Events

Title: Algebraic Graph Theory

Abstract:

A graph is distance-regular if we can write the distance adjacency matrices as polynomials in the adjacency matrix. Distance-regular graphs are a class of graphs of significant interest to algebraic graph theorists for their structural and algebraic properties. The notion of distance-regularity can be weakened to a local property on vertices, but when every vertex in the graph is locally distance-regular, the graph will either be distance-regular or in the closely related class of distance-biregular graphs.

Title: Combinatorial atlas for log-concave inequalities

Abstract:

The study of log-concave inequalities for combinatorial objects have seen much progress in recent years. One such progress is the solution to the strongest form of Mason’s conjecture (independently by Anari et. al. and Brándën-Huh).

Title: An Introduction to Nonnegativity and Polynomial Optimization

Abstract:

In science and engineering, we regularly face polynomial optimization problems, that is: minimize a real, multivariate polynomial under polynomial constraints. Solving these problems is essentially equivalent to certifying of nonnegativity of real polynomials -- a key problem in real algebraic geometry since the 19th century.

Title: Determinantal formulas with major indices

Abstract: Krattenthaler and Thibon discovered a beautiful formula for the determinant of the matrix indexed by permutations whose entries are q^maj( u*v^{-1} ), where “maj” is the major index. Previous proofs of this identity have applied the theory of nonsymmetric functions or the representation theory of the Tits algebra to determine the eigenvalues of the matrix.

Title: Bounded treewidth in hereditary graph classes

Abstract: A highlight of the superb graph minors project of Robertson and Seymour is their so-called Grid Theorem: a minor-closed class of graphs has bounded treewidth if and only it does not contain all planar graphs. Which induced-subgraph-closed graph classes have bounded treewidth?

Title: Box-ball systems, RSK, and Motzkin paths 

Abstract:  A box-ball system (BBS) is a discrete dynamical system whose dynamics come from the balls jumping according to certain rules. A permutation on n objects gives a BBS state by assigning its one-line notation to n consecutive boxes. After a finite number of steps, a box-ball system will reach a steady state. From any steady state, we can construct a tableau called the soliton decomposition of the box-ball system.

Title: 3-colouring via flows

Abstract: I'll show a technique to colour graphs on surfaces using max-flow min-cut.

Title: Strong Cospectrality in Trees

Title: The k-independence number of graph products

Abstract: The k-independence number of a graph is the maximum size of a set of vertices at pairwise distance greater than k, generalizing the standard independence number. In this talk, I will discuss well-known sharp bounds on the independence number of graph products, and extend some of these bounds to the k-independence number. Specifically, we will cover the Cartesian, tensor, strong, and lexicographic products.

Joint work with Aida Abiad.

Title: An identity in the group algebra of the symmetric group

Abstract: Come with me on a magical journey into the mysterious world of inverse Wronskians.