Mathematics Commons^™

Robust Traveling Waves In Chains Of Simple Neural Oscillators, Stanislav M. Mintchev

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Counting Solutions To Discrete Non-Algebraic Equations Modulo Prime Powers, Abigail Mann

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

As society becomes more reliant on computers, cryptographic security becomes increasingly important. Current encryption schemes include the ElGamal signature scheme, which depends on the complexity of the discrete logarithm problem. It is thought that the functions that such schemes use have inverses that are computationally intractable. In relation to this, we are interested in counting the solutions to a generalization of the discrete logarithm problem modulo a prime power. This is achieved by interpolating to p-adic functions, and using Hensel's lemma, or other methods in the case of singular lifting, and the Chinese Remainder Theorem.

Statistical Analysis Of Binary Functional Graphs Of The Discrete Logarithm, Mitchell Orzech

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

The increased use of cryptography to protect our personal information makes us want to understand the security of cryptosystems. The security of many cryptosystems relies on solving the discrete logarithm, which is thought to be relatively difficult. Therefore, we focus on the statistical analysis of certain properties of the graph of the discrete logarithm. We discovered the expected value and variance of a certain property of the graph and compare the expected value to experimental data. Our finding did not coincide with our intuition of the data following a Gaussian distribution given a large sample size. Thus, we found the …

Evaluating Infection Prevention Strategies In Out-Patient Dialysis Units Using Agent-Based Modeling, Joanna R. Wares, Barry Lawson, Douglas Shemin, Erika D'Agata

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

Patients receiving chronic hemodialysis (CHD) are among the most vulnerable to infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), which are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Current guidelines to reduce transmission of MDRO in the out-patient dialysis unit are targeted at patients considered to be high-risk for transmitting these organisms: those with infected skin wounds not contained by a dressing, or those with fecal incontinence or uncontrolled diarrhea. Here, we hypothesize that targeting patients receiving antimicrobial treatment would more effectively reduce transmission and acquisition of MDRO. We also hypothesize that environmental contamination plays a role in the dissemination of …

Evaluating Infection Prevention Strategies In Out-Patient Dialysis Units Using Agent-Based Modeling, Joanna R. Wares, Barry Lawson, Douglas Shemin, Erika M. C. D'Agata

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

Patients receiving chronic hemodialysis (CHD) are among the most vulnerable to infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), which are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Current guidelines to reduce transmission of MDRO in the out-patient dialysis unit are targeted at patients considered to be high-risk for transmitting these organisms: those with infected skin wounds not contained by a dressing, or those with fecal incontinence or uncontrolled diarrhea. Here, we hypothesize that targeting patients receiving antimicrobial treatment would more effectively reduce transmission and acquisition of MDRO. We also hypothesize that environmental contamination plays a role in the dissemination of …

A Proof Of Concept Study Of Function-Based Statistical Analysis Of Fnirs Data: Syntax Comprehension In Children With Specific Language Impairment Compared To Typically-Developing Controls, Matthew D. Meng, Nicholas J. Wan, Joseph M. Baker, James Montgomery, Julia L. Evans, Ronald Gillam

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging techonology that enables investigators to indirectly monitor brain activity in vivo through relative changes in the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. One of the key features of fNIRS is its superior temporal resolution, with dense measurements over very short periods of time (100ms increments). Unfortunately, most statistical analysis approaches in the existing literature have not fully utilized the high temporal resolution of fNIRS. For example, many analysis procedures are based on linearity assumptions that only extract partial information, thereby neglecting the overall dynamic trends in fNIRS trajectories. The main goal of …

Decoding Of Non-Binary Multiple Insertion/Deletion Error Correcting Codes, Tuan Anh Le

Theses and Dissertations

Data that is either transmitted over a communication channel or stored in memory is not always completely error free. Many communication channels are subject to noise, and thus errors may occur during transmission from transmitter to receiver. For example, DRAM memory cell contents can change spuriously due to electromagnetic interference while magnetic flux can cause one or more bits to flip in magnetic storage devices. To combat these errors, codes capable of correcting insertion/deletion errors have been investigated.

