Speaker
Dmitri Vaintrob
Abstract
The famous “formality theorem” proven by Tamarkin states that the algebraic E2 operad (also known as the operad of chains on framed little disks) is formal. Explicit formality equivalences are in bijection with universal deformation quantizations, associators and other useful algebraic objects. An old folklore belief is that any construction of a canonical formality equivalence must involve “transcendental” methods and that no “purely topological” or “purely geometric” proof exists. I will explain that this folklore belief is incorrect, so long as one is allowed to use logarithmic geometry.