UBC Math Department Colloquium: Owen Gwilliam

Factorization algebras are local-to-global objects that play a role in quantum field theory akin to the role of sheaves in geometry: they conveniently organize complicated information. In the talk I will introduce this notion, give some concrete examples, and then explain how factorization algebras mediate between QFT and higher algebra. An important example will be Chern-Simons theory; ongoing work with Costello and Francis recovers quantum groups with formal parameter by combining Koszul duality with Feynman diagrams.