On November 22-26, the Workshop on Higher Structures in Geometry and Physics: in Commemoration of the 110th Anniversary of the Birth of Professor Shiing-Shen Chern was held online. It was planned to take place in September at the Chern Institute of Mathematics (CIM), but postponed to November and changed to online workshop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Shanzhong Sun from Capital Normal University hosted the opening ceremony. Professor Chengming Bai, Director of CIM, delivered opening remarks.
Recently, the categorizations of higher structures or mathematical structures have been constantly emerging in branches of mathematics including algebra, algebraic topology, differential geometry, algebraic geometry and mathematical physics; as well as in branches of theoretical physics, such as quantum field theory and string theory. Specifically, there are Extended TQFT, ∞-categories, homotopical alebra, derived/shifted symplectic geometry (Poisson geometry) and factorization homology, etc.
In view of the fast development of research on higher structures in physics, several accomplished scholars in China who specialize in this field were invited to jointly offer the one-week short courses to systematically introduce its basic theories and related ideas. The Workshop aimed to promote the integration and understanding of different fields, and to provide a platform for graduate students and young scholars who are interested in the field of higher structures.
The Workshop consisted of four short courses that each lasted for five hours, covering fields of mathematical physics including topological orders, quantization, higher category theory, etc. Speakers were: Liang Kong, Si Li, Yinghua Ai, Jie Zhou, Zhengping Gui and Zhihao Zhang. A total of 5 lectures were delivered during the workshop, with more than 100 teachers and students from all over the country attending online. The Workshop is conducive to the future development of higher structures in gometry and physics in China, also a commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the birth of Professor Shiing-Shen Chern.
