Libra Public Lecture- The Tau of Ramanujan
October 28 @ 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026. Libra Public Lecture
Prof. Eknath Ghate, Visiting Libra Professor, University of Maine and TIFR Mumbai India
The Tau of Ramanujan
Hill Auditorium, Barrows Hall
Refreshments at 3pm; Talk 3:15-4:05pm
Δ(z) = q ∏ (1 − qⁿ)²⁴ = ∑ τ(n)qⁿ
The integer sequence τ(n)=1, −24, 252, −1472, 4830, … defined by the above equation was discovered and studied by the great Indian mathematician Ramanujan more than 100 years ago. These numbers — the values of the Ramanujan tau-function — have been the guiding force for several themes in number theory and still pose simple, open problems today. This talk, delivered by visiting Libra Professor Eknath Ghate, will be a relaxed introduction to these numbers.
About the Speaker: Professor Ghate is a Senior Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, India. He has spent his career chasing the deep and still-mysterious links between modular forms and Galois representations. In 2013 he received the Bhatnagar Prize, India’s highest science honor.
This event will take place in Hill Auditorium in Barrows Hall. It is free and open to the public.
