Mathematics that unifies

Understanding the relations between different branches of pure mathematics, and creating overarching theories that bind them together.

Mathematics is central to theoretical research, and advancing pure mathematics advances science itself. This is especially true for mathematics that unifies seemingly unconnected fields.

Dualities play a key role in how we form insights. Examples include the Langlands programme, monstrous moonshine, the ADE classification and dualities across quantum field and string theories. We investigate extensions of these, and develop their consequences. Can we develop other dualities, especially ones that exploit our intuition for geometry and arithmetic?

To bring rigour to network science, we investigate graphical notions of geometry and topology compatible with their continuum analogues. We develop a theory of statistical inference suitable for high dimensions, which is the basis for much of artificial intelligence. There are compelling arguments for a computational understanding of the universe, and we seek mathematical insights into the scope and limits of computation, particularly the output of simple rules.

Embedding pure mathematics within theoretical science keeps theorists abreast of the latest tools, and inspires mathematicians to take up new directions. Can we re-conceive mathematics as a core part of science, rather than an adjunct, thereby ensuring it is favoured and funded in proportion to its value?

Related papers

  • SCYHY. HeEHANAZ In Press Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics

    Mahler measuring amoebae

    Genetic symbolic regression methods reveal the relationship between amoebae from tropical geometry and the Mahler measure from number theory.

  • ISI. Shkredov Finite Fields and Their Applications

    Ungrouped machines

    A new connection between continued fractions and the Bourgain–Gamburd machine reveals a girth-free variant of this widely-celebrated theorem.

  • Submitted

    Sum-product with few primes

    For a finite set of integers with few prime factors, improving the lower bound on its sum and product sets affirms the Erdös-Szemerédi conjecture.

  • Submitted

    On John McKay

    This obituary celebrates the life and work of John Keith Stuart McKay, highlighting the mathematical miracles for which he will be remembered.

  • Geometric And Functional Analysis

    Random Chowla conjecture

    The distribution of partial sums of a Steinhaus random multiplicative function, of polynomials in a given form, converges to the standard complex Gaussian.

  • Submitted

    Single-input Boolean networks

    A new, simpler approach to the critical Kauffman model with connectivity one reveals that it has more attractors than previously believed.

  • Journal of High Energy Physics

    Gauge theory and integrability

    The algebra of a toric quiver gauge theory recovers the Bethe ansatz, revealing the relation between gauge theories and integrable systems.

  • Journal of High Energy Physics

    Algebra of melting crystals

    Certain states in quantum field theories are described by the geometry and algebra of melting crystals via properties of partition functions.

  • Submitted

    Set additivity and growth

    The additive dimension of a set, which is the size of a maximal dissociated subset, is closely connected to the rapid growth of higher sumsets.

  • Communications in Mathematical Physics

    Mahler measure for quivers

    Mahler measure from number theory is used for the first time in physics, yielding “Mahler flow” which extrapolates different phases in QFT.

  • Submitted

    Recursively divisible numbers

    Recursively divisible numbers are a new kind of number that are highly divisible, whose quotients are highly divisible, and so on, recursively.

  • Arxiv

    Transitions in loopy graphs

    The generation of large graphs with a controllable number of short loops paves the way for building more realistic random networks.

  • Journal of High Energy Physics

    QFT and kids’ drawings

    Groethendieck's “children’s drawings”, a type of bipartite graph, link number theory, geometry, and the physics of conformal field theory.

  • Submitted

    Energy bounds for roots

    Bounds for additive energies of modular roots can be generalised and improved with tools from additive combinatorics and algebraic number theory.

  • Arxiv

    Ample and pristine numbers

    Parallels between the perfect and abundant numbers and their recursive analogs point to deeper structure in the recursive divisor function.

  • Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination

    Bursting dynamic networks

    A mathematical model captures the temporal and steady state behaviour of networks whose two sets of nodes either generate or destroy links.

  • European Journal of Combinatorics

    Hypercube eigenvalues

    Hamming balls, subgraphs of the hypercube, maximise the graph’s largest eigenvalue exactly when the dimension of the cube is large enough.

  • Journal of Physics A

    Exactly solvable random graphs

    An explicit analytical solution reproduces the main features of random graph ensembles with many short cycles under strict degree constraints.

  • Forum of Mathematics, Sigma

    Erdős-Ko-Rado theorem analogue

    A random analogue of the Erdős-Ko-Rado theorem sheds light on its stability in an area of parameter space which has not yet been explored.

  • Journal of Physics A

    Spin systems on Bethe lattices

    Exact equations for the thermodynamic quantities of lattices made of d-dimensional hypercubes are obtainable with the Bethe-Peierls approach.

  • SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics

    Maximum percolation time

    A simple formula gives the maximum time for an n x n grid to become entirely infected having undergone a bootstrap percolation process.

  • ESAIM: Proceedings and surveys

    Random graphs with short loops

    The analysis of real networks which contain many short loops requires novel methods, because they break the assumptions of tree-like models.

  • Journal of Physics A

    Entropies of graph ensembles

    Explicit formulae for the Shannon entropies of random graph ensembles provide measures to compare and reproduce their topological features.

  • Electronic Journal of Probability

    Percolation on Galton-Watson trees

    The critical probability for bootstrap percolation, a process which mimics the spread of an infection in a graph, is bounded for Galton-Watson trees.

  • Powder Technology

    Random close packing fractions

    Lognormal distributions (and mixtures of same) are a useful model for the size distribution in emulsions and sediments.

  • Physical Review E

    Unbiased randomization

    Unbiased randomisation processes generate sophisticated synthetic networks for modelling and testing the properties of real-world networks.

  • Journal of Physics A

    Tailored random graph ensembles

    New mathematical tools quantify the topological structure of large directed networks which describe how genes interact within a cell.

  • Physical Review E

    Ever-shrinking spheres

    Techniques from random sphere packing predict the dimension of the Apollonian gasket, a fractal made up of non-overlapping hyperspheres.

  • EPL

    Random cellular automata

    Of the 256 elementary cellular automata, 28 of them exhibit random behavior over time, but spatio-temporal currents still lurk underneath.