Colloquium
3:00 p.m., Friday (April 4th)
Math Annex 1100
Karl Rubin
Stanford University
Ranks of elliptic curves
The rank of an elliptic curve is a measure of the number
of solutions of the equation that defines the curve.
In recent years there has been spectacular progress
in the theory of elliptic curves, but the rank remains
very mysterious. Even basic questions such as how to
compute the rank, or whether the rank can be arbitrarily
large, are not settled.
In this lecture we will introduce elliptic curves and
some of the fundamental questions about them. The most
interesting open problems involve ranks, and we will
discuss what is known, as well as what is conjectured
but not known, about them.
Refreshments will be served at 2:45 p.m. in the Faculty Lounge,
Math Annex (Room 1115).
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