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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/N025636/1
Title: Positivity problems at the boundary between combinatorics and analysis
Principal Investigator: Sokal, Professor A
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Mathematics
Organisation: UCL
Scheme: EPSRC Fellowship
Starts: 01 September 2016 Ends: 31 August 2021 Value (£): 836,383
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Logic & Combinatorics Numerical Analysis
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
19 Jul 2016 EPSRC Mathematical Sciences Fellowship Interviews July 2016 Announced
08 Jun 2016 EPSRC Mathematics Prioritisation Panel Meeting June 2016 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Combinatorics is the branch of mathematics concerned with counting finite

structures of various types (permutations, graphs, etc.); it has

applications in computer science, statistical physics, molecular biology,

and many other fields. Analysis, by contrast, is the branch of mathematics

concerned with continuous variation (i.e. functions of real or complex

numbers); it has applications in nearly all fields of science and engineering.

The proposed research lies at the interface between combinatorics and

analysis: it involves using combinatorial tools to study analytic problems,

and vice versa. More specifically, the proposed research comprises

three themes, all of which are aimed at exploring novel positivity properties

that arise at the interface between combinatorics and analysis.

The first theme involves studying situations in which inverse powers

of combinatorially important polynomials have Taylor expansions with

positive coefficients. The second theme involves studying situations

in which certain matrices formed from sequences of combinatorially

important polynomials have a property called "total positivity".

The third theme involves studying situations in which certain power

series formed from combinatorially important polynomials (for example,

the counting polynomials of connected graphs) have positive coefficients.

This latter property was discovered empirically by the PI in many

situations, but most of these have not yet been proven, and their deeper

meaning remains to be elucidated.

Key Findings
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