Events

Title: Monomial ideals, Galois closures, and Hilbert schemes of points

Abstract: Manjul Bhargava and the speaker introduced a functorial Galois closure operation for finite-rank ring extensions, generalizing constructions of Grothendieck and Katz-Mazur. In this talk, we use Galois closures to construct new components of Hilbert schemes of points, which are fundamental objects in algebraic geometry whose component structure is largely mysterious. We answer a 35 year old open problem posed by Iarrobino by constructing an infinite family of low dimensional components. This talk is based on joint work with Andrew Staal. No prior knowledge of Hilbert schemes will be assumed.

Title: To be announced

Title: Error bounds for conic feasibility problems: case studies on the exponential cone

Abstract: Conic feasibility problems naturally arise from linear conic programming problems. An understanding of error bounds for these problems is instrumental in the design of termination criteria for conic solvers and the study of convergence rate of algorithms.

Title: Partial geometric designs, directed strongly regular graphs, and association scheme

Abstract: A partial geometric design with parameters $(v, b, k, r; \alpha, \beta)$ is a tactical configuration $(P, \mathcal{B})$ (with $|P|=v$, $|\mathcal{B}|=b$, every point $p\in P$ belonging to $r$ blocks, and every block $B\in\mathcal{B}$ consisting of $k$ points) satisfying the property:

{for any pair $(p, B)\in P\times \mathcal{B}$, the number of flags $(q, C)$ with $q\in B$ and $C\ni p$ equals to $\alpha  \mbox{ if } p\notin B$ and to $\beta  \mbox{ if } p\in B$.}

Neumaier studied partial geometric designs in detail in his article, ``$t\frac12$-designs," [JCT A {\bf 28}, 226-248 (1980)]. He investigated their connection with strongly-regular graphs and gave various characterizations of partial geometries, bipartite graphs, symmetric 2-designs, and transversal designs in terms of partial geometric designs.

Title: A Primal-Dual Extension of the Goemans--Williamson Algorithm for the Weighted Fractional Cut Covering Problem

Abstract:

A cut in a graph \(G = (V, E)\) is a set of edges which has precisely one endpoint in \(S\), for a given subset \(S\) of \(V\). The fractional cut-covering number is the optimal value of a linear programming relaxation for the problem of covering each edge by a set of cuts. We define a semidefinite programming relaxation of fractional cut covering whose approximate optimal solutions may be rounded into a fractional cut cover via a randomized algorithm.

Title: Poset subHopf algebras from growth models in causal set theory and quantum field theory

Abstract: In a story some of you have heard from me before, we get subHopf algebras of the Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra of rooted trees from certain simple tree classes which correspond to solutions to combinatorial analogues of Dyson-Schwinger equations in quantum field theory.  Another important subHopf algebra of the Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra is the Connes-Moscovici Hopf algebra which can be viewed as coming from rooted trees grown by adding leaves.

Title: The rank of sparse symmetric matrices over arbitrary fields

Abstract: Consider a sequence of sparse Erdös-Rényi random graphs (G_{n,d/n})_n on n vertices with edge probability d/n. Moreover, we equip the edges of G_{n,d/n} with prescribed non-zero edge weights chosen from an arbitrary field F.

Title: Diagonal coefficients of Kirchhoff polynomials of 2k-regular graphs and the proof of the c_2 completion conjecture

Abstract: I have for many years been interested in graph invariants with the same symmetries as the Feynman period. Recently Erik Panzer found a new such invariant coming from a particular coefficient of the Martin polynomial. Together we used this to prove an over 10 year old conjecture on an arithmetic graph invariant known as the c_2 invariant, and came to understand that diagonal coefficients of Kirchhoff polynomials tie together many of the known graph invariants with the symmetries of Feynman periods and unlock previously inaccessible proofs.

Joint work with Erik Panzer.

Title: A Primal-Dual Extension of the Goemans--Williamson Algorithm for the Weighted Fractional Cut Covering Problem, Part II

Abstract: A cut in a graph \(G = (V, E)\) is a set of edges which has precisely one endpoint in \(S\), for a given subset \(S\) of \(V\). The fractional cut-covering number is the optimal value of a linear programming relaxation for the problem of covering each edge by a set of cuts. We define a semidefinite programming relaxation of fractional cut covering whose approximate optimal solutions may be rounded into a fractional cut cover via a randomized algorithm.

Title: Minors of random representable matroid over finite fields

Abstract: Consider a random n by m matrix A over GF(q) where every column has k nonzero elements, and let M[A] be the matroid represented by A. In the case that q=2, Cooper, Frieze and Pegden (RSA 2019) proved that given a fixed binary matroid N, if k is sufficiently large, and m/n is sufficiently large (both depending on N), then whp. M[A] contains N as a minor. We improve their result by determining the sharp threshold (of m/n) for the appearance of a fixed q-nary matroid N as a minor of M[A], for every k\ge 3, and every prime q. This is joint work with Peter Nelson.