Algebra/Topology Seminar

Speaker: Thomas Blom

Title: Goodwillie calculus for diagram categories and the evasion-path problem

Abstract: Goodwillie calculus can be seen as an analogue of ordinary calculus for functors between suitable infinity-categories or model categories. One of its features is that it interpolates between stable ("linear") and unstable information. In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to Goodwillie calculus and discuss and extend Goodwillie's classification of n-homogeneous functors. I will then discuss a potential application to a problem in applied topology: the evasion-path problem. This is the problem of whether, in a room with moving sensors, one can find a path that avoids detection.