Colloquium Series Seminar

We present recent developments in symplectic geometry and explain how they motivated new results in the study of cluster algebras. First, we introduce a geometric problem: the study of Lagrangian surfaces in the standard symplectic 4-ball bounding Legendrian knots in the standard contact 3-sphere. Thanks to results from the microlocal theory of sheaves, which we will survey, we then show that this geometric problem gives rise to an interesting moduli space. In fact, we establish a bridge translating geometric operations, such as Lagrangian disk surgeries, into algebraic properties of this moduli space, such as the existence of cluster algebra structures. The talk is intended for a broad mathematical audience and all key ideas will be introduced and motivated. Speaker(s): Roger Casals (UC Davis)