Maths Inaugural Lecture: Professors Nikolay Gromov and Payman Kassaei

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You're warmly invited in-person or online to our inaugural lecture event series with speakers from the Department of Mathematics, Professors Nikolay Gromov and Payman Kassaei.

The Inaugural Lecture Series from the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) celebrates the journeys and career successes of our professors, to provide insight and inspiration from the faculty's leading scientists.

Nikolay and Payman, both Professors of Mathematics, will present on the ground-breaking research accomplished through their careers. Afterwards, there will be a chance to raise a glass to their achievements over drinks at our reception.

Schedule:

16:45 - 17:00 Registration opens

17:00 - 17:05 Welcome/opening remarks: Professor Rachel Bearon, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

17:05 - 17:30 Hiking through quantum realms: a journey around the singularity by Professor Nikolay Gromov

17:30 - 17:35 Vote of thanks

17:35 - 18:00 Arithmetic and geometry by Professor Payman Kassaei

18:00 - 18:05 Vote of thanks

18:05 - 18:10 Closing remarks: Professor Rachel Bearon, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

18:10 - 19:00 Drinks reception

Hiking through quantum realms: a journey around the singularity by Professor Nikolay Gromov

In the quantum realm, our universe operates on probabilities, challenging our perceptions of reality. Can we be certain that the world behind us remains unchanged when we glance over our shoulder? Surprisingly, the answer is not straightforward, urging us to be vigilant.

The Standard Model of particle physics, a well-established framework describing fundamental particles and their interactions, offers an incredibly precise yet complex description of this quantum world. Validated by experiments and honoured with Nobel Prizes, it remains an imposing challenge to fully unravel, akin to climbing a mountain which is thousand times higher than Everest.

This lecture will explore the enigmatic solutions to similar theories, revealing a mysterious formulation that intertwines parallel worlds connected by a closed walk around a singularity. Resolving the paradoxes between these two realities unlocks the solution to the initial puzzle, offering us the "golden dust" - the magical spectrum. Join us on a journey around the singularity!

Speaker bio:

Nikolay Gromov joined King's College London as a Lecturer in 2010 and was promoted to Professor of Theoretical Physics in 2018.

He studied Physics at Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 2005, and received his PhD from Paris's École normale supérieure in 2008.

Gromov focuses on string theory, quantum field theory and integrability. Notably, he developed the Quantum Spectral Curve, enabling energy levels to be calculated precisely in certain quantum field theories. In 2020, he secured one of the department’s largest grants to advance this work.

He advocates integrating technology into research and education, teaching courses on modern computational techniques.

Gromov currently serves as the Deputy Head (Research) of the Department of Mathematics and acted as the Head of Department in 2021-22.

Outside work, he's a DIY enthusiast and plays instruments from cello to balalaika.

Arithmetic and geometry by Professor Payman Kassaei

In this talk, I will present some of the ideas, relationships, and imageries that have motivated my research on arithmetic geometry.

I will explain that beyond the conventional notion of distance, there is an infinity of less intuitive, yet equally significant notions of distance, one corresponding to each prime number. Each such notion of distance leads to a new geometry. These new geometries, while very different from our usual understanding of geometry (for example, all triangles are isosceles and circles in a plane do not appear one-dimensional), help visualise arithmetic phenomena involving the corresponding prime number.

I will present a glimpse into how these unconventional geometries can be used to study modular forms: infinitely symmetric functions defined entirely in the realm of analysis that intriguingly enumerate objects of algebraic nature.

Speaker bio:

Professor Payman Kassaei obtained his PhD at MIT under the supervision of Professors Steven Kleiman and Fred Diamond. After his PhD he held positions at Michigan State University (MSU), Brandeis University in Boston and McGill University in Montreal. In September 2006, he joined King’s College London where he was promoted to Reader in Number Theory in 2012. He held a position at McGill University before returning to King’s in 2015. He was then promoted to Professor in 2018.

Payman's research interest lies in Arithmetic Geometry. He investigates the geometry of arithmetic varieties of interest and employs them to study automorphic forms - complex analytic tools in number theory and arithmetic geometry. In particular, he is interested in p-adic and mod p automorphic forms, and their role and guidance in shaping the ongoing formulation of a p-adic Langlands programme - a web of far-reaching and consequential conjectures about connections between algebra, geometry and analysis.

Please book your place in-person or online via Eventbrite.

Disclaimer: For in-person events we operate a policy of overbooking, given drop-out rates. Please ensure you arrive in good time to avoid disappointment on the day.

Livestream:

This event will be livestreamed from 17:00 to 18:00 and a recording will be shared on the NMES Faculty YouTube channel.

You will receive the livestream link closer to the event.

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