Levenshtein codes are the foundation of this thesis. His codes, first constructed by Varshamov-Tenengol’ts, are capable of correcting one insertion/deletion error. Helberg …

Statistics In League Of Legends: Analyzing Runes For Last-Hitting, Brian M. Hook

Mathematics: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

While other sports have statisticians to evaluate players and their stats, in electronic sports there is a need for statisticians to evaluate different parts of the game. League of Legends is the most popular of ESports and is the focus of this discussion. The mechanic of focus here is runes which give boosts to the players stats in-game like being able to do extra damage. We will be finding the effectiveness of these runes by looking at gold efficiency, help with last hitting, and extra damage dealt through the use of Python.

Tree Graphs And Orthogonal Spanning Tree Decompositions, James Raymond Mahoney

Dissertations and Theses

Given a graph G, we construct T(G), called the tree graph of G. The vertices of T(G) are the spanning trees of G, with edges between vertices when their respective spanning trees differ only by a single edge. In this paper we detail many new results concerning tree graphs, involving topics such as clique decomposition, planarity, and automorphism groups. We also investigate and present a number of new results on orthogonal tree decompositions of complete graphs.

Set-Theoretic Mereology, Joel David Hamkins, Makoto Kikuchi

Publications and Research

We consider a set-theoretic version of mereology based on the inclusion relation ⊆ and analyze how well it might serve as a foundation of mathematics. After establishing the non-definability of ∈ from ⊆, we identify the natural axioms for ⊆-based mereology, which constitute a finitely axiomatizable, complete, decidable theory. Ultimately, for these reasons, we conclude that this form of set-theoretic mereology cannot by itself serve as a foundation of mathematics. Meanwhile, augmented forms of set-theoretic mereology, such as that obtained by adding the singleton operator, are foundationally robust.

A Remark On The Multipliers On Spaces Of Weak Products Of Functions, Stefan Richter, Brett D. Wick

Mathematics Faculty Research

Operators on function spaces of form Cɸf = f ∘ ɸ, where ɸ is a fixed map are called composition operators with symbol ɸ. We study such operators acting on the Hilbert Hardy space over the right half-plane and characterize the situations when they are invertible, Fredholm, unitary, and Hermitian. We determine the normal composition operators with inner, respectively with Möbius symbol. In select cases, we calculate their spectra, essential spectra, and numerical ranges.

The Power Of X, Darren B. Glass

Math Faculty Publications

In his recent book, The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions, political scientist Andrew Hacker argues, among other things, that we should not require high school students to take algebra.

Part of his argument, based on data some have questioned, is that algebra courses are a major contributor to students dropping out of high school. He also argues that algebra is nothing more than an "enigmatic orbit of abstractions" that most people will never use in their jobs. [excerpt]

No-Slip Billiards, Christopher Lee Cox

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

We investigate the dynamics of no-slip billiards, a model in which small rotating disks may exchange linear and angular momentum at collisions with the boundary. A general theory of rigid body collisions in is developed, which returns the known dimension two model as a special case but generalizes to higher dimensions. We give new results on periodicity and boundedness of orbits which suggest that a class of billiards (including all polygons) is not ergodic. Computer generated phase portraits demonstrate non-ergodic features, suggesting chaotic no-slip billiards cannot easily be constructed using the common techniques for generating chaos in standard billiards. However, …

Classification Trees And Rule-Based Modeling Using The C5.0 Algorithm For Self-Image Across Sex And Race In St. Louis, Rohan Shirali

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The study population comprised children, adolescents, and adults who were residents of the city of St. Louis at the time of data collection in 2015. The data collected includes sex, age, race, measured height and weight, self-reported height and weight, zip code, educational background, exercise and diet habits, and descriptions and strategies of participants' weight (i.e. overweight and trying to lose weight, respectively). I use the C5.0 algorithm to create classification trees and rule-based models to analyze this population. Specifically, I model a binary self-image variable as a function of sex, age, race, zip code, and a ratio of reported …

