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Now showing 1 - 10 of 299
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    Genealogical properties of spatial models in Population Genetics
    (Hannover : Technische Informationsbibliothek, 2023-09) Wirtz, Johannes
    At the interface between Phylo- and Population Genetics, and recently heavily inspired by Epidemonology, the discipline of Phylogeography comprises modelling techniques from classical theoretical biology and combines them with a spatial (2D or 3D) aspect, with the purpose of utilizing geographical information in the analysis to understand the evolutionary history of a biological system or aspects of virology such as directionality and seasonality in pandemic outbreaks [1, 2, 3, 4]. An prime example of this are datasets that take into account the sampling locations of its components (geo-referenced genomic data). In this project, we have focused on the model called "spatial Lambda-Fleming-Viot process" ( V [5, 6]) and analzed its statistical properties forward in time as well as in the ancestral (dual) process, with results that may be used for parameter inference. Of particlar interest was the spatial variance, denoted , a parameter controlling the speed at which genetic information is spread across space and therefore an analog of the reproduction number (R0) used in epidemonology e.g. to assess the infectiousness of differing viral strains. We explored the relation of this parameter to the time to coalescence between lineage pairs in this model and described methods of estimating it from sampled data under different circumstances. We have furthermore investigated similarities and differences between this model and classical models in Population Genetics, particularly Birth-Death processes, which are heavily used for all kinds of biological inference problems, but do not by themselves feature a spatial component. We compared the Vto a variant of the Birth-Death process where the location of a live individual changes over the course of its lifetime according to a Brownian motion. This process is not as easily viewed backward in time as the V, but the genalogical process is accessible by Markov-Chain Monte Carlosimulation, as the likelihoods of ancestral positions and branch lengths are easily calculated, making this model easily applicable to data. Our analysis highlights the analogy between the two processes forward in time as well as backward in time; on the other hand, we also observed a divergent behavior of the two models when no prior on the phylogenetic time scale was assumed. Lastly, this project has given rise to a study of combinatorial properties of tree shapes relevant to the V, the Birth-Death and other biological processes. In particular, we were able to identify the combinatorial class genealogical trees generated from these processes belong to and verify a conjecture regarding their enumeration. Preliminary versions of software tools for the aforementioned inference have also been provided.
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    Jewellery from tessellations of hyperbolic space
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2022) Gangl, Herbert
    In this snapshot, we will first give an introduction to hyperbolic geometry and we will then show how certain matrix groups of a number-theoretic origin give rise to a large variety of interesting tessellations of 3-dimensional hyperbolic space. Many of the building blocks of these tessellations exhibit beautiful symmetry and have inspired the design of 3D printed jewellery.
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    Describing distance: from the plane to spectral triples
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2021) Arici, Francesca; Mesland, Bram
    Geometry draws its power from the abstract structures that govern the shapes found in the real world. These abstractions often provide deeper insights into the underlying mathematical objects. In this snapshot, we give a glimpse into how certain “curved spaces” called manifolds can be better understood by looking at the (complex) differentiable functions they admit.
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    Seeing through rock with help from optimal transport
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2022) Frederick, Christina; Yang, Yunan
    Geophysicists and mathematicians work together to detect geological structures located deep within the earth by measuring and interpreting echoes from manmade earthquakes. This inverse problem naturally involves the mathematics of wave propagation, but we will see that a different mathematical theory – optimal transport – also turns out to be very useful.
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    Ultrafilter methods in combinatorics
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2021) Goldbring, Isaac
    Given a set X, ultrafilters determine which subsets of X should be considered as large. We illustrate the use of ultrafilter methods in combinatorics by discussing two cornerstone results in Ramsey theory, namely Ramsey’s theorem itself and Hindman’s theorem. We then present a recent result in combinatorial number theory that verifies a conjecture of Erdos known as the “B + C conjecture”.
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    Shape space – a paradigm for character animation in computer graphics
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2020) Heeren, Behrend; Rumpf, Martin
    Nowadays 3D computer animation is increasingly realistic as the models used for the characters become more and more complex. These models are typically represented by meshes of hundreds of thousands or even millions of triangles. The mathematical notion of a shape space allows us to effectively model, manipulate, and animate such meshes. Once an appropriate notion of dissimilarity measure between different triangular meshes is defined, various useful tools in character modeling and animation turn out to coincide with basic geometric operations derived from this definition.
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    Searching for the Monster in the Trees
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2022) Craven, David A.
    The Monster finite simple group is almost unimaginably large, with about 8 × 1053 elements in it. Trying to understand such an immense object requires both theory and computer programs. In this snapshot, we discuss finite groups, representations, and finally Brauer trees, which offer some new understanding of this vast and intricate structure.
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    Quantum symmetry
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2020) Caspers, Martijn
    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.
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    Determinacy versus indeterminacy
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2020) Berg, Christian
    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.
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    Vertex-to-Self Trajectories on the Platonic Solids
    (Oberwolfach : Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach gGmbH, 2020) Athreya, Jayadev S.; Aulicino, David
    We consider the problem of walking in a straight line on the surface of a Platonic solid. While the tetrahedron, octahedron, cube, and icosahedron all exhibit the same behavior, we find a remarkable difference with the dodecahedron.