An Examination of the Yang-Baxter Equation

The Yang-Baxter equation has been extensively studied due to its application in numerous fields of mathematics and physics. This thesis sets out to analyze the equation from the viewpoint of the algebraic product of matrices, i.e., the composition of linear maps, with the intent of characterizing the solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. We begin by examining the simple case of 22 matrices where it is possible to fully characterize the solutions. We connect the Yang-Baxter equation to the Cecioni-Frobenius Theorem and focus on obtaining solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation for special matrices where solutions are more easily found. Finally, we derive a fixed point iteration algorithm to determine the Yang-Baxter complement of a given matrix, if it exists. Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/103

Classification of two and three dimensional Lie super-bialgebras

Using adjoint representation of Lie superalgebras, we obtain the matrix form of super-Jacobi and mixed super-Jacobi identities of Lie superbialgebras. By direct calculations of these identities, and use of automorphism supergroups of two and three dimensional Lie superalgebras, we obtain and classify all two and three dimensional Lie superbialgebras.Comment: 15 page

Quantum entanglement, supersymmetry, and the generalized Yang-Baxter equation

Entangled states, such as the Bell and GHZ states, are generated from separable states using matrices known to satisfy the Yang-Baxter equation and its generalization. This remarkable fact hints at the possibility of using braiding operators as quantum entanglers, and is part of a larger speculated connection between topological and quantum entanglement. We push the analysis of this connection forward, by showing that supersymmetry algebras can be used to construct large families of solutions of the spectral parameter-dependent generalized Yang-Baxter equation. We present a number of explicit examples and outline a general algorithm for arbitrary numbers of qubits. The operators we obtain produce, in turn, all the entangled states in a multi-qubit system classified by the Stochastic Local Operations and Classical Communication protocol introduced in quantum information theory