UBC Mathematics Colloquium: Federico Scavia

Let A be a finite-dimensional algebra. A fundamental theorem of Drozd shows that the complexity of the representation theory of A belongs to exactly one of three rather distinct classes, called finite, tame or wild representation type. I will explain how the notion of essential dimension determines the representation type of A. I will go further and define new numerical invariants of A that refine the representation type of A. I will then determine these invariants explicitly in the special case of quiver algebras.