People

Dr Alastair Litterick

Lecturer
School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS)
Dr Alastair Litterick

Profile

Biography

I am an algebraist, interested in linear algebraic groups, finite groups of Lie type and everything related to these, including algebraic geometry, representation theory, Lie algebras, computational algebra, geometric invariant theory, Lie theory, combinatorics and more besides. I joined the University of Essex as a Lecturer in 2019. Before this, I held a Humboldt Fellowship at Bielefeld University and the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, and prior to this I held other postdoctoral positions in Bielefeld and Bochum, and in New Zealand. I completed my MSci and PhD degrees at Imperial College London, and I originally hail from Essex, having grown up here and attended Colchester Royal Grammar School from 1998 to 2005. As an alumnus of the Humboldt Foundation, I am eligible to host researchers from Germany as Feodor Lynen Research Fellows. Click the link below for more information, and send me an email if you are interested in this opportunity.

Qualifications

  • PhD Pure Mathematics Imperial College London, (2013)

  • MSci Mathematics Imperial College London, (2009)

Appointments

University of Essex

  • Lecturer in Mathematics (R), Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Essex (1/9/2019 - present)

Other academic

  • Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers, Faculty of Mathematics, Bielefeld University and Ruhr-University Bochum (1/10/2017 - 31/8/2019)

  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Mathematics, Ruhr University Bochum (1/4/2017 - 30/9/2017)

  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Mathematics, Bielefeld University (1/1/2016 - 31/3/2017)

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland (1/7/2013 - 31/12/2016)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Reductive algebraic groups

The structure of reductive algebraic groups is an active research area with several open areas of enquiry. Open questions exist concerning their subgroup structure, representation theory, Lie algebra structure and geometry.

Open to supervise

Finite groups of Lie type

Finite groups of Lie type arise as the finite analogues of reductive linear algebraic groups, and the theories of these objects are closely intertwined. Finite groups of Lie type give rise to most finite simple groups, in an appropriate sense, which makes them fundamental objects of study in group theory. These groups are therefore objects of intensive study, and there are many open problems to investigate.

Open to supervise

Representation varieties

There is a natural geometric structure on the collection of homomorphisms from a fixed finitely generated group into a fixed linear algebraic group. Studying this structure can provide insights into the structure of each group.

Open to supervise

Conferences and presentations

Finitely-generated groups and representation varieties

Invited presentation, Future directions in algebraic groups and Lie algebras in the UK, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 5/1/2022

Geometric invariant theory and Generating Sets in Finite Simple Groups

Invited presentation, Groups in Galway, Galway, Ireland, 2/12/2021

History, current and future trends of algebra

Invited presentation, Summer School on Future Mathematics and its Applications, Bandung, Indonesia, 27/7/2021

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Real Analysis (MA203)

  • Number Theory (MA220)

Previous supervision

Theodoros Stylianos Papazachariou
Theodoros Stylianos Papazachariou
Thesis title: K-Moduli of Log Fano Complete Intersections
Degree subject: Mathematics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 14/4/2023

Publications

Publications (2)

An, J., Dietrich, H. and Litterick, AJ., (2023). Elementary abelian subgroups: from algebraic groups to finite groups

Litterick, AJ. and Thomas, AR., (2023). Complete reducibility in bad characteristic

Journal articles (10)

Gruchot, M., Litterick, A. and Roehrle, G., (2022). Complete reducibility: Variations on a theme of Serre. Manuscripta Mathematica. 168 (3-4), 439-451

Litterick, A., Bannuscher, F. and Uchiyama, T., (2022). Complete reducibility of subgroups of reductive algebraic groups over nonperfect fields IV: An F4 example. Journal of Group Theory. 25 (3), 527-541

Attenborough, C., Bate, M., Gruchot, M., Litterick, A. and Roehrle, G., (2020). On relative complete reducibility. Quarterly Journal of Mathematics. 71 (1), 321-334

Gruchot, M., Litterick, A. and Roehrle, G., (2020). Relative complete reducibility and normalised subgroups. Forum of Mathematics, Sigma. 8

Litterick, AJ. and Thomas, AR., (2019). Reducible subgroups of exceptional algebraic groups. Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra. 223 (6), 2489-2529

Conder, M. and Litterick, A., (2019). Further rigid triples of classes in G₂. International Journal of Group Theory. 8 (4), 5-9

Litterick, AJ. and Thomas, AR., (2018). Complete reducibility in good characteristic. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. 370 (8), 5279-5340

Jambor, S., Litterick, A. and Marion, C., (2018). On finite simple images of triangle groups. Israel Journal of Mathematics. 227 (1), 131-162

Litterick, AJ., (2018). On non-generic finite subgroups of exceptional algebraic groups. Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society. 253 (1207), 0-0

Liebeck, MW., Litterick, AJ. and Marion, C., (2011). A rigid triple of conjugacy classes in G 2. Journal of Group Theory. 14 (1), 31-35

Conferences (1)

Litterick, AJ., Stewart, DI. and Thomas, AR., (2022). Complete reducibility and subgroups of exceptional algebraic groups

Thesis dissertation (1)

Litterick, A., (2013). Finite Simple Subgroups of Exceptional Algebraic Groups

Grants and funding

2023

The Complex Structure of Random-Walk Coefficient Polynomials

London Mathematical Society

AGGITATE 2023: A Workshop on Algebraic Groups and Cremona Transformations

Foundation Compositio Mathematica

2022

AGGITATE 2023: A WORKSHOP ON ALGEBRAIC GROUPS AND CREMONA TRANSFORMATIONS

London Mathematical Society

2021

LITTERICK 210630

London Mathematical Society

2019

Algebraic Groups and Geometric Invariant Theory Day (Day2)

London Mathematical Society

Contact

a.litterick@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 874731

Location:

2.525, Colchester Campus

More about me