Student Probability Seminar

One of the central phenomena of probability is "sharp phase transitions": systems undergo drastic changes as a system parameter is varied past a critical value. We will discuss sharp phase transitions for random "constraint satisfaction problems" (CSP). Our CSP of focus will be "combinatorial discrepancy".

 

Only familiarity with basic probability is assumed. We will introduce some fundamental techniques including the Gaussian Poincare inequality and the second moment method. Time permitting, we will discuss how to move beyond the second moment method.