Number Theory Seminar
Alex Smith
Northwestern University
Diophantine approximation for hypersurfaces
Abstract: Among the nondegenerate C^4 hypersurfaces, we characterize the rational quadrics as the hypersurfaces that are the least well approximated by rational points. For all other hypersurfaces, we give a heuristically sharp lower bound for the number of rational points near them, improving the sensitivity of prior results of Beresnevich and Huang. Our methods are dynamical, involving the application of Ratner's theorems for unipotent orbits, and we will show how our work relates to the dynamical resolution of the Oppenheim conjecture by Margulis.
Friday October 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM in 636 SEO