CoursE X.V. IMSc 2016
CoursE X.V. IMSc 2016
Course IMSc Chennai, India
January-March 2016
An introduction to enumerative, algebraic and
bijective combinatorics
Tuesday and Thursday 14h-15h30
Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall
Abstract
A spectacular renaissance is appearing for combinatorial mathematics. One of the first step is the resolution of enumerative problems. Very often motivations come from other fields such as theoretical physics (statistical and quantum physics), probabilities theory, algebraic geometry, analysis of algorithms in computer science or molecular biology. The main tool is the notion of generating power series (ordinary and exponential). Recurrence formulae, functional or differential equations, inversion formulae, rational, algebraic or D-finite power series appear everywhere in this domain called enumerative combinatorics.
Another trends appearing is the « bijective paradigm ». A bijective proof of an identity will be the construction of a correspondence between the finite objects interpreting both sides of the identity. Conversely, it can be the search for combinatorial interpretations of objects or topics from some parts of classical mathematics (algebra, analysis, algebraic geometry, ….). The interplay between algebra and combinatorics is called algebraic combinatorics. Very recently bijective combinatorics has played an important role in theoretical physics (combinatorial maps in quantum gravity, resolution of the Razumov-Stroganov conjecture, …).
More generally « bijective tools » enables to put some order in the jungle of combinatorial identities. For example, many enumeration formulae involving determinants can be proved using a single Lemma relating determinants and configurations of non-intersecting paths.
In this course topics will include ordinary and exponential generating series, the main bijections related to the Catalan world (trees, paths, triangulations, ….) and to the n! world (permutations, Young tableaux, Robinson-Schensted correspondence, Laguerre histories), determinants and non-crossing paths, tilings, combinatorial theory of differential equations.
This course is supposed to be the first of a series of 3 or 4 combinatorics courses, with emphasis on the bijective point of view. Other courses will be about a combinatorial theory of orthogonal polynomials, heaps of pieces in interaction with physics and algebra, and the « cellular ansatz », that is the interplay between quadratic algebras and combinatorics.
Ch 0 Introduction to the course
5 January 2016
slides (pdf 25 Mo) video Ch 0 (1h 10mn)
enumerative combinatorics 3 50’‘ video
an example with Young tableaux 5 2’ 8’‘ video
Hook-length formula 10 6’ 12’’ video
another example with binary trees, the use of ordinary generating functions 19 9’ 34’’ video
an example with alternating permutations, the use of exponential generating functions 35 17’ 5’’ video
bijective combinatorics, example: planar maps 42 29’ 35’’ video
bijective proof of an identity, example RSK 48 35’ 10’‘ video
algebraic combinatorics 55 39’ 50’‘ video
the bijective paradigm 62 43’ 55’‘ video
example: Mehler identity for Hermite polynomials 64 45’ 20’‘ video
Identities, bijections, « bijective tools » 84 55’ 41’’ video
example: hook-length formula and number of tilings of the Aztec diagram under the same roof 89 59’ 33’‘ video
another example: heaps of pieces 95 1h 4’ 11’‘ video
map of the course 97 1h 5’ 31’’ video
other courses 98 1h 8’ 50’‘ video
the end 98 1h 9’ 52’‘
the playlist from matsciencechannel of the 17 videos of the course is here
last update: 16 April 2016
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