Colloquium-Fusion categories and quantum symmetry

Time: Nov 12, Friday 1-2 PM 

Location: Zoom 

(https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/98109642582)

Prof. David Penneys (Ohio State University, and a GWU alumnus)

Title: Fusion categories and quantum symmetry

Abstract: Classically, the notion of symmetry is described by a group.In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of quantum mathematicalobjects whose symmetries are best described by tensor categories.Fusion categories simultaneously generalize the notion of a finite
group and its category of finite dimensional complex representations,and we think of these objects as encoding quantum symmetries. We will give a basic introduction to the theory of fusion categories and describe applications to some areas of mathematics and physics.