Three Problems In Operator Theory And Complex Analysis, Cheng Chu

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis concerns three distinct problems in operator theory and complex analysis. In Chapter 2, we study the following problem: On the Hardy space H^2, when is the product of a Hankel operator and a Toeplitz operator compact? We give necessary and sucient conditions for when such a product H_fT_g is compact. In Chapter 3, we discuss hyponormal Toeplitz operators. We show that for those operators, there exists a lower bound for the area of the spectrum. This extends the known estimate for the spectral area of Toeplitz operators with an analytic symbol. This part is joint work with Dmitry …

On The Limiting Behavior Of Variations Of Hodge Structures, Genival Francisco Fernandes Da Silva Jr.

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation we will address three results concerning the limiting behavior of variations of Hodge structures. The first chapter introduces the main concepts involved and fixes some notation. In chapter two we discuss extension classes representing LMHS, compute them for a class of toric families and introduce an alternative method for the computation of VHS arising from middle convolution. The next chapter is concerned with the so called Apery constants; we provide a method of computing such constants by using higher normal functions coming from geometry. Finally, in the last chapter we analyze a family of surfaces with geometric …

Noncommutative Borsuk-Ulam Theorems, Benjamin Passer

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The Borsuk-Ulam theorem in algebraic topology shows that there are significant restrictions on how any topological sphere interacts with the antipodal action of reflection through the origin (which maps x to -x). For example, any map f from a sphere to itself which is continuous and odd (f(-x) = -f(x)) must be homotopically nontrivial. We consider various equivalent forms of the theorem in terms of the function algebras on spheres and examine which forms generalize to certain noncommutative Banach and C*-algebras with finite group actions. Chapter 1 contains background material on C*-algebras, K-theory, and group actions. Next, in Chapter 2, …

Characterizations Of Four Interval Wavelet Sets And Algorithms, Christopher Mcdonald

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Wavelets are mathematical tools used to represent signals such as audio files, pictures, videos, and various other types of data. The theory of wavelets has recently attracted attention in Mathematics because of potential in applications. At this point, the field of wavelet theory is fairly mature, and the literature contains a body of techniques which are exploited to design wavelets. One of these techniques relies on the construction of wavelet sets. A wavelet set is a set whose successive translations and dilations partition a line. In practice, wavelet sets are tricky to construct. In fact, there is no known classification …

Kings And Heirs: A Characterization Of The (2,2)-Domination Graphs Of Tournaments, Kim A. S. Factor, Larry J. Langley

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

In 1980, Maurer coined the phrase king when describing any vertex of a tournament that could reach every other vertex in two or fewer steps. A (2,2)-domination graph of a digraph D, dom_2,2(D), has vertex set V(D), the vertices of D, and edge uv whenever u and v each reach all other vertices of D in two or fewer steps. In this special case of the (i,j)-domination graph, we see that Maurer’s theorem plays an important role in establishing which vertices form the kings that create some of the edges in dom_2,2(D). But of even more …

On The Dimension Of Algebraic-Geometric Trace Codes, Phong Le, Sunil Chetty

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We study trace codes induced from codes defined by an algebraic curve X. We determine conditions on X which admit a formula for the dimension of such a trace code. Central to our work are several dimension reducing methods for the underlying functions spaces associated to X.

Homogeneous And Isotropic Cosmology, The Schwarzschild Solution, And Applications, Pengcheng Zhang

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Classically, the physics of the universe is described by Newton's Laws of Motion and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. In most cases, the results predicted by Newton's theories accurately agree with experimental observations. However, under certain limitations, classical theories may yield slight deviation from observations, such as when the speed of an object approaches the speed of light. At the extreme, classical theory completely fails to explain the motion of photons, which are massless particles of light. In 1915, Albert Einstein published the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein's theory provides a new perspective to a better understanding of the physics …

