138 research outputs found
The algorithmics of solitaire-like games
One-person solitaire-like games are explored with a view to using them in teaching algorithmic problem solving. The key to understanding solutions to such games is the identification of invariant properties of polynomial arithmetic. We demonstrate this via three case studies: solitaire itself, tiling problems and a novel class of one-person games.
The known classification of states of the game of (peg) solitaire into 16 equivalence classes is used to introduce the relevance of polynomial arithmetic. Then we give a novel algebraic formulation of the solution to a class of tiling problems. Finally, we introduce an infinite class of challenging one-person games, which we call ``replacement-set games'', inspired by earlier work by Chen and Backhouse on the relation between cyclotomic polynomials and generalisations of the seven-trees-in-one type isomorphism. We present an algorithm to solve arbitrary instances of replacement-set games and we show various ways of constructing infinite (solvable) classes of replacement-set games
The Hopf algebra of Möbius intervals
An unpublished result by the first author states that there exists a Hopf algebra H such that for any Moebius category C (in the sense of Leroux) there exists a canonical algebra morphism from the dual H* of H to the incidence algebra of C. Moreover, the Moebius inversion principle in incidence algebras follows from a `master´ inversion result in H*. The underlying module of H was originally defined as the free module on the set of iso classes of Moebius intervals, i.e. Moebius categories with initial and terminal objects. Here we consider a category of Moebius intervals and construct the Hopf algebra via the objective approach applied to a monoidal extensive category of combinatorial objects, with the values in appropriate rings being abstracted from combinatorial functors on the objects. The explicit consideration of a category of Moebius intervals leads also to two new characterizations of Moebius categories.Fil: Lawvere, F. W.. No especifÃca;Fil: Menni, MatÃas. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, Ciencia y TecnologÃa. Secretaria de Gobierno de Ciencia TecnologÃa e Innovación Productiva. Agencia Nacional de Promoción CientÃfica y Tecnológica. Fondo Argentino Sectorial; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentin
Categorical Foundation of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory
The unification of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity remains the
primary goal of Theoretical Physics, with string theory appearing as the only
plausible unifying scheme. In the present work, in a search of the conceptual
foundations of string theory, we analyze the relational logic developed by C.
S. Peirce in the late nineteenth century. The Peircean logic has the
mathematical structure of a category with the relation among two
individual terms and , serving as an arrow (or morphism). We
introduce a realization of the corresponding categorical algebra of
compositions, which naturally gives rise to the fundamental quantum laws, thus
indicating category theory as the foundation of Quantum Mechanics. The same
relational algebra generates a number of group structures, among them
. The group is embodied and realized by the matrix
models, themselves closely linked with string theory. It is suggested that
relational logic and in general category theory may provide a new paradigm,
within which to develop modern physical theories.Comment: To appear in International Journal of Modern Physics
Introduction to Categories and Categorical Logic
The aim of these notes is to provide a succinct, accessible introduction to
some of the basic ideas of category theory and categorical logic. The notes are
based on a lecture course given at Oxford over the past few years. They contain
numerous exercises, and hopefully will prove useful for self-study by those
seeking a first introduction to the subject, with fairly minimal prerequisites.
