Workshop

This workshop will focus on the ideas surrounding the recent solution to the Arf-Kervaire invariant problem in stable homotopy theory by Mike Hill, Mike Hopkins and Doug Ravenel. There will be talks on relevant aspects of equivariant stable homotopy theory, including the norm functor and the slice tower. The pertinent parts of chromatic homotopy theory will be covered including formal groups and formal $A$-modules, the Hopkins-Miller theorem, finite subgroups of Morava stabilizer groups and Ravenel's 1978 solution to the analogous problem at primes bigger than 3. There will also be several talks by the organizers giving a detailed account of the proof of the main theorem. Finally there will be a discussion of the questions raised by the unexpected statement of the theorem. Accommodations: A block of rooms has been reserved at the Rose Garden Inn. Reservations may be made by calling 1-800-992-9005 OR directly on their website. Click on Corporate at the bottom of the screen and when prompted enter code MATH (this code is not case sensitive). By using this code a new calendar will appear and will show MSRI rate on all room types available. The cut-off date for reservations is October 11, 2010. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hotel Durant. Please mention the workshop name and reference the following code when making reservations via phone, fax or e-mail: MSRIRANDOMMATRIX. If you are making your reservations on line, please go to Hotel Durant website, choose your dates of stay and enter the "123MSRI" promo code in the box. The cut-off date for reservations is September 24, 2010. The rate is $110 per night plus tax. New, completely renovated Hotel Shattuck Plaza has rooms available for you! MSRI’s preferred rate is $131. Guests can either call the hotel’s main line, 510-845-7300, and ask for the MSRI rate or go to http://www.hotelshattuckplaza.com, click on "Corporate Rates" in the reservation screen and type the code msri10.