Seminars and Colloquia by Series

Parallel computations to study complex dynamics in neuroscience and other chaotic nonlinear systems

Series
Time
Friday, October 14, 2022 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006 and online
Speaker
Krishna PusuluriGSU

https://gatech.zoom.us/j/95197085752?pwd=WmtJUVdvM1l6aUJBbHNJWTVKcVdmdz09

We will begin with a brief overview of several parallel and hybrid computing approaches including CUDA, OpenAcc, OpenMP, and OpenMPI, followed by a demonstration of how we can leverage these technologies to study complex dynamics arising from diverse nonlinear systems. First, we discuss multistable rhythms in oscillatory 4-cell central pattern generators (CPGs) of inhibitory coupled  neurons. We show how network topology and intrinsic properties of the cells affect dynamics, and how even simple circuits can exhibit a variety of mono/multi-stable rhythms including pacemakers, half-center oscillators, multiple traveling-waves, fully synchronous states, as well as various chimeras. We then discuss symbolic methods and parametric sweeps to analyze isolated neuron dynamics such as bursting, tonic spiking and chaotic mixed-mode oscillations, the bifurcations that underlie transitions between activity types, as well as emergent network phenomena through synergistic interactions seen in realistic neural circuits and animal CPGs. We also demonstrate how such symbolic methods can help identify the universal principles governing both simple and complex dynamics, and chaotic structure in various Lorenz-like systems, their key self-similar organizing structures in 2D parameter space, as well as detailed computational reconstructions of 3D bifurcation surfaces.
 

What is a Coxeter group, and why is a Coxeter group?

Series
Algebra Student Seminar
Time
Friday, October 14, 2022 - 10:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006
Speaker
Tong JinGeorgia Institute of Technology

A Coxeter group is a (not necessarily finite) group given by certain types of generators and relations. Examples of finite Coxeter groups include dihedral groups, symmetric groups, and reflection groups. They play an important role in various areas. In this talk, I will discuss why I am interested in Coxeter groups from a combinatorial perspective - the geometric concepts associated with the finite Coxeter groups form the language of Coxeter matroids, which are generalizations of ordinary matroids. In particular, finite Coxeter groups are related to Coxeter matroids in the same way as symmetric groups are related to ordinary matroids. The main reference for this talk is Chapter 5 of Borovik-Gelfand-White's book Coxeter Matroids. I will only assume basic group theory, but not familiarity with matroids.

Spectral Properties of Periodic Elastic Beam Hamiltonians on Hexagonal Lattices

Series
Math Physics Seminar
Time
Thursday, October 13, 2022 - 16:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles Room 005
Speaker
Burak HatinogluSchool of Mathematics, Georgia Tech

Elastic beam Hamiltonians on single-layer graphs are constructed out of Euler-Bernoulli beams, each governed by a scalar valued fourth-order Schrödinger operator equipped with a real symmetric potential. Unlike the second-order Schrödinger operator commonly applied in quantum graph literature, here the self-adjoint vertex conditions encode geometry of the graph by their dependence on angles at which edges are met. In this talk, I will first consider spectral properties of this Hamiltonian with periodic potentials on a special equal-angle lattice, known as graphene or honeycomb lattice. I will also discuss spectral properties for the same operator on lattices in the geometric neighborhood of graphene. This talk is based on a joint work with Mahmood Ettehad (University of Minnesota),https://arxiv.org/pdf/2110.05466.pdf.

Learning to Solve Hard Minimal Problems

Series
School of Mathematics Colloquium
Time
Thursday, October 13, 2022 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006
Speaker
Anton LeykinGeorgia Tech

The main result in this talk concerns a new fast algorithm to solve a minimal problem with many spurious solutions that arises as a relaxation of a geometric optimization problem. The algorithm recovers relative camera pose from points and lines in multiple views. Solvers like this are the backbone of structure-from-motion techniques that estimate 3D structures from 2D image sequences.  

Our methodology is general and applicable in areas other than computer vision. The ingredients come from algebra, geometry, numerical methods, and applied statistics. Our fast implementation relies on a homotopy continuation optimized for our setting and a machine-learned neural network.