The coverage is by no means comprehensive, but should provide a good basis for
further study; a guide to further reading is included. The main prerequisite is
a basic familiarity with the elements of discrete mathematics: sets, relations
and functions. An Appendix contains a summary of what we will need, and it may
be useful to review this first. In addition, some prior exposure to abstract
algebra - vector spaces and linear maps, or groups and group homomorphisms -
would be helpful.Comment: 96 page
Deriving Bisimulation Congruences: 2-categories vs precategories
G-relative pushouts (GRPOs) have recently been proposed by the authors as a new foundation for Leifer and Milner’s approach to deriving labelled bisimulation congruences from reduction systems. This paper develops the theory of GRPOs further, arguing that they provide a simple and powerful basis towards a comprehensive solution. As an example, we construct GRPOs in a category of ‘bunches and wirings.’ We then examine the approach based on Milner’s precategories and Leifer’s functorial reactive systems, and show that it can be recast in a much simpler way into the 2-categorical theory of GRPOs
Kripke Semantics for Martin-L\"of's Extensional Type Theory
It is well-known that simple type theory is complete with respect to
non-standard set-valued models. Completeness for standard models only holds
with respect to certain extended classes of models, e.g., the class of
cartesian closed categories. Similarly, dependent type theory is complete for
locally cartesian closed categories. However, it is usually difficult to
establish the coherence of interpretations of dependent type theory, i.e., to
show that the interpretations of equal expressions are indeed equal. Several
classes of models have been used to remedy this problem. We contribute to this
investigation by giving a semantics that is standard, coherent, and
sufficiently general for completeness while remaining relatively easy to
compute with. Our models interpret types of Martin-L\"of's extensional
dependent type theory as sets indexed over posets or, equivalently, as
fibrations over posets. This semantics can be seen as a generalization to
dependent type theory of the interpretation of intuitionistic first-order logic
in Kripke models. This yields a simple coherent model theory, with respect to
which simple and dependent type theory are sound and complete
Higher Structures in M-Theory
The key open problem of string theory remains its non-perturbative completion
to M-theory. A decisive hint to its inner workings comes from numerous
appearances of higher structures in the limits of M-theory that are already
understood, such as higher degree flux fields and their dualities, or the
higher algebraic structures governing closed string field theory. These are all
controlled by the higher homotopy theory of derived categories, generalised
cohomology theories, and -algebras. This is the introductory chapter
to the proceedings of the LMS/EPSRC Durham Symposium on Higher Structures in
M-Theory. We first review higher structures as well as their motivation in
string theory and beyond. Then we list the contributions in this volume,
putting them into context.Comment: 22 pages, Introductory Article to Proceedings of LMS/EPSRC Durham
Symposium Higher Structures in M-Theory, August 2018, references update
The fundamental pro-groupoid of an affine 2-scheme
A natural question in the theory of Tannakian categories is: What if you
don't remember \Forget? Working over an arbitrary commutative ring , we
prove that an answer to this question is given by the functor represented by
the \'etale fundamental groupoid \pi_1(\spec(R)), i.e.\ the separable
absolute Galois group of when it is a field. This gives a new definition
for \'etale \pi_1(\spec(R)) in terms of the category of -modules rather
than the category of \'etale covers. More generally, we introduce a new notion
of "commutative 2-ring" that includes both Grothendieck topoi and symmetric
monoidal categories of modules, and define a notion of for the
corresponding "affine 2-schemes." These results help to simplify and clarify
some of the peculiarities of the \'etale fundamental group. For example,
\'etale fundamental groups are not "true" groups but only profinite groups, and
one cannot hope to recover more: the "Tannakian" functor represented by the
\'etale fundamental group of a scheme preserves finite products but not all
products.Comment: 46 pages + bibliography. Diagrams drawn in Tik
Bisimilarity congruences for open terms and term graphs via tile logic
The definition of sos formats ensuring that bisimilarity on closed terms is a congruence has received much attention in the last two decades. For dealing with open terms, the congruence is usually lifted from closed terms by instantiating the free variables in all possible ways; the only alternatives considered in the literature are Larsen and Xinxin’s context systems and Rensink’s conditional transition systems. We propose an approach based on tile logic, where closed and open terms are managed uniformly, and study the ‘bisimilarity as congruence’ property for several tile formats, accomplishing different concepts of open system
Correlating matched-filter model for analysis and optimisation of neural networks
A new formalism is described for modelling neural networks by means of which a clear physical understanding of the network behaviour can be gained. In essence, the neural net is represented by an equivalent network of matched filters which is then analysed by standard correlation techniques. The procedure is demonstrated on the synchronous Little-Hopfield network. It is shown how the ability of this network to discriminate between stored binary, bipolar codes is optimised if the stored codes are chosen to be orthogonal. However, such a choice will not often be possible and so a new neural network architecture is proposed which enables the same discrimination to be obtained for arbitrary stored codes. The most efficient convergence of the synchronous Little-Hopfield net is obtained when the neurons are connected to themselves with a weight equal to the number of stored codes. The processing gain is presented for this case. The paper goes on to show how this modelling technique can be extended to analyse the behaviour of both hard and soft neural threshold responses and a novel time-dependent threshold response is described
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