Department of Mathematics

Speaker: Douglas Ulmer
Title: Elliptic Curves with Many Points
Affiliation: Georgia Institute of Technology
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012
Place and Time: Room 101, Love Building, 3:35-4:30 pm
Refreshments: Room 204, Love Building, 3:00 pm

Abstract. Elliptic curves are sets of solutions of cubic polynomials in two variables and they have a remarkable group law. They are related to an old problem in calculus (computing the arc length of an ellipse, hence the name), but continue to be objects of intense research. I'll explain the basics and then discuss some open questions and recent results on the "size" of the groups in question.