Title: Branched covers, lattice points and the moduli space of curves
Speaker: Paul Norbury
Abstract: Volume can be approximated by counting points in a fine lattice. More generally integration uses a function defined over the lattice. In topology, integration appears in the form of cohomology. I will describe how to define and count lattice points in the moduli space of genus g curves with n labeled points, and hence get deep topological/cohomological information about the moduli space related to work of Kontsevich. I will also describe other counting problems equivalent to counting lattice points. In particular, the number of branched coverings of the two-sphere branched over 3 points, and the number of triples of elements of the symmetric group with product the identity related to the work of Okounkov.