Abstract:
Computation of the stable homotopy groups of spheres is a long-standing open problem in algebraic topology. This important problem has deep connections to number theory and derived algebraic geometry. I will explain how chromatic homotopy theory splits this problem into simpler pieces, which can be understood using the theory of formal group laws and their deformations. I will talk about recent results at the second chromatic level. In particular, I will introduce a self-dual resolution of the sphere at the second chromatic level, which gives rise to a powerful spectral sequence and describe how it can simplify computations.