The goal of this seminar is to introduce participants to topological quantum field theories. In the first four weeks, Laura Wells will give a minicourse (notes below). The following weeks, participants will give talks and lead problem sessions on related topics of their choice.

Laura has provided a description of the minicourse and some ideas for related topics: Link.

Organizers: Jens Jakob Kjaer and J.D. Quigley
Seminar: Wednesday, 11:30am-12:30pm, Hurley 258
Problem session: Monday, 10:30am-11:30am, Hurley 258

Schedule

• January 24
  Minicourse: Part 1 (Laura Wells)
  Notes and exercises
• January 31
  Minicourse: Part 2 (Laura Wells)
  Notes and exercises
• February 7
  Minicourse: Part 3 (Laura Wells)
  Notes and exercises
• February 14
  Minicourse: Part 4 (Laura Wells)
  Notes and exercises
• February 21
  1|1-EFT's and K-theory (Jens Jakob Kjaer)
  Notes Exercises
• February 28
  2|1-EFT's and TMF (J.D. Quigley)
  Notes and exercises
• March 7
  No seminar
  
• March 14
  No seminar - spring break
  
• March 21
  Extended TQFT's and higher category theory (Tim Campion)
  Notes and exercises
• March 28
  Invertible TFT's (TJ Warner)
  Notes and exercises
• April 4
  Mapping class groups (Jacob Landgraf)
  Notes Problems
• April 11
  Abelian Chern-Simons theory (Jeremy Mann)
  Notes Problems
• April 18
  Using TQFT's to prove algebraic facts about tensor categories (Hari Rau-Murthy)
  Notes and exercises
• April 25
  Orthogonal Group Actions on n-Categories for Small n (Taylor Sutton)
  Notes Problems
• May 2
  Topological modular form theory via quantum field theories? (Stephan Stolz)
  Notes Problems