GT seminar: "A cohomological formula for Reidemeister torsion"

Abstract: We give a cohomological formula for Reidemeister torsion of a 3-manifold together with a symplectic local system. This can be considered as the topological analogue of a number-theoretic formula generalizing a result of Deligne in the 70s about local espilon factors. It is actually an important input for a purely topological formula for the central value of some L-function. We plan to tell the topological story and touch on some of the related ideas in topology and number theory. This is joint work with Akshay Venkatesh.

This is a talk in our Geometry and Topology seminar series.