QLunch: Let G_2 be your friend

Speaker: Jørgen Rasmussen from University of Queensland

Title: Let G_2 be your friend

Abstract:
As an exceptional and non-simply-laced Lie algebra, G_2 spends most of its life in the shadow of its more famous cousins. Admittedly, Mother Nature seems to have charmed other algebras such as A_1 and A_2 with more readily recognisable applications, but G_2 has just the right amount of complexity and character to offer universal insight into the structure and representation theory of general Lie algebras. With a rank of only 2, this makes G_2 an ideal testing ground for new ideas. In the talk, we will familiarise ourselves with G_2 and use it to illustrate a conjecture about finite-dimensional representations.