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In this snapshot, we introduce the study of slices of polytopes – geometric shapes with flat sides – and examine the area of these slices. This is connected to combinatorics and polynomials and is surprisingly complex, even in three dimensions. Since we are greedy humans, we conclude by finding the largest possible slice of cheese.
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Have you ever wondered how your computer knows it can trust certain downloads but not others? This snapshot describes some security concerns and one algebraic way of dealing with them. We’ll see an interesting procedure that uses a very difficult problem in algebra to provide security, and discuss some of the procedure’s important properties.
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Is it possible to approximate arbitrary points in space by vectors with rational coordinates, with which we, and computers, feel much more comfortable? If yes, can we approximate those points arbitrarily close? In this snapshot, we explore how the geometric configuration of these points influences the answers to these questions. Further, we delve into the closely related problem of counting rational vectors near surfaces. The unlikely tool which helps us in this endeavour is Fourier analysis – the study of waves and oscillations!
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Richard Brauer (1901–1977) was a German–American mathematician who is regarded as the founder of a highly active mathematical area known as modular representation theory. This area grew from group theory, which can be thought of as the mathematical study of symmetries. In this snapshot, we hope to impress on the reader the legacy left by Brauer and celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Brauer’s problems”, a list of 43 conjectures and objectives suggested by Brauer in 1963. These problems inspired an entire branch within character theory, studying “local-global conjectures”.
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Platonic solids have fascinated humans for thousands of years. In ancient times, they were associated with the elements fire, air, water, earth, and aether. These solids are completely symmetrical three-dimensional polyhedra. In this snapshot, it is first explained that there can only be five such polyhedra in the threedimensional space. For this purpose, so-called Schläfli symbols and Coxeter graphs are introduced. More precisely, the (linear) Coxeter graphs correspond to the (linear) Schläfli symbols that, in turn, correspond exactly to the regular convex polyhedra.
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Convex polytopes are geometric objects that look deceptively simple. They occur everywhere in mathematics and have practical applications in everyday life – like organizing your grocery shopping list. In this snapshot, you get into contact with a long-standing, unsolved question in mathematics, which you can explore interactively.
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Deciding which mall, hospital or school is closest to us is a problem we face everyday. It even comes on holidays with us, when we optimize our plans to make sure that we have enough time to visit all the attractions we want to see. In this article, we show how concepts from metric algebraic geometry help us to rise to this task while planning a weekend trip to the Black Forest.
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The Dutch catalog for the exhibition “Pracht en kracht van wiskunde,” which toured Belgium and the Netherlands in 2022 and 2023, is available here.
This gallery contains additional information about the exhibition, posters in English and Dutch, and other materials.
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Everyone loves a good game, but when the players can access the counterintuitive world of quantum mechanics, watch out!
“God does not play dice with the universe” – Albert Einstein
“Not only does God play dice but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.” – Stephen Hawking
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The research field of finite geometries investigates structures with a finite number of objects. Classical examples include vector spaces, projective spaces, and affine spaces over finite fields. Although many of these structures are studied for their geometrical importance, they are also of great interest in other, more applied domains of mathematics. In this snapshot, finite vector spaces are introduced. We discuss the geometrical concept of partial t-spreads together with its implications for the “packing problem” and a recent application in the existence of “cooling codes”.