Noncommutative Geometry Seminar

The Verlinde formula is a simple and elegant expression for the
number of conformal blocks in a 2d CFT on a Riemann surface. It has
interesting connections with many different subjects in mathematics,
raging from number theory to geometric quantization and index theory. In
this talk, I will first give an elementary introduction to Verlinde
formula and its "equivariant generalization" and then discuss how the
equivariant Verlinde formula is related to complex Chern-Simons theory,
Hitchin moduli space and the moduli space of vortices. This talk is based
on joint work with Sergei Gukov: arXiv:1501.01310.