Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

We show that if each edge of the complete bipartite graph $K_{n,n}$ is given a random list of $C(\log n)$ colors from $[n]$, then with high probability, there is a proper edge coloring where the color of each edge comes from the corresponding list. We also prove analogous results for Latin squares and Steiner triple systems. This resolves several related conjectures of Johansson, Luria-Simkin, Casselgren-Häggkvist, Simkin, and Kang-Kelly-Kühn-Methuku-Osthus. I will discuss some of the main ingredients which go into the proof: the Kahn-Kalai conjecture, absorption, and the Lovasz Local Lemma distribution. Based on joint work with Huy Tuan Pham. 

In this talk, we present new gradient sliding results for constrained convex optimization with applications in image reconstruction and decentralized distributed optimization. Specifically, we will study classes of large-scale problems that minimizes a convex objective function over feasible set with linear constraints. We will show that by exploring the gradient sliding technique, the number of gradient evaluations of the objective function can be reduced by exploring the smoothness structure. Our results could lead to new decentralized algorithms for multi-agent optimization with graph topology invariant gradient/sampling complexity and new ADMM algorithms for solving total variation image reconstruction problems with accelerated gradient complexity.

In this talk, we explore the fractional log-concavity property of generating polynomials of discrete distributions. This property is an analog to the Lorentzian [Branden-Huh’19]/log-concavity [Anari-Liu-OveisGharan-Vinzant’19] property of the generating polynomials of matroids. We show that multivariate generating polynomials without roots in a sector of the complex plane are fractionally log-concave. Furthermore, we prove that the generating polynomials of linear delta matroids and of the intersection between a linear matroid and a partition matroid have no roots in a sector, and thus are fractionally log-concave. Beyond root-freeness, we conjecture that for any subset F of {0,1}^n such that conv(F) has constantly bounded edge length, the generating polynomial for the uniform distribution over F is fractionally log-concave.

Based on joint works with Yeganeh Alimohammadi , Nima Anari and Kirankumar Shiragur.

Lefschetz fibrations are very useful in the sense that they have one-one correspondence with the relations in the Mapping Class Groups and they can be used to construct exotic (homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic) 4-manifolds. In this series of talks, we will first introduce Lefschetz fibrations and Mapping Class Groups and give examples. Then, we will dive more into 4-manifold world. More specifically, we will talk about the history of  exotic 4-manifolds and we will define the nice tools used to construct exotic 4-manifolds, like symplectic normal connect sum, Rational Blow-Down, Luttinger Surgery, Branch Covers, and Knot Surgery. Finally, we will provide various constructions of exotic 4-manifolds.