Hybrid Workshop on Noncommutative Geometry, Free Probability Theory and Random Matrix Theory, June 13 - 17, 2022, University of Western Ontario

This hybrid workshop is supported by the Fields Institute.  All talks will be broadcast online. To gain access to the talks, please register free of charge here. 

Workshop description: Topological recursion is a method for counting maps of a certain topology using only planar maps. The theory arose from work in 2D quantum gravity and the discovery that matrix integrals are related to maps on surfaces. These matrix integrals also appear in models of quantum gravity on noncommutative spaces and  in quantum field theories  on these spaces. The same matrix integrals arise in free probability and recent work has shown a surprising connection between higher order free  independence and maps on surfaces of positive genus.

This workshop will bring together a group of researchers working in noncommutative geometry (NCG), free probability theory (FPT) and random matrix theory (RMT) to foster collaboration in an emerging area of research that is at the intersection of these three fields.

Mini courses 

1. Gaetan Borot (Humboldt University, Berlin): Asymptotics of matrix integrals and topological recursion.

2. James Mingo (Queens, Canada): Free independence of random variables

3. Raimar Wulkenhaar (Muenster, Germany): How topological recursion organises quantum fields on noncommutative geometries

This conference will be in hybrid format. All talks will be broadcast on zoom. To access the talks please register free of charge using the link provided above.