Talk by Jacques Verstraete (UCSD)

Date and Time: Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 12:00 PM in AP&M B412.

Title: Applications of the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz

Abstract: In this talk I will discuss a combinatorial specialization of Hilbert's celebrated nullstellensatz. This version has numerous applications in various branches of mathematics, such as combinatorics and graph theory, number theory, and geometry. We will discuss some striking and elegant proofs in each of these areas, together with some open problems which might yield to an approach using the nullstellensatz.