The Electronic Computational Homotopy Theory Seminar is an international research seminar on the topic of computational homotopy theory.  Topics include any part of homotopy theory that has a computational flavor, including but not limited to stable homotopy theory, unstable homotopy theory, chromatic homotopy theory, equivariant homotopy theory, motivic homotopy theory, and K-theory.The seminar meets on Thursdays at 11:30am in Detroit (Eastern Time).Contact Dan Isaksen (isaksen@wayne.edu) for more information, or to be added to the seminar mailing list.The ECHT calendar lists all scheduled talks.See below for the schedule of talks, in reverse chronological order.14 December 2017Speaker: Teena Gerhardt, Michigan State University30 November 2017Speaker: Paul Goerss, Northwestern University16 November 2017Speaker: Dan Dugger, University of Oregon2 November 2017Speaker: Vitaly Lorman, University of Rochester19 October 2017Speaker: Glen Wilson, University of Oslo5 October 2017Speaker: Prasit Bhattacharya, University of VirginiaTitle: Computing $K(2)$-local homotopy groups of a type $2$ spectrum $Z \in \widetilde{\mathcal{Z}}$Abstract: TBA21 September 2017Speaker: Bogdan Gheorghe, Max Planck InstituteTitle : Tau-obstruction theory and the cooperations of kq/tauAbstract: The setting is motivic homotopy theory over Spec C. After p-completing, the Tate twist originating in the motivic mod p cohomology of a point lifts to an element \tau in the stable homotopy groups of the (p-completed) motivic sphere. Inverting this element recovers classical homotopy theory, while killing it produces a homotopy theory that is equivalent to the (algebraic) derived category of the Hopf algebroid BP_* BP. One can use this element tau to formulate an obstruction theory to construct motivic spectra which starts in the algebraic category, and with obstructions in algebraic Ext-groups (similar to Toda's obstruction theory). We will illustrate this obstruction theory by reconstructing the motivic spectrum kq representing hermitian K-theory, and by also computing the cooperations of kq/tau along the way, which proves to be similar but easier to the classical computation for kO. 7 September 2017Speaker: Dan Isaksen, Wayne State University; Guozhen Wang, Fudan UniversityTitle: Stable stems - a progress reportAbstract: In the past year, Guozhen Wang, Zhouli Xu, and I have computed approximately thirty new stable homotopy groups, in dimensions 62-93.  Our methodology uses motivic techniques to leverage computer calculations of both the Adams and Adams-Novikov E2-pages.  I will describe our computational approach, and I will point out some interesting phenomena in the stable stems that we have uncovered.  Guozhen Wang will also present some information about our computer code.1 June 2017Speaker: Mark Behrens, University of Notre DameTitle: Generalized Adams spectral sequencesAbstract:The E-based Adams Spectral Sequence (E-ASS) famously has E_2-term given by Ext over E_*E if E_*E is flat over E_*.  What do you do if this is not the case??  Lellmann-Mahowald, in their analysis of the bo-ASS, had to figure this out.  In their case, the E_1 term decomposed into a v_1-periodic summand and an Eilenberg-MacLane summand.  They completely computed the cohomology of  the v_1-periodic summand, and left Don Davis to use a computer to attack the Eilenberg-MacLane summand (which petered out around the 20 stem).  I will discuss a new technique, joint with Agnes Beaudry, Prasit Bhattacharya, Dominic Culver, and Zhouli Xu, which instead computes the Eilenberg-MacLane summand in terms of Ext over the Steenrod algebra (and thus is much more robust).  This technique applies whenever such a decomposition occurs, and I will discuss applications to the BP<2>-ASS and the tmf-ASS.18 May 2017Speaker: Nat Stapleton, Universitaet RegensburgTitle: The character of the total power operationAbstract: In the 90's Goerss, Hopkins, and Miller proved that the Morava E-theories are E_\infty-ring spectra in a unique way. Since then several people including Ando, Hopkins, Strickland, and Rezk have worked on explaining the affect of this structure on the homotopy groups of the spectrum. In this talk, I will present joint work with Barthel that shows how a form of character theory due to Hopkins, Kuhn, and Ravenel can be used to reduce this problem to a combination of combinatorics and the GL_n(Q_p)-action on the Drinfeld ring of full level structures which shows up in the local Langlands correspondence. 