(This covers joint works with Tim Duff, Ricardo Fabbri, Petr Hruby, Kathlen Kohn, Tomas Pajdla, and others.

The talk is suitable for both professors and students.)

Learning to Solve Hard Minimal Problems

Series
Colloquia
Time
Thursday, October 13, 2022 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006
Speaker
Anton LeykinGeorgia Tech

The main result in this talk concerns a new fast algorithm to solve a minimal problem with many spurious solutions that arises as a relaxation of a geometric optimization problem. The algorithm recovers relative camera pose from points and lines in multiple views. Solvers like this are the backbone of structure-from-motion techniques that estimate 3D structures from 2D image sequences.   

Our methodology is general and applicable in areas other than computer vision. The ingredients come from algebra, geometry, numerical methods, and applied statistics. Our fast implementation relies on a homotopy continuation optimized for our setting and a machine-learned neural network.

(This covers joint works with Tim Duff, Ricardo Fabbri, Petr Hruby, Kathlen Kohn, Tomas Pajdla, and others. The talk is suitable for both professors and students.)

Bounds on some classical exponential Riesz basis

Series
Analysis Seminar
Time
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 - 14:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 005
Speaker
Thibaud AlemanyGeorgia Tech

We estimate the  Riesz basis (RB) bounds obtained in Hruschev, Nikolskii and Pavlov' s classical characterization of exponential RB. As an application, we  improve previously known estimates of the RB bounds in some classical cases, such as RB obtained by an Avdonin type perturbation, or RB which are the zero-set of sine-type functions. This talk is based on joint work with S. Nitzan

Random growth models

Series
Research Horizons Seminar
Time
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 - 12:30 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006
Speaker
Michael DamronGeorgia Tech

Random and irregular growth is all around us. We see it in the form of cancer growth, bacterial infection, fluid flow through porous rock, and propagating flame fronts. Simple models for these processes originated in the '50s with percolation theory and have since given rise to many new models and interesting mathematics. I will introduce a few models (percolation, invasion percolation, first-passage percolation, diffusion-limited aggregation, ...), along with some of their basic properties.

Progress towards the Burning Number Conjecture

Series
Graph Theory Seminar
Time
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 - 15:45 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Speaker
Jérémie TurcotteMcGill University

The burning number $b(G)$ of a graph $G$ is the smallest integer $k$ such that $G$ can be covered by $k$ balls of radii respectively $0,\dots,k-1$, and was introduced independently by Brandenburg and Scott at Intel as a transmission problem on processors \cite{alon} and Bonato, Janssen and Roshanbin as a model for the spread of information in social networks.

The Burning Number Conjecture \cite{bonato} claims that $b(G)\leq \left\lceil\sqrt{n}\right\rceil$, where $n$ is the number of vertices of $G$. This bound tight for paths. The previous best bound for this problem, by Bastide et al. \cite{bastide}, was $b(G)\leq \sqrt{\frac{4n}{3}}+1$.

We prove that the Burning Number Conjecture holds asymptotically, that is $b(G)\leq (1+o(1))\sqrt{n}$.

Following a brief introduction to graph burning, this talk will focus on the general ideas behind the proof.

Asymptotics of surface group representations along rays

Series
Geometry Topology Seminar
Time
Monday, October 10, 2022 - 14:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 006
Speaker
Mike WolfGeorgia Tech

We study a particular distinguished component (the 'Hitchin component') of the space of surface group representations to SL(3,\R).  In this setting, both Hitchin (via Higgs bundles) and the more ancient subject of affine spheres associate a bundle of holomorphic differentials over Teichmuller space to this component of the character variety.  We focus on a ray of holomorphic differentials and provide a formula, tropical in appearance, for the asymptotic holonomy of the representations in terms of the local geometry of the differential.  Alternatively, we show how the associated equivariant harmonic maps to a symmetric space converge to a harmonic map to a building, with geometry determined by the differential. All of this is joint work with John Loftin and Andrea Tamburelli, and all the constructions and definitions will be (likely briskly) explained.

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