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Logic Seminar - Spencer Unger | Einstein Institute of Mathematics

Logic Seminar - Spencer Unger

Date: 
Wed, 28/11/201811:00-13:00
Location: 
Ross 63

A constructive solution to Tarski's circle squaring problem
Spencer Unger

 In 1925, Tarski asked whether a disk in R^2 can be partitioned into finitely many pieces which can be rearranged by isometries to form a square of the same area.  The restriction of having a disk and a square with the same area is necessary.  In 1990, Laczkovich gave a positive answer to the problem using the axiom of choice.  We give a completely explicit (Borel) way to break the circle and the square into congruent pieces.  This answers a question of Wagon.  Our proof has three main components.  The first is work of Laczkovich in Diophantine approximation.  The second is recent progress in a program of descriptive set theory to understand the complexity of actions of amenable groups.  The third is the study of flows in networks.  This is joint work with Andrew Marks.

In some sense, this talk will be a follow up to the colloquium from the previous week where we try to give some more details of the arguments.  However we will not assume the audience has been to the colloquium.