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Spherical arc-length as a global conformal parameter for analytic curves in the Riemann sphere
We prove that for every analytic curve in the complex plane C, Euclidean and spherical arc-lengths are global conformal parameters. We also prove that for any analytic curve in the hyperbolic plane, hyperbolic arc-length is also a global parameter. We generalize some of these results to the case of analytic curves in Rn and Cn and we discuss the situation of curves in the Riemann sphere C {∞}.
Towards a Mathematical Theory of Turbulence in Fluids
Fluid mechanics is the theory of how liquids and gases move around. For the most part, the basic physics are well understood and the mathematical models look relatively simple. Despite this, fluids display a dazzling mystery to their motion. The random-looking, chaotic behavior of fluids is known as turbulence, and it lies far beyond our mathematical understanding, despite a century of intense research.
Determinacy versus indeterminacy
Can a continuous function on an interval be uniquely determined if we know all the integrals of the function against the natural powers of the variable? Following Weierstrass and Stieltjes, we show that the answer is yes if the interval is finite, and no if the interval is infinite.
Prony’s method: an old trick for new problems
In 1795, French mathematician Gaspard de Prony invented an ingenious trick to solve a recovery problem, aiming at reconstructing functions from their values at given points, which arose from a specific application in physical chemistry. His technique became later useful in many different areas, such as signal processing, and it relates to the concept of sparsity that gained a lot of well-deserved attention recently. Prony’s contribution, therefore, has developed into a very modern mathematical concept.
Quantum symmetry
The symmetry of objects plays a crucial role in many branches of mathematics and physics. It allowed, for example, the early prediction of the existence of new small particles. “Quantum symmetry” concerns a generalized notion of symmetry. It is an abstract way of characterizing the symmetry of a much richer class of mathematical and physical objects. In this snapshot we explain how quantum symmetry emerges as matrix symmetries using a famous example: Mermin’s magic square. It shows that quantum symmetries can solve problems that lie beyond the reach of classical symmetries, showing that quantum symmetries play a central role in modern mathematics.
Emergence in biology and social sciences
Mathematics is the key to linking scientific knowledge at different scales: from microscopic to macroscopic dynamics. This link gives us understanding on the emergence of observable patterns like flocking of birds, leaf venation, opinion dynamics, and network formation, to name a few. In this article, we explore how mathematics is able to traverse scales, and in particular its application in modelling collective motion of bacteria driven by chemical signalling.
Quantum diffusion
If you place a drop of ink into a glass of water, the ink will slowly dissipate into the surrounding water until it is perfectly mixed. If you record your experiment with a camera and play the film backwards, you will see something that is never observed in the real world. Such diffusive and irreversible behaviour is ubiquitous in nature. Nevertheless, the fundamental equations that describe the motion of individual particles – Newton’s and Schrödinger’s equations – are reversible in time: a film depicting the motion of just a few particles looks as realistic when played forwards as when played backwards. In this snapshot, we discuss how one may try to understand the origin of diffusion starting from the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics.
Operator theory and the singular value decomposition
This is a snapshot about operator theory and one of its fundamental tools: the singular value decomposition (SVD). The SVD breaks up linear transformations into simpler mappings, thus unveiling their geometric properties. This tool has become important in many areas of applied mathematics for its ability to organize information. We discuss the SVD in the concrete situation of linear transformations of the plane (such as rotations, reflections, etc.).
Ghost algebras of double Burnside algebras via Schur functors
For a finite group G, we introduce a multiplication on the Q-vector space with basis SG×G, the set of subgroups of G × G. The resulting Q-algebra A˜ can be considered as a ghost algebra for the double Burnside ring B(G,G) in the sense that the mark homomorphism from B(G,G) to A˜ is a ring homomorphism. Our approach interprets QB(G,G) as an algebra eAe, where A is a twisted monoid algebra and e is an idempotent in A. The monoid underlying the algebra A is again equal to SG×G with multiplication given by composition of relations (when a subgroup of G × G is interpreted as a relation between G and G). The algebras A and A˜ are isomorphic via Mo¨bius inversion in the poset SG×G. As an application we improve results by Bouc on the parametrization of simple modules of QB(G,G) and also of simple biset functors, by using results by Linckelmann and Stolorz on the parametrization of simple modules of finite category algebras. Finally, in the case where G is a cyclic group of order n, we give an explicit isomorphism between QB(G,G) and a direct product of matrix rings over group algebras of the automorphism groups of cyclic groups of order k, where k divides n.