Scientific

Optimal transport in statistics and Pitman efficient multivariate distribution-free testing

Speaker: 
Nabarun Deb, UBC
Date: 
Wed, Feb 1, 2023
Location: 
Online
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

In recent years, the problem of optimal transport has received significant attention in statistics and machine learning due to its powerful geometric properties. In this talk, we introduce the optimal transport problem and present concrete applications of this theory in statistics. In particular, we will propose a general framework for distribution-free nonparametric testing in multi-dimensions, based on a notion of "multivariate ranks" defined using the theory of optimal transport. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by constructing exactly distribution-free tests for testing the equality of two multivariate distributions. We investigate the consistency and asymptotic distributions of these tests, both under the null and local contiguous alternatives. We further study their local power and asymptotic (Pitman) efficiency, and show that a subclass of these tests achieve attractive efficiency lower bounds that mimic the classical efficiency results of Hodges and Lehmann (1956) and Chernoff and Savage (1958).

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Ratner/Masur equidistribution by orbit matching

Speaker: 
Jon Chaika
Date: 
Thu, Mar 9, 2023
Location: 
Online
University of Utah
Conference: 
University of Utah Seminar in Ergodic Theory
Abstract: 

In a 1992 article where she surveyed her recent breakthrough on unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces, Ratner presented an argument for the equidistribution of horospherical orbits in the context of horocycle flow on SL(2,R)/Lattice. This idea is separate from the ideas in her celebrated work on unipotent flows and I will present her argument for horospherical equidistribution in the simplest situation I can think of: proving the ergodicity of a particular directional flow on the flat two torus. Ratner's argument has similarities to Masur's criterion for unique ergodicity of translation flows, proven around the same time. Time permitting I will comment on Masur's criterion as well.

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Fluctuations in the distribution of Frobenius automorphisms in number field extensions

Speaker: 
Florent Jouve
Date: 
Mon, Feb 27, 2023
Location: 
Online
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Conference: 
Lethbridge Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar
Abstract: 

Florent Jouve (Institut de Mathématiques de Bordeaux, France)

Given a Galois extension of number fields L/K, the Chebotarev Density Theorem asserts that, away from ramified primes, Frobenius automorphisms equidistribute in the set of conjugacy classes of Gal(L/K). In this talk we report on joint work with D. Fiorilli in which we study the variations of the error term in Chebotarev's Theorem as L/K runs over certain families of extensions. We shall explain some consequences of this analysis: regarding first “Linnik type problems” on the least prime ideal in a given Frobenius set, and second, the existence of unconditional “Chebyshev biases” in the context of number fields. Time permitting we will mention joint work with R. de La Bretèche and D. Fiorilli in which we go one step further and study moments of the distribution of Frobenius automorphisms.

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Understanding form and function in vascular tumours

Speaker: 
Helen Byrne
Date: 
Thu, Feb 16, 2023
Location: 
Zoom
Conference: 
PIMS Network Wide Colloquium
Abstract: 

The past twenty-five years have heralded an unparalleled increase in understanding of cancer. At the same time, mathematical modelling has emerged as a natural tool for unravelling the complex processes that contribute to the initiation and progression of tumours, for testing hypotheses about experimental and clinical observations, and assisting with the development of new approaches for improving its treatment. In this talk I will reflect on how increased access to experimental data is stimulating the application of new theoretical approaches for studying tumour growth. I will focus on two case studies which illustrate how mathematical approaches can be used to characterise and quantify tumour vascular networks, and to understand how microstructural features of these networks affect tumour blood flow.

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Localized Patterns in Population Models with the Large Biased Movement and Strong Allee Effect

Speaker: 
Fanze Kong
Date: 
Wed, Mar 1, 2023
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
Mathematical Biology Seminar
Abstract: 

The strong Allee effect plays an important role on the evolution of population in ecological systems. One important concept is the Allee threshold that determines the persistence or extinction of the population in a long time. In general, a small initial population size is harmful to the survival of a species since when the initial data is below the Allee threshold, the population tends to extinction, rather than persistence. Another interesting feature of population evolution is that a species whose movement strategy follows a conditional dispersal strategy is more likely to persist. To study the interaction between Allee effect and the biased movement strategy, we mainly consider the pattern formation and local dynamics for a class of single species population models that is subject to the strong Allee effect. We first rigorously show the existence of multiple localized solutions when the directed movement is strong enough. Next, the spectrum analysis of the associated linear eigenvalue problem is established and used to investigate the stability properties of these interior spikes. This analysis proves that there exist not only unstable but also linear stable steady states. Finally, we extend results of the single equation to coupled systems for two interacting species, each with different advective terms, and competing for the same resources. We also construct several non-constant steady states and analyze their stability.

