Mathematics

Large Systems of Interacting Particles and their Applications in Optimization

Speaker: 
Hui Huang
Date: 
Wed, Sep 15, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Calgary
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

Large systems of interacting particles (or agents) are widely used to investigate self-organization and collective behavior. They frequently appear in modeling phenomena such as biological swarms, crowd dynamics, self-assembly of nanoparticles and opinion formation. Similar particle models are also used in metaheuristics, which provide empirically robust solutions to tackle hard optimization problems with fast algorithms. In this talk I will start with introducing some generic particle models and their underlying mean-field equations. Then we will focus on a specific particle model that belongs to the class of Consensus-Based Optimization (CBO) methods, and we show that it is able to perform essentially as good as ad hoc state of the art methods in challenging problems in signal processing and machine learning.

Speaker Biography

Hui Huang, Ph.D., is currently a PIMS Postdoc at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Prof. Jinniao Qiu. Before moving to Calgary, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Chair for Applied Numerical Analysis at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Prior to being at TUM he was an Alan Mekler Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University. In 2017, he received his PhD in Mathematics from Tsinghua University. His doctoral dissertation was conducted in consultations with Prof. Jian¬-Guo Liu from Duke University, where he studied as a joint PhD student from 2014 to 2016. His research has been focused on complex dynamical systems and their related kinetic equations.

Read more about Hui Huang on the PIMS Medium blog.

Class: 

Finite sample rates for optimal transport estimation problems

Speaker: 
Jan-Christian Hütter
Date: 
Thu, Sep 30, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Washington
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
Kantorovich Initiative Seminar
Abstract: 

The theory of optimal transport (OT) gives rise to distance measures between probability distributions that take the geometry of the underlying space into account. OT is often used in the analysis of point cloud data, for example in domain adaptation problems, computer graphics, and trajectory analysis of single-cell RNA-Seq data. However, from a statistical perspective, straight-forward plug-in estimators for OT distances and couplings suffer from the curse of dimensionality in high dimensions. One way of alleviating this problem is to employ regularized statistical procedures, either by changing the transport objective or exploiting additional structure in the underlying probability distributions or ground truth couplings. In this talk, I will outline the problem and give an overview of recent solution approaches, in particular those employing entropically regularized optimal transport or imposing smoothness assumptions on the ground truth transport map.

Class: 
Subject: 

Using Observations to Accurately and Efficiently Model Turbulent Flows: Parameter Recovery, Sensitivity Analysis, Nonlinear Data Assimilation Algorithms, and a Real-World Implementation.

Speaker: 
Elizabeth Carlson
Date: 
Wed, Sep 29, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

One of the challenges of the accurate simulation of turbulent flows is that initial data is often incomplete. Data assimilation circumvents this issue by continually incorporating the observed data into the model. A new approach to data assimilation known as the Azouani-Olson-Titi algorithm (AOT) introduced a feedback control term to the 2D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) in order to incorporate sparse measurements. The solution to the AOT algorithm applied to the 2D NSE was proven to converge exponentially to the true solution of the 2D NSE with respect to the given initial data. In this talk, we present our tests on the robustness, improvements, and implementation of the AOT algorithm, as well as generate new ideas based off of these investigations. First, we discuss the application of the AOT algorithm to the 2D NSE with an incorrect parameter and prove it still converges to the correct solution up to an error determined by the error in the parameters. This led to the development of a simple parameter recovery algorithm, whose convergence we recently proved in the setting of the Lorenz equations. The implementation of this algorithm led us to provide rigorous proofs that solutions to the corresponding sensitivity equations are in fact the Fréchet derivative of the solutions to the original equations. Next, we present a proof of the convergence of a nonlinear version of the AOT algorithm in the setting of the 2D NSE, where for a portion of time the convergence rate is proven to be double exponential. Finally, we implement the AOT algorithm in the large scale Model for Prediction Across Scales - Ocean model, a real-world climate model, and investigate the effectiveness of the AOT algorithm in recovering subgrid scale properties.

