Project description
New study offers clues to Cayley graph problems
Cayley graphs encode the abstract structure of a group. They are a central tool in combinatorial and geometric group theory. A word metric on a group G provides a way to measure distance between any two elements of the group. The aim of the EU-funded WordMeasures project is to expose the invariants that control different aspects of word metrics. The study of word measures will prove useful not only for analysing random Cayley and Schreier graphs, but also for addressing many questions about free groups and their automorphism groups.
Objective
Recent years brought immense progress in the study of Cayley graphs of finite groups, with many new results concerning their expansion, diameter, girth etc. Yet, many central open questions remain. These questions, especially those concerning random Cayley graphs, are major motivation to this proposed research.
Central in this project is the study of word measures in finite and compact groups. A word w in a free group F induces a measure on every finite or compact group G as follows: substitute every generator of F with an independent Haar-random element of G and evaluate the product defined by w to obtain a random element in G. The main goal here is to expose the invariants of the word w which control different aspects of these measures. The study of word measures, mostly by the PI and collaborators, has proven useful not only for analyzing random Cayley and Schreier graphs of G, but also for many questions revolving around free groups and their automorphism groups. Moreover, the study of word measures has exposed a deep and beautiful mathematical theory with surprising connections to objects in combinatorial and geometric group theory and in low dimensional topology. This theory is still in its infancy, with many beautiful open questions and intriguing challenges ahead.
Another line of research revolves around a few irreducible representations of a finite group which control the spectral gap of Cayley graphs. The proof of Aldous' conjecture in 2010 showed that this happens more commonly than one could have naïvely guessed. There is additional evidence, some of which found by the PI and collaborators, that Aldous' conjecture is only the tip of the iceberg, especially for Cayley graphs of the symmetric group Sym(n). Our most optimistic conjectures here have extremely strong consequences for these Cayley graphs.
We intend to use our progress in the above two directions in order to answer some intriguing open questions concerning Cayley and Schreier graphs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-STG
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69978 Tel Aviv
Israel
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