2024 CMI-HIMR Summer School on Symmetry and Randomness

15 – 19 July 2024

Hosted by: School of Mathematics, Fry Building, University of Bristol, UK

Jointly funded by the Clay Mathematics Institute and the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.

This year the summer school will focus on the mathematics of symmetry and randomness, where probability theory comes together with analysis, geometry and group theory to help understand highly symmetric structures. The mini-courses will present aspects of random walks on infinite graphs and groups in connection with geometric group theory; the mathematics of percolation theory especially on large transitive graphs; as well as spectral and mixing time estimates for finite Markov chains with an emphasis on the cut-off phenomenon, and much more. Students will have the opportunity to be introduced to these topics as well as to hear lectures by leading figures in the area.

Organisers: 

Emmanuel Breuillard (Oxford)
Matthew Tointon (Bristol)

Short Course Lecturers:

Tom Hutchcroft (Caltech)
Structure vs. expansion: probability on transitive graphs

Justin Salez (Paris-Dauphine)
The cutoff phenomenon for finite Markov chains

Tianyi Zheng (UC San Diego)
Random walks on self-similar groups: boundary behaviour and amenability

Guest Speakers:

Persi Diaconis (Stanford)
Randomness and symmetry 1001 solved and 1001 unsolved problems

Geoffrey Grimmett (Cambridge)
Counting self-avoiding paths

Jonathan Hermon (British Colombia)
Relaxing, mixing and cutoff for random walks on nilpotent groups

Tatiana Nagnibeda (Genève)
Cone types in Cayley graphs and what are they good for

Evita Nestoridi (Stony Brook)
Limit Profiles of Reversible Markov chains

Wolfgang Woess (TU Graz)
Some remarks on hyperbolic branching Brownian motion

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For more information please email the Heilbronn events team at  heilbronn-coordinator@bristol.ac.uk

Information on past summer schools is available here

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