Algorithms & Randomness Center (ARC)

Will Perkins (UIC)

Monday, May 6, 2019

Klaus 1116E - 11:00 am

Title:  Abstract polymer models, the cluster expansion, and applications

Abstract:  I will give two lectures introducing abstract polymer models and the cluster expansion from statistical physics.  I will describe some of the original applications of these tools in statistical physics to understand phase transitions in lattice spin systems, and then present applications of these tools in combinatorics (understanding complex zeros of graph polynomials) and computer science (approximate counting problems).  The lectures will be accessible to graduate students in combinatorics, probability, and computer science and will include several directions for future work. 

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