Sequences Of Spiral Knot Determinants, Ryan Stees

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Spiral knots are a generalization of the well-known class of torus knots indexed by strand number and base word repetition. By fixing the strand number and varying the repetition index we obtain integer sequences of spiral knot determinants. In this paper we examine such sequences for spiral knots of up to four strands using a new periodic crossing matrix method. Surprisingly, the resulting sequences vary widely in character and, even more surprisingly, nearly every one of them is a known integer sequence in the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. We also develop a general form for these sequences in terms …

A Computational Investigation Of Large Gaps In Contingency Tables, Noah J. Watson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Integer programming can be used to find upper and lower bounds on the cells of a multi-dimensional contingency table using the information from the released margins. The linear relaxation of these programs also provides bounds and the discrepancy between these bounds, the integer programming gap, can be large. While the more notable examples of large gaps have been shown to be rare, here we provide some results on the rarity of large gaps on small tables.

Population Projection And Habitat Preference Modeling Of The Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina), Marisa Draper

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The James Spinymussel (Pleurobema collina) is an endangered mussel species at the top of Virginia’s conservation list. The James Spinymussel plays a critical role in the environment by filtering and cleaning stream water while providing shelter and food for macroinvertebrates; however, conservation efforts are complicated by the mussels’ burrowing behavior, camouflage, and complex life cycle. The goals of the research conducted were to estimate detection probabilities that could be used to predict species presence and facilitate field work, and to track individually marked mussels to test for habitat preferences. Using existing literature and mark-recapture field data, these goals were accomplished …

The Development Of Notation In Mathematical Analysis, Alyssa Venezia

Honors Thesis

The field of analysis is a newer subject in mathematics, as it only came into existence in the last 400 years. With a new field comes new notation, and in the era of universalism, analysis becomes key to understanding how centuries of mathematics were unified into a finite set of symbols, precise definitions, and rigorous proofs that would allow for the rapid development of modern mathematics. This paper traces the introduction of subjects and the development of new notations in mathematics from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century that allowed analysis to flourish. In following the development of analysis, we …

Regression Analysis Of Success In Major League Baseball, Johnathon Tyler Clark

Senior Theses

This thesis is designed to explore whether a team’s success in any given season can be predicted or explained by any number of statistics in that season. There are thirty teams in the MLB; of these thirty, ten make the postseason bracket-style playoffs. The MLB is divided up into two leagues, the American League and the National League; these two leagues are then divided up into three divisions each, the West Division, the Central Division, and the East Division. To make the playoffs a team must either have the most wins in its division after the last game of the …

"For Me, Film Is Face": Self And Identity In The Films Of Ingmar Bergman, James Bradley Mitchell

Senior Theses

This senior thesis is a study of the ways in which selected works from the filmography of Ingmar Bergman can be said to contribute to the philosophical discussion of personal identity. In this thesis, Bergman's films are studied in relation to ideas propounded by Hegel, Descartes, Locke, and Parfit, among other considerations.

Math And Sudoku: Exploring Sudoku Boards Through Graph Theory, Group Theory, And Combinatorics, Kyle Oddson

Student Research Symposium

Encoding Sudoku puzzles as partially colored graphs, we state and prove Akman’s theorem [1] regarding the associated partial chromatic polynomial [5]; we count the 4x4 sudoku boards, in total and fundamentally distinct; we count the diagonally distinct 4x4 sudoku boards; and we classify and enumerate the different structure types of 4x4 boards.

Math Education: A Messy Problem, Gizem Karaali

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

The current state of math education in America is certainly not ideal, writes Gizem Karaali, but mathematicians, researchers, policy makers and others are working on it -- and it is definitely a problem worth working on.

(Knight)3: A Graphical Perspective Of The Knight's Tour On A Multi-Layered Chess Board, Frederick Scott Neilan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Knight’s Tour is an interesting question related to the game of chess. In chess, the Knight must move two squares in one direction (forward, backward, left, right) followed by one square in a perpendicular direction. The question of the Knight’s Tour follows: Does there exist a tour for the Knight that encompasses every single square on the chess board without revisiting any squares? The existence of Knight’s Tours has been proven for the standard 8x8 chess board. Furthermore, the Knight’s Tour can also exist on boards with different sizes and shapes. There has been a lot of research into …