Speaker Biography

Elizabeth Carlson, is a homeschooler turned math PhD! She grew up in Helena, MT, USA, where she also graduated from Carroll College with a Bachelor's in mathematics and minor in physics. She became interested in fluid dynamics as an undergraduate, and followed this interest through her graduate work at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in Lincoln, NE, USA, where she just earned my PhD in May 2021. Her research focus is in fluid dynamics, focusing on the well-posedness of systems of partial differential equations and numerical computations and analysis in fluid dynamics. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, playing piano, reading, and martial arts.

Read more about Elizabeth Carlson on our PIMS Medium blog here.

Class: 

Topological Data Analysis of Collective Behavior

Speaker: 
Dhananjay Bhaskar
Date: 
Wed, Sep 29, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
Mathematical Biology Seminar
Abstract: 

Active matter systems, ranging from liquid crystals to populations of cells and animals, exhibit complex collective behavior characterized by pattern formation and dynamic phase transitions. However, quantitative classification is challenging for heterogeneous populations of varying size, and typically requires manual supervision. In this talk, I will demonstrate that a combination of topological data analysis (TDA) and machine learning can uniquely identify the spatial arrangement of agents by keeping track of clusters, loops, and voids at multiple scales. To validate the approach, I will present 3 case studies: (1) data-driven modeling and analysis of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in mammary epithelia, (2) unsupervised classification of cell sorting, and self-assembly patterns in co-cultures, and (3) parameter recovery from animal swarming trajectories.

Class: 

Unsolved Problems in Number Theory

Speaker: 
Ben Green
Date: 
Wed, Sep 29, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Calgary
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
Louise and Richard K. Guy Lecture Series
Abstract: 

Richard Guy's book "Unsolved Problems in Number Theory" was one of the first mathematical books I owned. I will discuss a selection of my favorite problems from the book, together with some of the progress that has been made on them in the 30 years since I acquired my copy.

Speaker Biography

Ben Green was born and grew up in Bristol, England. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and has been the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics at Oxford since 2013.

About the Series

The Richard & Louise Guy Lecture Series, presented from Louise Guy to Richard in recognition of his love of mathematics and his desire to share his passion with the world, celebrates the joy of discovery and wonder in mathematics for everyone.

Class: 

Branes, Quivers, and BPS Algebras 4 of 4

Speaker: 
Miroslav Rapčák
Date: 
Thu, Aug 26, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Saskatchewan
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
2nd PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High Energy Physics
Abstract: 

This series of lectures covers a brief introduction into some algebro-geometric techniques used in the construction of BPS algebras. The starting point of our construction is a physical picture of D0-branes bound to D-branes of higher dimension. Using methods of the derived category of coherent sheaves, we are going to derive a framed quiver with potential describing supersymmetric quantum mechanics capturing the low-energy behavior of such D0-branes. For a large class of quivers, we are going to identify the space of BPS states with different melted-crystal configurations. Finally, by employing correspondences, we are going to construct an action of a BPS algebra known as the affine Yangian on the space of BPS states. The action of the affine Yangian factors through the action of various vertex operator algebras, Cherednik algebras, and more. This construction leads to an enormously rich interplay between physics, geometry and representation theory.

  1. Lecture 1
  2. Lecture 2
  3. Lecture 3
  4. Lecture 4
Class: 

Branes, Quivers, and BPS Algebras 3 of 4

Speaker: 
Miroslav Rapčák
Date: 
Wed, Aug 25, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Saskatchewan
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
2nd PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High Energy Physics
Abstract: 

This series of lectures covers a brief introduction into some algebro-geometric techniques used in the construction of BPS algebras. The starting point of our construction is a physical picture of D0-branes bound to D-branes of higher dimension. Using methods of the derived category of coherent sheaves, we are going to derive a framed quiver with potential describing supersymmetric quantum mechanics capturing the low-energy behavior of such D0-branes. For a large class of quivers, we are going to identify the space of BPS states with different melted-crystal configurations. Finally, by employing correspondences, we are going to construct an action of a BPS algebra known as the affine Yangian on the space of BPS states. The action of the affine Yangian factors through the action of various vertex operator algebras, Cherednik algebras, and more. This construction leads to an enormously rich interplay between physics, geometry and representation theory.

