Mock modular and quantum modular forms
Time and place
12:30–1:30 PM on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021; Zoom Link: https://ccny.zoom.us/j/92057419965
Amanda Folsom (Amherst College)
Note
Please note that this colloquium will be on Tuesday, March 02 during 12:30 - 1:30 pm instead of the regular colloquium day.
Abstract
Modular forms, functions which possess a type of symmetry on the upper half of the complex plane, have played central and far-reaching roles in number theory and mathematics over the last two centuries. What can be gained by perturbing modular symmetries? We will discuss this theme from past to present, in the context of mock modular forms and quantum modular forms, both of which are younger descendents of modular forms. Some topics of current of interest in this direction have their roots in the first half of the 20th century dating back to Ramanujan and Gauss, while some fascinating and surprising answers come from just the last 15 years. In this talk, we will give an accessible introduction to these intertwined topics and some of their recent applications.
