SF2742 Convex Polytopes 7.5 hp , vt13

URL: http://www.math.kth.se/math/GRU/2012.2013/SF2742

Teacher: Svante Linusson, 08-790 9444, linusson (avoid spam) math.kth.se
Course start: January 18, 13.15-15.00
Location: Seminarierum 3721, plan 7, institutionen för matematik, KTH.
If you plan to attend the course, but cannot make it the first time, please email Svante.

Preliminary plan of lectures

Hand-in-problems and presentations, here you will find the details of examination and a list of suggested topics for your oral presentation.

Course plan

The main objective of the course is to give an introduction to the fascinating mathematics of convex polytopes. A polytope is a fundamental geometric object which most easily can be described as the convex hull of a finite set of points in a finite dimeionsional Euclidean space. Polytopes are interesting objects from a pure mathematical perspective in combinatorics and algebra. They are also of interest in e.g. optimization since the optimum of a linear optimization problem is obtained in a vertex of a polytope.

In this course the emphasis will be on the combinatorial properties of polytopes. We will discuss basic properties of polytopes; e.g. vertex/facets incidences, the f-vector, the i-skeleton, and methods to study them, e.g. projections, Schlegel diagrams, shelling, Gale diagrams. An important part of the combinatorial theory of polytopes are constructions and special classes of polytopes; the cyclic poltyopes, Birkhoff polytope, zonotopes (oriented matroids), Minkovskisum, 0/1-polytopes, the permutaeder, associaeder etc. There also be a possibility for the participants to influence part of the curriculum.
The theory of convex polytopes is a highly active research area. One of the main conjectures (the so called Hirsch conjecture) was disproved two years ago by Francisco Santos. We will at the end of the course discuss this very interesting development and other research problems, e.g what can the combinatorial structure of a 4-dimensional polytope look like?

Förkunskaper

One course in linear algebra and SF1630 (or SF1631, SF2736) Diskret Matematik or the corresponding knowledge.

Kurslitteratur

COURSE BOOK:
Ziegler, Günter M: "Lectures on Polytopes"; Springer Graduate Texts in Mathematics.
This is a very well-written book. There will also be other complementary reading material. Here are uppdates and corrections since the last edition.

Teaching

There will be lectures 8.15-10.00 on Fridays during the spring term, starting January 18. In seminar room 3721, floor 7 at the math department, KTH.

Examination

Examination is planed to be mostly by hand-in-problems.


Senast ändrad 2013-02-01.