Colloquium: The minimal exponent of hypersurface singularities

Abstract: The log canonical threshold of a hypersurface is an invariant of singularities that plays an important role in birational geometry, but which arises in many other contexts and admits different characterizations. A refinement of this invariant is Saito's minimal exponent, whose definition relies on the theory of b-functions, an important concept in D-module theory. The new information (by comparison with the log canonical threshold) provides a numerical measure of rational singularities. In this talk I will give an introduction to minimal exponents, highlighting recent progress and open questions.

Host: Matt Kerr

Reception to follow at Cupples I, Room 200 (Lounge) from 2:00 - 3:00 pm.