Informal Seminars are impromptu accounts of work for LIMS researchers and their collaborators. They are not advertised beyond our website. ❧ Seminars are polished talks open to the academic public. ❧ All seminars are typically held in our Faraday room on Thursdays at 2 pm.
Seminars25 Feb
Learn AI for maths
The London Institute hosts a 14-week course by Nebius Academy on using AI to explore ideas and generate and test conjectures in mathematics.
Informal seminars12 Feb
Cosmic string duality
Shu-Heng Shao analyses twist defects in 4d Maxwell theory, deriving their operator spectrum and a chiral sector from classical wave equations.
Informal seminars5 Feb
Phases and phase gates
Alison Warman explains how Symmetry Topological Field Theory classifies quantum phases and informs advances in quantum information research.
Informal seminars29 Jan
Functional freedom
Philosopher James Read explores how ideas of functional freedom shape the renowned mathematician Roger Penrose’s critique of string theory.
Informal seminars15 Dec 2025
Finite vs continuous
Pavel Putrov explores surprising connections between 3D topological gauge theories based on finite groups and their continuous counterparts.
Informal seminars11 Dec 2025
Permutation group limits
Colva Roney-Dougal gives new bounds on minimal generating sets in permutation groups and shows what they reveal about product replacement.
Seminars26 Nov 2025
Algebraic exchange
The London Institute hosts a workshop on algebraic geometry for PhD students to share their research results and initiate collaborations.
Seminars25 Nov 2025
Van der Waerden proven
In this seminar, Fields Medalist Manjul Bhargava proves the van der Waerden conjecture on counting polynomials with small Galois groups.
Seminars24 Nov 2025
Homotopy & categories
In two lectures, Dmitry Kaledin explores progress towards a non-commutative Hodge theory and a theory of homotopically enhanced categories.
Informal seminars21 Nov 2025
Tensor–matrix gravity
Daniel Jafferis outlines a tensor–matrix model constrained by crossing, its proposed gravity dual and a BCFT version encoding amplitude data.
Informal seminars10 Nov 2025
Geometry of amplitudes
Ran Tessler reveals how the amplituhedron connects quantum field scattering amplitudes to cluster algebras through geometry and symmetry.
Informal seminars7 Nov 2025
Defects and duality
Brandon Rayhaun examines the long-distance physics of defects in QFTs through anomalies and the irreversibility of renormalisation flow.
Informal seminars7 Nov 2025
Why AI works
Our director Thomas Fink explains why the repeated application of simple logics induces a bias towards simplicity, with applications to AI.
Informal seminars6 Nov 2025
The double copy
Chris White traces the origins and impact of a remarkable new correspondence linking non-abelian gauge theories with general relativity.
Informal seminars17 Oct 2025
Gapping chiral fermions
Rishi Mouland demonstrates how generalised notions of symmetry can be used in novel ways to probe strongly coupled quantum field theories.
Informal seminars17 Oct 2025
Strings from graphs
Edward Mazenc shows how Grothendieck’s dessins d’enfants reveal a deep link between gauge theory, string theory and the AdS/CFT duality.
Informal seminars17 Oct 2025
Tiling and Tonnetze
Konstanze Rietsch explores Euler’s Tonnetz through the lens of modern geometry, revealing new links between music, symmetry and harmony.
Informal seminars16 Oct 2025
Defects and scattering
Christian Copetti from Oxford University shows how generalised symmetries guide quantum systems, shaping boundary conditions and defects.
Seminars7 Oct 2025
AI’s history of hype
Thomas Haigh traces the rise of AI as an overhyped brand, from failed ideas to today’s powerful technologies and their unsettling impact.
Informal seminars3 Oct 2025
Integrable statistics
Alessandro Torrielli examines spin, statistics and strange particle behaviour in 1+1-dimensional integrable models and AdS_3 string theory.
Informal seminars3 Oct 2025
Surveying scattering
Prof. Mark Gross explores how scattering diagrams are a powerful tool for capturing wall-crossing data in many diverse mathematical contexts.
Informal seminars2 Oct 2025
Mechanics in a box
Prof. Darryl Holm explores how geometric mechanics links symmetry-breaking to dynamics, revealing patterns in nature’s complex systems.
