Discrete Mathematics and Foundations

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Convex polytopes and linear programs

Convex polytopes are geometric objects that look deceptively simple. They occur everywhere in mathematics and have practical applications in everyday life – like organizing your grocery shopping list. In this snapshot, you get into contact with a long-standing, unsolved question in mathematics, which you can explore interactively.

The geometry of fair division

How can we fairly divide a necklace with various types of beads? We use this problem as a motivating example to explain how geometry naturally appears in solutions of non-geometric problems. The strategy we develop to solve this problem has been used in several other contexts.

Finite geometries: pure mathematics close to applications

The research field of finite geometries investigates structures with a finite number of objects. Classical examples include vector spaces, projective spaces, and affine spaces over finite fields. Although many of these structures are studied for their geometrical importance, they are also of great interest in other, more applied domains of mathematics. In this snapshot, finite vector spaces are introduced. We discuss the geometrical concept of partial t-spreads together with its implications for the “packing problem” and a recent application in the existence of “cooling codes”.

Tropical geometry

What kind of strange spaces hide behind the enigmatic name of tropical geometry? In the tropics, just as in other geometries, one of the simplest objects is a line. Therefore, we begin our exploration by considering tropical lines. Afterwards, we take a look at tropical arithmetic and algebra, and describe how to define tropical curves using tropical polynomials.

What is Pattern?

Pattern is ubiquitous and seems totally familiar. Yet if we ask what it is, we find a bewildering collection of answers. Here we suggest that there is a common thread, and it revolves around dynamics.

The Robinson–Schensted algorithm

I am going to describe the Robinson–Schensted algorithm which transforms a permutation of the numbers from 1 to n into a pair of combinatorial objects called “standard Young tableaux”. I will then say a little bit about a few of the fascinating properties of this transformation, and how it connects to current research.

Invitation to quiver representation and Catalan combinatorics

Representation theory is an area of mathematics that deals with abstract algebraic structures and has nu- merous applications across disciplines. In this snap- shot, we will talk about the representation theory of a class of objects called quivers and relate them to the fantastic combinatorics of the Catalan numbers.

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