Math Graduate Student Seminar

Soficity is a finite approximation property for infinite discrete groups which was defined by M. Gromov in 1999. Since then the theory of sofic groups has proved very fruitful, with connections to problems in dynamics, operator algebras and combinatorics. In this talk we will define soficity and explain how it relates to standard properties of discrete groups. We will also exposit some of the above mentioned connections to other areas of mathematics. We emphasize that it is unknown whether every group is sofic.