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The Shaw Prize Lecture on Mathematical Sciences – "Mirror Symmetry"

18 Sep 2012

 

Shaw Laureate in Mathematical Sciences 2012 Professor Maxim Kontsevich, Permanent Professor at l’Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, will give a lecture on "Mirror Symmetry" tomorrow (September 19) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

In the lecture, Professor Kontsevich will explain in elementary terms several aspects of the rich subject of Mirror Symmetry. Mirror symmetry was discovered in 1990-ies in string theory as certain duality between Calabi-Yau varieties, which are geometric objects producing fields and particles in the physical space-time, according to the string theory paradigm. It has made a very deep impact on many areas of mathematics, including homological algebra, algebraic geometry and symplectic topology. It is also related to nonarchimedean geometry and Riemannian geometry.

Homological Mirror Symmetry conjecture proposed by Professor Kontsevich in 1994 (and now proven in many cases) re-interprets the physical duality in an abstract way, as an equivalence of categories, and it serves up to now as a major guiding principle. In a very wide sense, Mirror Symmetry can be seen as a duality between Algebra and Geometry, or between quantum and classical mechanics.

HKU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Roland Chin will give a welcoming speech and HKU Dean of Science Professor Sun Kwok will address the audience at the lecture.

Details of the lecture are as follows:

Date: September 19, 2012 (Wednesday)
Time: 3:30 pm to 5 pm (Registration from 3 pm)
Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, HKU

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk ; or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 email: melwkwan@hku.hk.