Algebra / Number Theory / Combinatorics Seminar

For a finite field F_q, a subset of F_q^N is a Kakeya set if it contains a line in every direction (i.e., a coset of every one-dimensional linear subspace).  The finite […]

Though mirror symmetry requires much technical background, it gained traction in the mathematical community when physicists Candelas-de la Ossa-Green-Parkes discovered enumerative invariants counting the number of rational degree d curves […]

There is a rich connection between homogeneous dynamics and number theory.  Often in such applications it is desirable for dynamical results to be effective (i.e. the rates of convergence for […]

How many sublattices of Zn have index at most X?  If we choose such a lattice L at random, what is the probability that Zn/L is cyclic?  What is the probability that its […]

I will give a brief introduction to well-rounded lattices and to their utility in wireless communications and post-quantum security. We will see how the lattice theta series naturally arises in these contexts and discuss its connections to well-rounded lattices. The talk is based on joint work with Laia Amoros, Amaro Barreal, Taoufiq Damir, Oliver Gnilke, […]

In late March, students, staff, and faculty were invited to help collaboratively build a large-scale geometric sculpture on the campus of Harvey Mudd College, demonstrating a relationship between truncated octahedra and rhombic dodecahedra, which are two examples of space-filling polyhedra. I’ll talk about the process of designing and building the sculpture, some geometry and combinatorics […]

The famous primitive element theorem states that every number field K is of the form Q(a) for some element a in K, called a primitive element. In fact, it is clear from the proof of this theorem that not only there are infinitely many such primitive elements in K, but in fact most elements in […]

Imagine the hands on a clock.  For every complete the minute hand makes, the seconds hand makes 60, while the hour hand only goes one twelfth of the way.   […]

For a finite group G, a G-module M, and a field F, an element u in H^d(G,M) is negligible over F if for each field extension L/F and every continuous […]

What are the possible angles between two integer vectors in R^n? If we fix one such possible angle and one integer vector x, is there always another integer vector y […]

In order to understand a topological space X, it is often easier to understand X in terms of an action by a group G. When X is a compact complex […]

Biquandle module enhancements are invariants of knots and links generalizing the classical Alexander module invariant. A quiver categorification of these invariants was introduced in 2020. In this work-in-progress (joint with […]