A Combinatorial Formula for Principal Minors of a Matrix with Tree-metric Exponents and Its Applications

Let $T$ be a tree with a vertex set $\{ 1,2,\dots, N \}$. Denote by $d_{ij}$ the distance between vertices $i$ and $j$. In this paper, we present an explicit combinatorial formula of principal minors of the matrix $(t^{d_{ij}})$, and its applications to tropical geometry, study of multivariate stable polynomials, and representation of valuated matroids. We also give an analogous formula for a skew-symmetric matrix associated with $T$.Comment: 16 page

Ultrametric spaces of branches on arborescent singularities

Let $S$ be a normal complex analytic surface singularity. We say that $S$ is arborescent if the dual graph of any resolution of it is a tree. Whenever $A,B$ are distinct branches on $S$, we denote by $A \cdot B$ their intersection number in the sense of Mumford. If $L$ is a fixed branch, we define $U_L(A,B)= (L \cdot A)(L \cdot B)(A \cdot B)^{-1}$ when $A \neq B$ and $U_L(A,A) =0$ otherwise. We generalize a theorem of P{\l}oski concerning smooth germs of surfaces, by proving that whenever $S$ is arborescent, then $U_L$ is an ultrametric on the set of branches of $S$ different from $L$. We compute the maximum of $U_L$, which gives an analog of a theorem of Teissier. We show that $U_L$ encodes topological information about the structure of the embedded resolutions of any finite set of branches. This generalizes a theorem of Favre and Jonsson concerning the case when both $S$ and $L$ are smooth. We generalize also from smooth germs to arbitrary arborescent ones their valuative interpretation of the dual trees of the resolutions of $S$. Our proofs are based in an essential way on a determinantal identity of Eisenbud and Neumann.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures. Compared to the first version on Arxiv, il has a new section 4.3, accompanied by 2 new figures. Several passages were clarified and the typos discovered in the meantime were correcte

Wavelet analysis on symbolic sequences and two-fold de Bruijn sequences

The concept of symbolic sequences play important role in study of complex systems. In the work we are interested in ultrametric structure of the set of cyclic sequences naturally arising in theory of dynamical systems. Aimed at construction of analytic and numerical methods for investigation of clusters we introduce operator language on the space of symbolic sequences and propose an approach based on wavelet analysis for study of the cluster hierarchy. The analytic power of the approach is demonstrated by derivation of a formula for counting of {\it two-fold de Bruijn sequences}, the extension of the notion of de Bruijn sequences. Possible advantages of the developed description is also discussed in context of applied

Tropicalization of classical moduli spaces

The image of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement under a monomial map can be tropicalized combinatorially using matroid theory. We apply this to classical moduli spaces that are associated with complex reflection arrangements. Starting from modular curves, we visit the Segre cubic, the Igusa quartic, and moduli of marked del Pezzo surfaces of degrees 2 and 3. Our primary example is the Burkhardt quartic, whose tropicalization is a 3-dimensional fan in 39-dimensional space. This effectuates a synthesis of concrete and abstract approaches to tropical moduli of genus 2 curves.Comment: 33 page

Computation and Physics in Algebraic Geometry

Physics provides new, tantalizing problems that we solve by developing and implementing innovative and effective geometric tools in nonlinear algebra. The techniques we employ also rely on numerical and symbolic computations performed with computer algebra. First, we study solutions to the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation that arise from singular curves. The Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation is a partial differential equation describing nonlinear wave motion whose solutions can be built from an algebraic curve. Such a surprising connection established by Krichever and Shiota also led to an entirely new point of view on a classical problem in algebraic geometry known as the Schottky problem. To explore the connection with curves with at worst nodal singularities, we define the Hirota variety, which parameterizes KP solutions arising from such curves. Studying the geometry of the Hirota variety provides a new approach to the Schottky problem. We investigate it for irreducible rational nodal curves, giving a partial solution to the weak Schottky problem in this case. Second, we formulate questions from scattering amplitudes in a broader context using very affine varieties and D-module theory. The interplay between geometry and combinatorics in particle physics indeed suggests an underlying, coherent mathematical structure behind the study of particle interactions. In this thesis, we gain a better understanding of mathematical objects, such as moduli spaces of point configurations and generalized Euler integrals, for which particle physics provides concrete, non-trivial examples, and we prove some conjectures stated in the physics literature. Finally, we study linear spaces of symmetric matrices, addressing questions motivated by algebraic statistics, optimization, and enumerative geometry. This includes giving explicit formulas for the maximum likelihood degree and studying tangency problems for quadric surfaces in projective space from the point of view of real algebraic geometry

Spanning forests and the vector bundle Laplacian

The classical matrix-tree theorem relates the determinant of the combinatorial Laplacian on a graph to the number of spanning trees. We generalize this result to Laplacians on one- and two-dimensional vector bundles, giving a combinatorial interpretation of their determinants in terms of so-called cycle rooted spanning forests (CRSFs). We construct natural measures on CRSFs for which the edges form a determinantal process. This theory gives a natural generalization of the spanning tree process adapted to graphs embedded on surfaces. We give a number of other applications, for example, we compute the probability that a loop-erased random walk on a planar graph between two vertices on the outer boundary passes left of two given faces. This probability cannot be computed using the standard Laplacian alone.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOP596 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Renormalization: an advanced overview

We present several approaches to renormalization in QFT: the multi-scale analysis in perturbative renormalization, the functional methods \`a la Wetterich equation, and the loop-vertex expansion in non-perturbative renormalization. While each of these is quite well-established, they go beyond standard QFT textbook material, and may be little-known to specialists of each other approach. This review is aimed at bridging this gap.Comment: Review, 130 pages, 33 figures; v2: misprints corrected, refs. added, minor improvements; v3: some changes to sect. 5, refs. adde