Events

Title: RSKy Business

Abstract:

We sketch the Robinson-Schensted-Knuth algorithm, then use it to glimpse into the representation theory of some classical combinatorial objects.

Title: Enumeration in quantum algebras

Abstract:

Many of the classical algebras that occur in algebraic geometry and other mathematical fields have natural quantizations; that is, one can deform the multiplication rule using a parameter q, which has the property that when we specialize q at 1 we recover the classical object.  As part of the general goal of understanding the representation theory of these rings, one often wants to understand the prime spectra of these algebras, that is, the collection of prime ideals in these rigs. 

Title: A Short Introduction to Projective Geometry

Abstract:

Basically, see the title. I will be considering the real and complex cases mainly, because that is
what is needed in quantum physics.

Title: Sequences: random, structured or something in between?

Abstract:

There are many fundamental problems concerning sequences that arise in many areas of mathematics and computation.  Typical problems include finding or avoiding patterns; testing or validating various `random-like’ behavior; analyzing or comparing different statistics, etc.

Title: The Paulsen problem, continuous operator scaling, and smoothed analysis

Abstract:

The Paulsen problem is a basic open problem in operator theory: Given vectors u_1, ..., u_n in R^d that are eps-nearly satisfying the Parseval's condition and the equal norm condition, is it close to a set of vectors v_1, ..., v_n in R^d that exactly satisfy the Parseval's condition and the
equal norm condition? Given u_1,..., u_n, we consider the squared distance to the set of exact solutions.

Title: Coordinate Descent Algorithms

Abstract:

We will be discussing the survey of Stephen J. Wright on coordinate descent algorithms. Coordinate descent algorithms solve optimization problems by successively performing approximate minimization along coordinate directions or coordinate hyperplanes. They have been used in applications for many years, and their popularity continues to grow because of their usefulness in data analysis, machine learning, and other areas of current interest.

Title: Extended odd holes and their blockers

Abstract:

Title: Progress on Continuous Quantum Walks

Abstract:

I will discuss the progress we’ve made in our work on continuous walks. I will start with old stuff (last November) and continue on to current stuff (this week).

Title: Some matrix problems in quantum information science

Abstract:

In this talk, we present  some matrix results and techniques in solving certain optimization problems arising  in quantum information science.

No quantum mechanics background is required.

Title: A Stochastic Gradient Method with an Exponential Convergence Rate for Finite Training Sets

Abstract:

We will be discussing the paper (having the same title) by Roux, Schmidt, and Bach.  The authors propose a new stochastic gradient method for optimizing the sum of
 a finite set of smooth functions, where the sum is strongly convex.