This is a work in progress talk by a local graduate student.

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The principal Chebotarev density theorem

Speaker: 
Kelly O'Connor
Date: 
Mon, Feb 13, 2023
Location: 
Online
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Conference: 
Lethbridge Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar
Abstract: 

Kelly O'Connor (Colorado State University, USA)

Let K/k be a finite Galois extension. We define a principal version of the Chebotarev density theorem which represents the density of prime ideals of k that factor into a product of principal prime ideals in K . We find explicit equations to express the principal density in terms of the invariants of K/k and give an effective bound which can be used to verify the non-splitting of the Hilbert exact sequence.

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A Reintroduction to Proofs

Speaker: 
Emily Riehl, John Hopkins University
Date: 
Fri, Feb 10, 2023
Location: 
University of Regina
Conference: 
University of Regina PIMS Distinguished Lecture
Abstract: 

In an introduction to proofs course, students learn to write proofs informally in the language of set theory and classical logic. In this talk, I'll explore the alternate possibility of teaching students to write proofs informally in the language of dependent type theory. I'll argue that the intuitions suggested by this formal system are closer to the intuitions mathematicians have about their praxis. Furthermore, dependent type theory is the formal system used by many computer proof assistants both "under the hood" to verify the correctness of proofs and in the vernacular language with which they interact with the user. Thus, students could practice writing proofs in this formal system by interacting with computer proof assistants such as Coq and Lean.

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A logarithmic improvement in the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem

Speaker: 
Alisa Sedunova
Date: 
Wed, Feb 8, 2023
Location: 
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Abstract: 

We improve the best known to date result of Dress-Iwaniec-Tenenbaum, getting ($\log
x)^2$ instead of $\left(log x\right)^(5/2)$. We use a weighted form of Vaughan's identity, allowing a smooth truncation inside the procedure, and an estimate due to Barban-Vehov and Graham related to Selberg's sieve. We give effective and non-effective versions of the result.

This event is part of the PIMS CRG Group on L-Functions in Analytic Number Theory. More details can be found on the webpage here: https://sites.google.com/view/crgl-functions/crg-weekly-seminar?authuser=0

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An explicit error term in the prime number theorem for large x

Speaker: 
Daniel Johnston
Date: 
Wed, Jan 25, 2023
Location: 
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Conference: 
L-Functions in Analytic Number Theory Seminar
Abstract: 

In 1896, the prime number theorem was established, showing that π(x) ∼ li(x). Perhaps the most widely used estimates in explicit analytic number theory are bounds on |π(x)-li(x)| or the related error term |θ(x)-x|. In this talk we discuss methods one can use to obtain good bounds on these error terms when x is large. Moreover, we will explore the many ways in which these bounds could be improved in the future.

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Filtrations, Mild groups and Arithmetic in an Equivariant context

Speaker: 
Oussama R. Hamza
Date: 
Wed, Feb 1, 2023
Location: 
Online
PIMS, University of Lethbridge, Zoom
Conference: 
Lethbridge Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar
Abstract: 

Oussama R. Hamza (University of Western Ontario, Canada)

Pro-p groups arise naturally in number theory as quotients of absolute Galois groups over number fields. These groups are quite mysterious. During the 60's, Koch gave a presentation of some of these quotients. Furthermore, around the same period, Jennings, Golod, Shafarevich and Lazard introduced two integer sequences (a_n) and (c_n), closely related to a special filtration of a finitely generated pro-p group G, called the Zassenhaus filtration. These sequences give the cardinality of G, and characterize its topology. For instance, we have the well-known Gocha's alternative (Golod and Shafarevich): There exists an integer n such that a_n=0 (or c_n has a polynomial growth) if and only if G is a Lie group over p-adic fields.

In 2016, Minac, Rogelstad and Tan inferred an explicit relation between a_n and c_n. Recently (2022), considering geometrical ideas of Filip and Stix, Hamza got more precise relations in an equivariant context: when the automorphism group of G admits a subgroup of order a prime q dividing p-1.

In this talk, we present equivariant relations inferred by Hamza (2022) and give explicit examples in an arithmetical context.

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