4 May 2017Speaker: Oliver Roendigs, Universitaet OsnabrueckTitle: The first and second stable homotopy groups of motivic spheres over a fieldAbstract:The talk will report on joint work (partly in progress) with Markus Spitzweck and Paul Arne Ostvaer. This work describes the 1-line and the 2-line of stable homotopy groups of the motivic sphere spectrum via Milnor K-theory, motivic cohomology, and hermitian K-theory. The main computational tool is Voevodsky's slice spectral sequence.20 April 2017Speaker: Kyle Ormsby, Reed CollegeTitle: Vanishing in motivic stable stemsAbstract:Recent work of Röndigs-Spitzweck-Østvær sharpens the connection between the slice and Novikov spectral sequences. Using classical vanishing lines for the E_2-page of the Adams-Novikov spectral sequence and the work of Andrews-Miller on the alpha_1-periodic ANSS, I will deduce some new vanishing theorems in the bigraded homotopy groups of the eta-complete motivic sphere spectrum. In particular, I will show that the m-th eta-complete Milnor-Witt stem is bounded above (by an explicit piecewise linear function) when m = 1 or 2 mod 4, and then lift this result to integral Milnor-Witt stems (where an additional constraint on m appears). This is joint work with Oliver Röndigs and Paul Arne Østvær.13 April 2017Speaker: Andrew Salch, Wayne State UniversityTitle: Special values and the height-shifting spectral sequence Abstract: I will explain how to use formal groups with complex multiplication to assemble the cohomology of large-height Morava stabilizer groups out of the cohomology of small-height Morava stabilizer groups, using a new "height-shifting spectral sequence." I will describe some new computations which have been made possible by this technique, and also one of the main motivations for making computations in this way: this approach is very natural for someone who is trying to give a description of orders of stable homotopy groups of Bousfield localizations of finite spectra in terms of special values of L-functions, generalizing Adams' 1966 description of im J in terms of denominators of special values of the Riemann zeta-function. I will explain, as much as time allows, both positive and negative results in that direction.23 March 2017Speaker: Bert Guillou, University of KentuckyTitle: From motivic to equivariant homotopy groups - a worked example Abstract: The realization of a motivic space defined over the reals inherits an action of Z/2Z, the Galois group.  This realization functor allows for information to pass back and forth between the motivic and equivariant worlds. I will discuss one example: an equivariant Adams spectral sequence computation for ko, taking the simpler motivic computation as input. This is joint work with M. Hill, D. Isaksen, and D. Ravenel.9 March 2017Speaker: Doug Ravenel, University of RochesterTitle: The Lost Telescope of ZAbstract: I will describe a possible equivariant approach to the Telescope Conjecture at the prime 2. It uses the triple loop space approach described in a paper by Mahowald, Shick and myself of 20 years ago.  The telescope we studied there is closely related to the geometric fixed point spectrum of a telescope with contractible underlying spectrum.2 March 2017Speaker: Vesna Stojanoska, UIUCTitle: The Gross-Hopkins duals of higher real K-theory spectraAbstract: The Hopkins-Mahowald higher real K-theory spectra are generalizations of real K-theory; they are ring spectra which give some insight into higher chromatic levels while also being computable. This will be a talk based on joint work with Barthel and Beaudry, in which we compute that higher real K-theory spectra at prime p and height p-1 are Gross-Hopkins self-dual with shift (p-1)^2. We expect this will allow us to detect exotic invertible K(n)-local spectra.16 February 2017Speaker: Michael Hill, UCLATitle: Equivariant derivations with applications to slice spectral sequence computationsAbstract: I'll talk about a genuine equivariant notion of a derivation which not only takes products to sums but also takes norms to transfers. This arises naturally from genuine equivariant multiplicative filtrations, like the slice filtration, and gives some techniques for producing differentials. As an application, I'll discuss in some detail the slice spectral sequence for a $C_4$-analogue of $BP\langle 1\rangle 1$, the simplified $C_4$ version of the spectrum used in the solution of the Kervaire invariant one problem.19 January 2017Speaker: Lennart Meier, Universitaet BonnTitle: Real spectra and their Anderson dualsAbstract: Real spectra will be for us a loose term denoting C2-spectra built from Real bordism MR and BPR. This includes Atiyah's kR and theReal truncated Brown-Peterson spectra BPR and the Real Johnson-Wilson spectra ER(n). We will recall how to calculate the RO(C2)-graded homotopy groups of these C2-spectra. Then we will see how these exhibit a hidden duality, which can be explained by the computation of Anderson duals.15 December 2016Speaker: Agnes Beaudry, University of ColoradoTitle: Duality and K(n)-local Picard groupsAbstract:I will discuss the different types of exotic elements in the K(n)-local Picard group and methods for producing non-trivial elements at height n=2. Then I will describe how the relationship between Spanier-Whitehead and Brown-Comenetz duality could be used to prove the non-triviality of exotic Picard groups at higher chromatic heights. ↑ back to top