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Full-Text Articles in Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics
An Inquiry Into Lorentzian Polynomials, Tomás Aguilar-Fraga
An Inquiry Into Lorentzian Polynomials, Tomás Aguilar-Fraga
HMC Senior Theses
In combinatorics, it is often desirable to show that a sequence is unimodal. One method of establishing this is by proving the stronger yet easier-to-prove condition of being log-concave, or even ultra-log-concave. In 2019, Petter Brändén and June Huh introduced the concept of Lorentzian polynomials, an exciting new tool which can help show that ultra-log-concavity holds in specific cases. My thesis investigates these Lorentzian polynomials, asking in which situations they are broadly useful. It covers topics such as matroid theory, discrete convexity, and Mason’s conjecture, a long-standing open problem in matroid theory. In addition, we discuss interesting applications to known …
Permutations, Representations, And Partition Algebras: A Random Walk Through Algebraic Statistics, Ian Shors
Permutations, Representations, And Partition Algebras: A Random Walk Through Algebraic Statistics, Ian Shors
HMC Senior Theses
My thesis examines a class of functions on the symmetric group called permutation statistics using tools from representation theory. In 2014, Axel Hultman gave formulas for computing expected values of permutation statistics sampled via random walks. I present analogous formulas for computing variances of these statistics involving Kronecker coefficients – certain numbers that arise in the representation theory of the symmetric group. I also explore deep connections between the study of moments of permutation statistics and the representation theory of the partition algebras, a family of algebras introduced by Paul Martin in 1991. By harnessing these partition algebras, I derive …