Transitive Lie algebras of vector fields---an overview

This overview paper is intended as a quick introduction to Lie algebras of vector fields. Originally introduced in the late 19th century by Sophus Lie to capture symmetries of ordinary differential equations, these algebras, or infinitesimal groups, are a recurring theme in 20th-century research on Lie algebras. I will focus on so-called transitive or even primitive Lie algebras, and explain their theory due to Lie, Morozov, Dynkin, Guillemin, Sternberg, Blattner, and others. This paper gives just one, subjective overview of the subject, without trying to be exhaustive.Comment: 20 pages, written after the Oberwolfach mini-workshop "Algebraic and Analytic Techniques for Polynomial Vector Fields", December 2010 2nd version, some minor typo's corrected and some references adde

Partial correlation hypersurfaces in Gaussian graphical models

We derive a combinatorial sufficient condition for a partial correlation hypersurface in the parameter space of a directed Gaussian graphical model to be nonsingular, and speculate on whether this condition can be used in algorithms for learning the graph. Since the condition is fulfilled in the case of a complete DAG on any number of vertices, the result implies an affirmative answer to a question raised by Lin-Uhler-Sturmfels-B\"uhlmann.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, added Example 13, some minor further edit

Topological Noetherianity of polynomial functors

We prove that any finite-degree polynomial functor is topologically Noetherian. This theorem is motivated by the recent resolution of Stillman's conjecture and a recent Noetherianity proof for the space of cubics. Via work by Erman-Sam-Snowden, our theorem implies Stillman's conjecture and indeed boundedness of a wider class of invariants of ideals in polynomial rings with a fixed number of generators of prescribed degrees.Comment: Final versio

Finiteness for the k-factor model and chirality varieties

This paper deals with two families of algebraic varieties arising from applications. First, the k-factor model in statistics, consisting of n-times-n covariance matrices of n observed Gaussian variables that are pairwise independent given k hidden Gaussian variables. Second, chirality varieties inspired by applications in chemistry. A point in such a chirality variety records chirality measurements of all k-subsets among an n-set of ligands. Both classes of varieties are given by a parameterisation, while for applications having polynomial equations would be desirable. For instance, such equations could be used to test whether a given point lies in the variety. We prove that in a precise sense, which is different for the two classes of varieties, these equations are finitely characterisable when k is fixed and n grows.Comment: 13 page

Noetherianity up to symmetry

These lecture notes for the 2013 CIME/CIRM summer school Combinatorial Algebraic Geometry deal with manifestly infinite-dimensional algebraic varieties with large symmetry groups. So large, in fact, that subvarieties stable under those symmetry groups are defined by finitely many orbits of equations---whence the title Noetherianity up to symmetry. It is not the purpose of these notes to give a systematic, exhaustive treatment of such varieties, but rather to discuss a few "personal favourites": exciting examples drawn from applications in algebraic statistics and multilinear algebra. My hope is that these notes will attract other mathematicians to this vibrant area at the crossroads of combinatorics, commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, statistics, and other applications.Comment: To appear in Springer's LNM C.I.M.E. series; several typos fixe

The average number of critical rank-one approximations to a tensor

Motivated by the many potential applications of low-rank multi-way tensor approximations, we set out to count the rank-one tensors that are critical points of the distance function to a general tensor v. As this count depends on v, we average over v drawn from a Gaussian distribution, and find formulas that relates this average to problems in random matrix theory.Comment: Several minor edit

Tensor invariants for certain subgroups of the orthogonal group

Let V be an n-dimensional vector space and let On be the orthogonal group. Motivated by a question of B. Szegedy (B. Szegedy, Edge coloring models and reflection positivity, Journal of the American Mathematical Society Volume 20, Number 4, 2007), about the rank of edge connection matrices of partition functions of vertex models, we give a combinatorial parameterization of tensors in V \otimes k invariant under certain subgroups of the orthogonal group. This allows us to give an answer to this question for vertex models with values in an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero.Comment: 14 pages, figure. We fixed a few typo's. To appear in Journal of Algebraic Combinatoric