The talk will be built around  examples of how model theory informs our understanding in areas of mathematics such as algebra, number theory, algebraic geometry and analysis. The model theory behind these applications includes concepts such as compactness, definability, stability and o-minimality. However, we assume  no special expertise in model theory, but rather aim  to illustrate the kinds  of  mathematical questions for which a model theoretical perspective has proven to be useful.

3:45pm
Speaker: Zvi Rosen (UC Berkeley)
Title:   Computing Algebraic Matroids

Abstract: Algebraic matroids characterize the combinatorial structure of an algebraic variety. By decorating the matroid with circuit polynomials and base degrees, we capture even more information about the variety and its coordinate projections.  In this talk, we will introduce algebraic matroids, discuss algorithms for their computation, and present some motivating examples.

5:00pm
Speaker: Noah Giansiracusa (UC Berkeley)
Title:  Equations of Tropical Varieties

Abstract: I'll discuss joint work with J.H. Giansiracusa (Swansea) in which we study scheme theory over the tropical semiring T, using the notion of semiring schemes provided by Toen-Vaquie, Durov, or Lorscheid. We define tropical hypersurfaces in this setting and a tropicalization functor that sends closed subschemes of a toric variety over a field with non-archimedean valuation to closed subschemes of the corresponding toric variety over T. Upon passing to the set of \mathbb{T}-valued points this yields Kajiwara-Payne's extended tropicalization functor. We prove that the Hilbert polynomial of any projective subscheme is preserved by our tropicalization functor, so the scheme-theoretic foundations developed here reveal a hidden flatness in the degeneration sending a variety to its tropical skeleton.