phénomène de croissance dans le temps, l’ordre des étiquettes correspondant à l’ordre d’arrivée des noeuds dans une construction itérative.
On présentera plusieurs modèles aléatoires produisant de tels arbres en commençant par le modèle uniforme et le modèle d’attachement préférentiel. On montrera que ces deux exemples sont en fait deux cas particuliers d’un modèle plus général, les arbres récursifs pondérés.
On étudiera donc quelques propriétés asymptotiques de ces arbres dans ce contexte plus général comme les degrés des sommets, la hauteur maximale ou la hauteur d’un sommet typique, lorsque le nombre de sommets devient grand.

L’approche perturbative usuelle de la théorie des champs, notamment dans le formalisme de l’intégrale fonctionnelle est très mal définie sur le plan mathématique, et permet cependant de prédire des résultats expérimentaux avec une précision extraordinaire.Après un tour d’horizon général sur la théorie des champs et les différentes approches, nous nous focaliserons sur la théorie des champs dite perturbative dans le formalisme de l’intégrale fonctionnelle. A partir d’un cas non-physique très simplifié, nous présenterons les ingrédients fondamentaux que sont les diagrammes de Feynman et soulignerons plusieurs problèmes qui surviennent. Nous évoquerons par la suite les problèmes qui surviennent lorsque l’on cherche à décrire un système physique.