Home /  Introductory Workshop: Representation Theory Under the Influence of Quantum Field Theory & Motivic Homotopy Theory

Workshop

Introductory Workshop: Representation Theory Under the Influence of Quantum Field Theory & Motivic Homotopy Theory August 24, 2026 - August 28, 2026
Registration Deadline: August 28, 2026 about 9 hours ago
To apply for Funding you must register by: June 19, 2026 2 months ago
Parent Program:
Location: SLMath: Eisenbud Auditorium, Atrium
Organizers David Ben-Zvi (University of Texas, Austin), Elden Elmanto (University of Toronto, Scarborough), Iva Halacheva (Northeastern University), LEAD Pavel Safronov (University of Edinburgh), Anand Sawant (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research), Peng Shan (Tsinghua University), Craig Westerland (University of Minnesota), Maria Yakerson (Institut de Mathématiques de Jussieu)
Speaker(s)

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Description
Picture
Under the light of suspended spheres, the QFT wizard dangles groups and their duals over a boiling cauldron of motives. (Drawn by Rok Gregoric)
While motives and quantum field theory have two rather disparate origins in mathematics, they share many of the ideas, themes and even have direct influence on each other. In the theory of motives and motivic homotopy theory, old conjectures have now been toppled which has given rise to swaths of new structures and objects. The latter interacts, in often surprising ways, with commutative algebra, enumerative geometry, p-adic Hodge theory and classical algebraic topology. Interactions between representation theory and quantum field theory triggered a development of the new field of 3-dimensional mirror symmetry with connections to both the classical 2d mirror symmetry and the geometric Langlands program. The goal of this introductory workshop is to showcase some of the recent developments in both fields, with a focus on giving a high-level, but "outsider-friendly" introduction to both subjects. It will feature lectures introducing the modern formalism of sheaf theories, supersymmetric gauge theories, geometric representation theory and motivic spectra. Download a workshop flyer to share with your network or community (PDF) Bibliography
Keywords and Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC)
Primary Mathematics Subject Classification No Primary AMS MSC
Secondary Mathematics Subject Classification No Secondary AMS MSC
Funding & Logistics Show All Collapse

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To apply for funding, you must register by the funding application deadline displayed above.

All are welcome to apply for funding, including students and recent PhDs. Funding awards are typically made 6 weeks before the workshop begins. Requests received after the funding deadline are considered only if additional funds become available.

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For information about recommended hotels for visits of under 30 days, visit Short-Term Housing. Questions? Contact coord@slmath.org.

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Schedule, Notes/Handouts & Videos
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Aug 24, 2026
Monday
09:15 AM - 09:30 AM
  Welcome to SLMath
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
  The A^1-fundamental group, its group ring, Whitehead torsion and A^1-h-cobordism
Fabien Morel (LMU München)
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Around the motivic Satake equivalence
Timo Richarz (Technische Universitat Darmstadt)
12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
  Lunch
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  Physics for representation theory
David Ben-Zvi (University of Texas, Austin)
03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  Afternoon Tea
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
  Representation theory and the geometric Langlands program
Gurbir Dhillon (University of California, Los Angeles)
Aug 25, 2026
Tuesday
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
  The A^1-fundamental group, its group ring, Whitehead torsion and A^1-h-cobordism
Fabien Morel (LMU München)
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Around the motivic Satake equivalence
Timo Richarz (Technische Universitat Darmstadt)
12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
  Lunch
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  Six-functor formalisms
Germán Stefanich (Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik)
03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  Afternoon Tea
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
  Representation theory and the geometric Langlands program
Gurbir Dhillon (University of California, Los Angeles)
04:30 PM - 06:20 PM
  Reception
Aug 26, 2026
Wednesday
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
  Around the motivic Satake equivalence
Timo Richarz (Technische Universitat Darmstadt)
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Physics for representation theory
Pavel Safronov (University of Edinburgh)
Aug 27, 2026
Thursday
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
  Motivic stable homotopy theory
Toni Annala (University of Toronto)
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
  Group Photo
10:40 AM - 11:00 AM
  Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Using A^1 homotopy to address problems in algebra
Benedict Williams (University of British Columbia)
12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
  Lunch
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  Six-functor formalisms
Germán Stefanich (Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik)
03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  Afternoon Tea
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
  Representation theory and the geometric Langlands program
Gurbir Dhillon (University of California, Los Angeles)
Aug 28, 2026
Friday
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
  Motivic stable homotopy theory
Toni Annala (University of Toronto)
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Using A^1 homotopy to address problems in algebra
Benedict Williams (University of British Columbia)
12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
  Lunch
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  Six-functor formalisms
Germán Stefanich (Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik)
03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
  Afternoon Tea
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
  Physics for representation theory
Pavel Safronov (University of Edinburgh)