Informal seminars25 Sep 2025
Gravity from entropy
Ginestra Bianconi illustrates her novel approach to quantum gravity, which is grounded in statistical mechanics and information theory.
Informal seminars24 Sep 2025
Entanglement in time
Alexey Milekhin explores how the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model and “entanglement in time” can reveal new ways of understanding quantum dynamics.
Informal seminars24 Jul 2025
CFT tensor network
Prof. Zhengcheng Gu describes the construction of a fixed-point tensor network and its generalised symmetries in conformal field theory.
Informal seminars23 Jul 2025
Erdős and topology
Prof. Misha Rudnev from the University of Bristol shows how algebraic geometry helped settle a famous discrete geometry conjecture of Erdős
Informal seminars23 Jul 2025
Enumerative Galois
Prof. Frank Sottile of Texas A&M outlines the history and the state of the art of a keystone topic at the interface of algebra and geometry.
Informal seminars17 Jul 2025
Automated conjectures
Madhuparna Das presents an AI agent automating novel mathematical conjecture discovery by integrating Lean’s Mathlib with LLMs’ creativity.
Seminars14 Jul 2025
Where two worlds meet
Three leading experts show how the idea of symmetry forms key interfaces between algebra and geometry through the lens of their recent work.
Informal seminars3 Jul 2025
Discriminants & physics
Ed Segal from UCL will talk about semi-orthogonal decompositions of derived categories of toric varieties, coming from wall-crossing in GIT.
Informal seminars16 Jun 2025
The mortality equation
Thomas Fink unveils a mathematical model showing programmed aging cannot be favoured by natural selection, even in a shifting environment.
Informal seminars3 Jun 2025
The mathematical piper
Martin Reeves explores the surprising harmony between the music and maths of the Great Highland bagpipe—complete with a live demonstration.
Informal seminars29 May 2025
AI for discovery
Prof. Michael Douglas examines how advances in AI may soon lead to autonomous systems capable of making genuine mathematical discoveries.
Informal seminars15 May 2025
Early universe strings
Prof. Joseph Conlon outlines how string theory suggests new equations of state that may describe the physics of the very early universe.
Informal seminars9 May 2025
Conformal to topological
Dr Matthew Buican details how a universal deformation takes 3d N=4 superconformal field theories to 3d topological quantum field theories.
Informal seminars6 May 2025
Geometry meets physics
Simon Telen presents his discovery of a new connection between polynomials inspired by particle physics and classical algebraic geometry.
Informal seminars29 Apr 2025
Linearising groups
Antoine Pinardin presents a complete description of the linearisable subgroups of the plane Cremona group over the field of complex numbers.
Informal seminars28 Mar 2025
London learns Lean
Mathematicians across London share their work on the formalisation of mathematics using the AI proof-assistant computer language Lean.
Informal seminars27 Mar 2025
AI for QFT
In two consecutive talks, Prof. Koji Hashimoto and Dr Akio Tomiya discuss applying machine learning to problems in quantum field theory.
Informal seminars27 Mar 2025
Groupoids do the twist
Prof. Konstantinos Zoubos will use Lie groupoids and their twists to uncover hidden symmetries of supersymmetric orbifold field theories.
Informal seminars26 Mar 2025
Co-piloting proofs
Dr Bhavik Mehta from Imperial College London gives an overview of Lean, the proof-assistant computer language used to formalize mathematics.
Informal seminars5 Mar 2025
Fermionic TQFTs
Dr Matthew Yu explains how fermionic topological quantum field theories can be given a categorical description in 3+1-dimensional spacetime.
Informal seminars20 Jan 2025
Solving Navier-Stokes
Prof. Alexander Migdal presents an infinite dimensional manifold of exact solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations for decaying turbulence.
Informal seminars13 Jan 2025
Automating maths
Dr Alex Davies of Google DeepMind leads an interactive discussion about AI-assisted mathematical discovery and automated theorem proving.
Seminars18 Nov 2024
Combinatorial geometry
The London Institute will host two talks by leading experts, surveying recent advances at the intersection of geometry and combinatorics.
Seminars16 Aug 2024
Ultra Unification
Dr Juven Wang proposes novel solutions to open problems in high-energy phenomenology via new analogies from modern ultra quantum matter.
Seminars8–9 Aug 2024
DANGER 2024
The London Institute hosts a two-day workshop for theorists to discuss and explore the links between data science, AI and pure mathematics.
