Speaker: Doug Ravenel, University of Rochester

Title: A Solution to the Arf-Kervaire Invariant Problem

Thursday April 10, 2014, Binghamton University, Science 2, Room 140 3:15pm.

followed by a Reception at 4.30, in The Chenango Room, Binghamton University. This reception is for the whole Binghamton Mathematics Community as well as for our visitors.

Flyer for the lecture

Abstract:

The Arf-Kervaire invariant problem arose from Kervaire-Milnor's classification of exotic spheres in the early 1960s. Browder's theorem of 1969 raised the stakes by connecting it with a deep question in stable homotopy theory. In 2009 Mike Hill, Mike Hopkins and I proved a theorem that solves all but one case of it. The talk will outline the history and background of the problem and give a brief idea of how we solved it.