Abstract: Two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) is ubiquitous in physics and mathematics, from statistical mechanics to string theory and the Langlands correspondence. Rigorous approaches were proposed by algebraic geometers in the late 20th century, and more recently by probability theorists. The goal of the talk is to give an overview of the different motivations for CFT and give a glimpse at the mathematics involved in its study.

Short-bio: Guillaume Baverez is an Assistant Professor at the BICMR. He got his PhD from University of Cambridge. He works on probabilistic approaches to conformal field theory.