Brandeis-Harvard-MIT-Northeastern

JOINT MATHEMATICS COLLOQUIUM

Hyperbolic Groups
or,
Is Geometric Group Theory Part of Homological Algebra?

Steve Gersten

(University of Utah)

Northeastern University

Thursday, April 22, 1999

Talk at 4:30 p.m. in 509 Lake Hall

Tea at 4:00 p.m. in 544 Nightingale Hall

Abstract: An algorithm, which was formulated in 1912 by Max Dehn and proved by him to hold for hyperbolic surface groups, leads naturally to the notion of Gromov (or word) hyperbolic groups. These groups appear in different guises in many contexts and are, in a precise sense, generic among finitely presented groups. Now it is known that hyperbolic groups are characterized by a cohomological vanishing condition, analogous to the Stallings-Swan characterization of free groups as those of cohomological dimension 1.

Here are some directions to Northeastern University. Lake Hall and Nightingale Hall can be best accessed from the entrance on the corner of Greenleaf Street and Leon Street. The two halls are connected, with no well-defined boundary in between. In particular, 509 Lake Hall is on the same corridor as 544 Nightingale Hall.

There is free parking available for people coming to the colloquium at Northeastern's visitor parking. The entrance is from Columbus Avenue, right next to the parking garage.

	Web page: Alexandru I. Suciu	Created: April 2, 1999
	Comments to: alexsuciu@neu.edu	URL: `http://www.math.neu.edu/bhmn/gersten.html`