Seminars31 Jul 2024
Stable pairs
In this seminar, Fields Medalist Prof. Caucher Birkar talks about sheaf stable pairs in algebraic geometry, especially for Fano varieties.
Seminars28 Feb 2024
London Gravity Meeting
Researchers working on all aspects of gravity, from gravitational waves to black holes, discuss the latest developments in their field.
Seminars26 Feb 2024
HoloUK 2
Experts in holography, gravity and quantum systems discuss advances in our knowledge of quantum field theory and black hole physics.
Seminars16 Nov 2023
London Gravity Meeting
Researchers working on all aspects of gravity, from gravitational waves to black holes, discuss recent developments in the field.
Seminars27 Sep 2023
Launching HoloUK
Experts in holography, gravity and quantum systems discuss advances in our knowledge of conformal field theories and holographic complexity.
Seminars24–25 Aug 2023
Danger
The London Institute hosts a two-day workshop for theorists to discuss and explore the links between data science, AI and pure mathematics.
Seminars25 Jul 2023
Converging futures
The London Institute brings together experts from the worlds of finance and AI to discuss the potential and the pitfalls of AI-driven markets.
Seminars3 Jul 2023
Connected counting
Number theorists gather at the London Institute to discuss cutting-edge research and present their latest work in this branch of mathematics.
Seminars1 Jun 2023
Towards fluid computing
The London Institute hosts a workshop on the Navier-Stokes millennium-prize problem and its connection to fluid computing and machine learning.
Seminars29 Mar 2023
Bounding Zaremba
Prof. Ilya Shkredov discusses Zaremba’s elegant 1971 conjecture in the theory of continued fractions, and explores the bounds relating to it.
Seminars15 Dec 2022
Cohomology & sequences
The London Institute hosts guest speaker Dr Frank Neumann and the London Algebra Colloquium for their final seminar of 2022.
Seminars5–7 Dec 2022
Strong turbulence
Over the course of four lectures, Prof. Alexander Migdal will present 35 years of research concerning his new approach to strong turbulence.
Seminars1 Dec 2022
Evolution & Occam
The algorithmic nature of evolution implies an exponential bias towards simpler phenotypes, explaining an observed preference for symmetry.
Seminars1 Nov 2022
Sine-Gordon/Thirring duality
Prof. Alessandro Torrielli talks about integrable quantum field theories and the duality between the 2D Sine-Gordon and 2D Thirring models.
Seminars21 Oct 2022
Boundaries in gravity
The London Institution hosts a one-day workshop exploring the role of timelike boundaries in the context of gravity, followed by drinks.
Seminars18 Dec 2020
Superstrings, Calabi-Yau manifolds and machine learning
In this in-real-life only event, Yang Hui talks about how string phenomenology has led from differential geometry to computational geometry and now to machine learning.
Seminars16 Sep 2020
Biological computation
We’re bringing mathematicians and biologists together to discuss novel techniques for modelling cell biology on Wednesday, 16th September.
Seminars7 Aug 2020
Reprogramming the cell
Physicists and biologists discuss theoretical models of cell programming and reprogramming, shaped by experimental innovations at Bit Bio.
Seminars25 Mar 2020
Modelling in biology
Scientists discuss the potential of mathematical modelling in biology across problems in cell programming, immunology and gene regulation.
Seminars25 Jan 2018
Ransomware & blockchain
Leaders in intelligence, defence, business and academia discuss the technology behind ransomware and the cryptocurrencies that fund it.
Seminars7 Mar 2016
Maths meets physics
Charles Epstein talks about the longstanding fractious but fruitful relationship between pure mathematics and mathematical physics.
Seminars28 Oct 2015
Ponytail physics
Robin Ball talks about a theoretical model of fibers in which their elasticity and curliness produce the characteristic shape of a ponytail.
Seminars27 May 2015
Evolution of technology
Doyne Farmer talks about what technology is and how it evolves and our improving ability to forecast technological change into the future.
Seminars22 Apr 2015
Multifractal finance
Tiziana Di Matteo talks about the interdependence of multifractal financial time series and a new way to understand and forecast them.
Seminars11 Feb 2015
Correlated novelties
Vittorio Loreto talks about the dynamics of correlated novelties in the evolution of biological systems, human society and technology.