Szego Seminar: Rationality questions in Algebraic Geometry

Abstract: Algebraic geometry is famously the study of the zero set of polynomials. In particular, a question that has kept algebraic geometers busy for centuries is the question of whether a given variety (zero set of polynomial(s))  is rational: that is, whether you can make it look like some projective space without changing it in any "significant" manner.  In this talk, I'll elaborate on these ideas and talk about the answers to some classically known cases of curves and surfaces.

Host: Pooja Joshi