The Department of Mathematics is hosting a series of colloquia, open for all to attend. On 24 April 2025, Jean-François Le Gall from the University of Paris-Saclay will give a talk on 'The geometry of Brownian surfaces.'

Registration:

This talk will take place in person at King's College London in the Bush House Lecture Theatre 2, BH(S)4.04. It will be streamed online via Microsoft Teams. Please click 'Register for this event' to sign up for either an In-Person Ticket or an Online Ticket. If you wish to attend the in-person event, you must select the correct ticket type.

A reception will follow afterwards in the same venue.

Abstract: 

The geometry of Brownian surfaces

Models of two-dimensional random geometry are obtained as universal scaling limits in the Gromov-Hausdorff sense of large graphs embedded in the sphere. These models, which include the Brownian sphere, the Brownian disk and the Brownian plane, are also closely related to the quantum surfaces studied by Miller and Sheffield. We will present recent progress in the study of these random metric spaces. In particular we will discuss some remarkable properties of geodesics and mention some open problems.

About the Speaker: 

Jean-François Le Gall is a professor of mathematics at the University of Paris-Saclay and a leading figure in modern probability theory. He obtained his PhD from Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie and is internationally recognized for his deep contributions to the study of Brownian trees, branching processes, and the geometry of random planar maps. His work has significantly advanced our understanding of the scaling limits of random structures and the probabilistic foundations of geometry. He is the recipient of several major awards, including the Fermat Prize and the Wolf Prize in Mathematics.

In addition to his research, Jean-François Le Gall is widely appreciated for his clear and engaging lectures, particularly in talks aimed at general mathematical audiences. It will be a real pleasure to have him with us for this colloquium!

Learn more about Jean-François Le Gall's life and work, from the LMO Université Paris-Saclay and also on Wikipedia.

 

Future colloquia

Please check our event series for details of upcoming speakers.