Workshop on the Thompson Groups

Odense, August 15-17, 2016.

Aims: This workshop is dedicated to investigations of the Thompson groups F, T, and V. The main focus will be on interactions between different approaches, including experimental and computer based methods, as well as analytic and C*-algebraic ones.
Our motivation comes from the line of research initiated by Uffe Haagerup and his collaborators. On the one hand, they gave lower estimates for the norms entering Kesten's conditions for group F. On the other, they showed close relation between the structure of the reduced C*-algebras for F and T and the amenability problem for F. Further investigations are currently under way of connections between Thompson's groups and the Cuntz algebra O₂ and its automorphisms. Although these are on the analytic side, it is transparent that a lot can be gained from blending them with more algebraic, computational and group theoretic techniques.
Our aim is to bring together a small group of experts, each giving a series of lectures. There will be discussion sessions every day for exchange of ideas that hopefully may lead to new interesting developments.

Venue and dates: University of Southern Denmark, Room U151 , Odense, August 15-17, 2016.

Financial support: Participants may apply for financial support, which will be given depending on availability of funds.

Registration: Please register for the workshop by filling in this registration form. Registration is free and it closes August the 1st, 2016. 

Speakers:

• James M. Belk (Bard College, USA)
  
• Matt Brin (SUNY at Binghamton, USA)
  
• José Burillo (Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain)
  
• Casey R. Donovan (University of St Andrews, UK)
  
• Murray Elder (The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia)
  
• Andrew Elvey Price (University of Melbourne, Australia)
  
• Gili Golan (Vanderbilt University, USA)
  
• Victor S. Guba (Vologda State University, Russia)
  
• Vaughan Jones (Vanderbilt University, USA)
  
• Maria Ramirez-Solano (University of Southern Denmark, DK)
  
• Andrew Rechnitzer (University of British Columbia, Canada)
  
• Cameron Rogers (The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia)
  
• Mark Sapir (Vanderbilt University, USA)
  

Slides:

• M. Elder
• A. Elvey Price
• V. Jones
• A. Rechnitzer
• C. Rogers

Further information:

Schedule of Talks

• Abstracts
• List of participants
• Directions(Maps) The workshop will be held in Room U151 in SDU. From Copenhagen airport (CPH) it is probably easiest to take the train to Odense station. The trip takes about two hours (and you may have change trains at the main station in Copenhagen). The cost of the round train ticket is now approximately 560 DKK (85 USD). When you arrive to Odense train station, you can either take a taxi or the bus. There is a bus station right outside the train station (from the side of a seven eleven store), You can take bus number 41, 42 or 44 (in the direction University). The trip by bus takes about 20 min and your train ticket covers already the bus fare (23DKK) so you do not need to pay any fare just show your train ticket to the bus driver. I am attaching a few maps to help you get to Room U151. From the map you can see that there are two main entrances to the university. The bus will arrive first to the main entrance, where starbucks is, and you can get off there but you have to walk a very long hallway almost all the way to the end and then turn left and walk about 100 meters to get to Room U151, where the workshop will be held at (the map also shows where the math department is at). Alternatively you get off at the second bus stop which is under a bridge, and this busstop is closer to Room U151 which will spare you the long walk in the long hallway but you still have to walk the 100 meters.
• Reimbursement form You will have to fill out a form that we will provide when you arrive here. Please make sure to bring the bank information requested in the reimbursement form. Also, please bring all your receipts in original form. No need for boarding passes, only your receipts with the amounts. If there are more bills to reimburse you have to send them to us by mail.
• City Hotel Odense Most of the participants will stay in this hotel.
• Fancy Dinner at Sortebro Kro (See schedule of talks)

Organizers: Selçuk Barlak, Bartosz Kwaśniewski, David Kyed, Maria Ramirez-Solano, Wojciech Szymański.

Sponsors:   The workshop is financed by Villum Fonden and by University of Southern Denmark.