  1. Lecture 1
  2. Lecture 2
  3. Lecture 3
  4. Lecture 4
Class: 

Branes, Quivers, and BPS Algebras 2 of 4

Speaker: 
Miroslav Rapčák
Date: 
Tue, Aug 24, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Saskatchewan
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
2nd PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High Energy Physics
Abstract: 

This series of lectures covers a brief introduction into some algebro-geometric techniques used in the construction of BPS algebras. The starting point of our construction is a physical picture of D0-branes bound to D-branes of higher dimension. Using methods of the derived category of coherent sheaves, we are going to derive a framed quiver with potential describing supersymmetric quantum mechanics capturing the low-energy behavior of such D0-branes. For a large class of quivers, we are going to identify the space of BPS states with different melted-crystal configurations. Finally, by employing correspondences, we are going to construct an action of a BPS algebra known as the affine Yangian on the space of BPS states. The action of the affine Yangian factors through the action of various vertex operator algebras, Cherednik algebras, and more. This construction leads to an enormously rich interplay between physics, geometry and representation theory.

  1. Lecture 1
  2. Lecture 2
  3. Lecture 3
  4. Lecture 4
Class: 

Branes, Quivers, and BPS Algebras 1 of 4

Speaker: 
Miroslav Rapčák
Date: 
Mon, Aug 23, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Saskatchewan
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
2nd PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High Energy Physics
Abstract: 

This series of lectures covers a brief introduction into some algebro-geometric techniques used in the construction of BPS algebras. The starting point of our construction is a physical picture of D0-branes bound to D-branes of higher dimension. Using methods of the derived category of coherent sheaves, we are going to derive a framed quiver with potential describing supersymmetric quantum mechanics capturing the low-energy behavior of such D0-branes. For a large class of quivers, we are going to identify the space of BPS states with different melted-crystal configurations. Finally, by employing correspondences, we are going to construct an action of a BPS algebra known as the affine Yangian on the space of BPS states. The action of the affine Yangian factors through the action of various vertex operator algebras, Cherednik algebras, and more. This construction leads to an enormously rich interplay between physics, geometry and representation theory.

  1. Lecture 1
  2. Lecture 2
  3. Lecture 3
  4. Lecture 4
Class: 

Geometry of N=2 Supersymmetry 4 of 4

Speaker: 
Andy Neitzke
Date: 
Thu, Aug 26, 2021
Location: 
PIMS, University of Saskatchewan
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
2nd PIMS Summer School on Algebraic Geometry in High Energy Physics
Abstract: 

Coulomb branches of N=2 supersymmetric field theories in four dimensions support a rich geometry. My aim in these lectures will be to explain some aspects of this geometry, and its relation to the physics of the N=2 theories themselves.

I will first describe various constructions of N=2 theories and the corresponding Coulomb branches. In this story the main geometry visible is that of a complex integrable system, fibered over the Coulomb branch; one nice class of examples is associated to the Hitchin integrable system (moduli space of Higgs bundles over a Riemann surface). Fundamental objects in the N=2 theory (local operators, line operators, surface operators) all have geometric counterparts in the integrable system, as I will explain.

Next I will discuss a deformation of the story, which arises in physics from the Nekrasov-Shatashvili Omega-background. In this deformation, the Coulomb branch is replaced by a closely related space; for instance, the base of the Hitchin integrable system is replaced by a space parameterizing opers over the Riemann surface. One can use this deformation to give a concrete picture of the space of opers; in so doing one meets Stokes phenomena which are governed by the BPS indices (Donaldson-Thomas invariants) of the N=2 theory. This turns out to be closely related to the "exact WKB method" in analysis of ODEs. It is also connected to Riemann-Hilbert problems of a sort recently investigated by Bridgeland, as I will describe if time permits.

  1. Lecture 1
  2. Lecture 2
  3. Lecture 3
  4. Lecture 4
Class: 

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