Meetings/Workshops on Algebra in Canada

Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery

An equation is called Diophantine if whole number or fractional solutions are sought. Diophantine equations are named after Diophantus of Alexandria, a 3rd century mathematician and were popularized by Pierre de Fermat, a 17th century lawyer and amateur mathematician. Unlike most branches of mathematics, many Diophantine questions and theorems can be understood and appreciated by the general public, and the subject is a favourite with popularizers of mathematics. The methods for tackling Diophantine equations are however deep and varied, and the subject has recently experienced an explosion of new directions and results. This workshop will bring together experts and young scholars to explore these new directions and stimulate further research into Diophantine problems.

The field of algebraic dynamics has emerged over the past two decades at the confluence of algebraic geometry, discrete dynamical systems, and diophantine geometry. In recent work, striking connections have been observed between algebraic dynamics and much older theories of difference and differential equations. This meeting brings together mathematicians with expertise in such diverse fields as ring theory, complex dynamics, differential and difference algebra, combinatorics and algebraic geometry. New work towards the dynamical Mordell-Lang and dense orbit conjectures as well as theorems on hypertranscendence and functional independence proven by connecting difference Galois theory, algebraic dynamics and other algebraic approaches to the study offunctional equations will be presented at this meeting.