PIMS - UBC Distinguished Colloquium: Melanie Matchett Wood

A random nxm matrix gives a random linear transformation from \Z^m to \Z^n (between vectors with integral coordinates).  Asking for the probability that such a map is injective is a question of the non-vanishing of determinants.  In this talk, we discuss the probability that such a map is surjective, which is a more subtle integral question.  We show that when m=n+u, for u at least 1, as n goes to infinity, the surjectivity probability is a non-zero product of inverse values of the Riemann zeta function.  This probability is universal, i.e. we prove that it does not depend on the distribution from which you choose independent entries of the matrix, and this probability also arises in the Cohen-Lenstra heuristics predicting the distribution of class groups of real quadratic fields.  This talk is on joint work with Hoi Nguyen.

A video of this event is available on mathtube.org.