• Reflections on hyperbolic space 

      [SNAP-2021-007-EN] Haensch, Anna (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2021-08-24)
      In school, we learn that the interior angles of any triangle sum up to pi. However, there exist spaces different from the usual Euclidean space in which this is not true. One of these spaces is the ''hyperbolic space'', ...
    • Rotating needles, vibrating strings, and Fourier summation 

      [SNAP-2020-006-EN] Zahl, Joshua (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2020-09-21)
      We give a brief survey of the connection between seemingly unrelated problems such as sets in the plane containing lines pointing in many directions, vibrating strings and drum heads, and a classical problem from Fourier analysis.
    • Searching for structure in complex data: a modern statistical quest 

      [SNAP-2021-003-EN] Loh, Po-Ling (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2021-03-29)
      Current research in statistics has taken interesting new directions, as data collected from scientific studies has become increasingly complex. At first glance, the number of experiments conducted by a scientist must ...
    • Shape space – a paradigm for character animation in computer graphics 

      [SNAP-2020-007-EN] Heeren, Behrend; Rumpf, Martin (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2020-10-07)
      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 ...
    • Solving quadratic equations in many variables 

      [SNAP-2017-012-EN] Tignol, Jean-Pierre (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2017-12-30)
      Fields are number systems in which every linear equation has a solution, such as the set of all rational numbers $\mathbb{Q}$ or the set of all real numbers $\mathbb{R}$. All fields have the same properties in relation ...
    • Spaces of Riemannian metrics 

      [SNAP-2017-010-EN] Bustamante, Mauricio; Kordaß, Jan-Bernhard (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2017-12-28)
      Riemannian metrics endow smooth manifolds such as surfaces with intrinsic geometric properties, for example with curvature. They also allow us to measure quantities like distances, angles and volumes. These are the ...
    • A surprising connection between quantum mechanics and shallow water waves 

      [SNAP-2019-018-EN] Fillman, Jake; VandenBoom, Tom (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2019-12-11)
      We describe a connection between quantum mechanics and nonlinear wave equations and highlight a few problems at the forefront of modern research in the intersection of these areas.
    • Topological recursion 

      [SNAP-2018-002-EN] Sułkowski, Piotr (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2018-03-05)
      In this snapshot we present the concept of topological recursion – a new, surprisingly powerful formalism at the border of mathematics and physics, which has been actively developed within the last decade. After introducing ...
    • Touching the transcendentals: tractional motion from the bir th of calculus to future perspectives 

      [SNAP-2019-013-EN] Milici, Pietro (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2019-11-21)
      When the rigorous foundation of calculus was developed, it marked an epochal change in the approach of mathematicians to geometry. Tools from geometry had been one of the foundations of mathematics until the 17th century ...
    • Ultrafilter methods in combinatorics 

      [SNAP-2021-006-EN] Goldbring, Isaac (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2021-06-25)
      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 ...
    • Vertex-to-self trajectories on the platonic solids 

      [SNAP-2020-003-EN] Athreya, Jayadev S.; Aulicino, David (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2020-04-15)
      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 ...
    • Wie man einen Sieger wählt: die Mathematik der Sozialwahl 

      [SNAP-2015-009-DE] Powers, Victoria Ann (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2016)
      Angenommen, eine Gruppe von Einzelpersonen möchte unter verschiedenen Optionen wählen, zum Beispiel einen von mehreren Kandidaten für ein politisches Amt oder den besten Teilnehmer einer Eiskunstlaufmeisterschaft. Man ...
    • Winkeltreue zahlt sich aus 

      [SNAP-2017-001-DE] Günther, Felix (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2017-08-23)
      Nicht nur Seefahrerinnen, auch Computergrafikerinnen und Physikerinnen wissen Winkeltreue zu schätzen. Doch beschränkte Rechenkapazitäten und Vereinfachungen in theoretischen Modellen erfordern es, winkeltreue Abbildungen ...
    • Zopfgruppen, die Yang–Baxter-Gleichung und Unterfaktoren 

      [SNAP-2021-005-DE] Lechner, Gandalf (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, 2021-06-24)
      Die Yang–Baxter-Gleichung ist eine faszinierende Gleichung, die in vielen Gebieten der Physik und der Mathematik auftritt und die am besten diagrammatisch dargestellt wird. Dieser Snapshot schlägt einen weiten Bogen ...