All Questions

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Does knowing $g, g^r, g^{r^2}, g^{r^3}, \dotsc$ sometimes offer a significant advantage in finding $r$?

Is there a cyclic group $\mathcal G$ with generator $g$ for which the discrete log problem is assumed to be hard, but knowing $g, g^r, g^{r^2}, g^{r^3}, \dotsc$ for random $r$ makes finding $r$ easy? ...
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What is descent data (of higher categories), conceptually?

First consider a scheme $X$ with an open cover $\mathcal{U}=\{U_i\}$. An object with descent data on $\mathcal{U}$ is a collection $(\mathcal{E}_i,\phi_{ij})$ where $\mathcal{E}_i$ is a ...
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Number of non-isomorphic models

I had this question up on Math stackexchange: http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1349247/number-of-non-isomorphic-models/1350763#1350763 . While it was answered partially there, I'm posting here ...
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What is the significance of the eigendecomposition of a Cayley table?

Treating the Cayley table of a group $G$ as a matrix $M_g$, one notices interesting things about its eigendecomposition. For instance, for the symmetric groups $\{S_n\}$, the rank of the Cayley table ...
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I just came to this conjecture (proved by M.Raynaud and D.Harbater in 1994) last weekend, in Fresnel and v.d.Put's book Rigid Geometry and Its Applications. It claims that all quasi $p$-group $G$ ...
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Expected absolute value of the determinant of an $n$ by $n$ Toeplitz $(0,1)$ matrix

If $A$ is chosen uniformly over all $n$ by $n$ $(0,1)$-Toeplitz matrices, what is the expected absolute value of the determinant?
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Variational Properties of the Perelman Functional

After reading a bit more about Perelman's entropy and gradient solitons, I came up with a hunch, which I must test. Non-singular solitons can be regarded as critical points of Perelman's entropy, or ...
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Coarsest admissible topology on $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$

Let $X, Y$ be topological spaces and let $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$ be the collection of continuous functions $f:X\to Y$. We say that a topology $\tau$ on $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$ is admissible if the evaluation ...
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Does hypoellipticity imply the existence of a parametrix?

Let $M$ be a smooth manifold, like $\mathbb{R}^n$ for instance. The existence of a parametrix for an operator $P$ on $C^\infty(M)$ in any reasonable pseudodifferential calculus implies that $P$ is ...
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Equivalence of “Weyl Algebra” and “Crystalline” definitions of rings of differential operators between modules?

Let $B$ be a commutative $A$-algebra, and let $M$, $N$ be two $B$-modules. We can talk about the set of $A$-linear module homomorphisms $M \to N$, i.e. the set $\text{Hom}_A(M, N)$. Differential ...
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What technical and/or theoretical challenges are involved in automatically extracting proofs from books and papers into Coq code?

Over the years, advances in machine learning has allowed us to communicate and interact, using the same natural language, more and more semantically with computers, e.g. Google, Siri, Watson, etc. On ...
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Counter examples for strengthening Whitehead's theorem?

Let $f:X\to Y$ be a pointed map of pointed connected $n$-dimensional CW complexes. Whitehead's theorem says that if $f_*:\pi_qX\to \pi_qY$ is an isomorphism for $q\le n$ and a surjection for $q=n+1$, ...
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Expected size of determinant of $AA^T$ for non-square random Toeplitz $A$

If $A$ is chosen uniformly at random over all possible $m$ by $n$ Toeplitz (0,1)-matrices, what is the expected size of the value of the determinant of $AA^T$? We can assume $m \leq n$ and all ...
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Why is every variety of bands determined by a single identity?

A band is a semigroup where every element is idempotent: $a a = a$. A collection of bands is a variety if it is closed under taking subobjects (subsemigroups), quotient objects (images of ...
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Most memorable titles [closed]

Apparently, for a large number of readers, the choice whether they select to read a paper or not is often strongly influenced by the title. I was wondering if the MO-users would be willing to share ...
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Existence and uniqueness of solutions for a nonlinear elliptic PDE

The following nonlinear elliptic PDE arose in my research: $$\Delta f - e^f \partial_s f = E(s,t)\,,$$ where $f : \mathbb R(s) \times \mathbb R/\mathbb Z(t) \to \mathbb R$, $f = f(s,t)$, is the ...
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What would you want to see at the Museum of Mathematics?

EDIT (30 Nov 2012): MoMath is opening in a couple of weeks, so this seems like it might be a good time for any last-minute additions to this question before I vote to close my own question as "no ...
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Meager subgroups of compact groups

Suppose we have an infinite compact (Hausdorff) group $G$, and a subgroup $H\leq G$ which is meagre. Can $H$ always be covered by a countable family of nowhere dense sets $H_n$ such that $H_n^2$ is ...
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Homotopy Type Theory: What is it?

My question is, broadly, what is the main project of Homotopy Type Theory (HoTT). I asked a professor who is likely to be correct and he say the following: There are three directions: ...
7k views

Titles composed entirely of math symbols

I apologize for burdening MO with such a vapid, nonresearch question, but I have been curious ever since Suvrit's popular October 2010 Most memorable titles MO question if there were any ...
54k views

What's a mathematician to do? [closed]

I have to apologize because this is not the normal sort of question for this site, but there have been times in the past where MO was remarkably helpful and kind to undergrads with similar types of ...
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Elliptic operators corresponds to non vanishing vector fields

Let $X$ be a non vanishing vector field on a compact manifold $M$. The only differential operator associated with $X$ which I am aware of, is the derivational operator $D(g)=X.g$. Unfortunately ...
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Is the following a sufficient condition for being a primal algebra?

I have a question regarding universal algebra and, in particular, primal algebras: Suppose that A is a finite simple algebra with no proper subalgebra, no automorphism except the identity map, with a ...
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A good book of functional analysis

I'm a student (I've been studying mathematics 4 years at the university) and I like functional analysis and topology, but I only studied 6 credits of functional analysis and 7 in topology (the ...
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Does every commutative variety of algebras have a cogenerator?

By a commutative variety $\mathcal{V}$ I mean a classical variety of algebras for some $(\Sigma,E)$, such that each pair of operations in $\Sigma$ commutes. Equivalently (i) every interpretation of ...
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Does the associated Lie algebra determine a group?

Let $G$ be a group and let $\Gamma_G(k)$ be the $k$th term of the lower central series of $G$. For each $k\geq 1$, set $\mathcal{L}_G(k)=\Gamma_G(k)/\Gamma_G(k+1)$ and ...
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Reference Request: Elliptic differential operators in the Fréchet setting

Normally the theory of (elliptic) differential operators between vector bundles (or $\mathbb{R}^n$) is presented in the language of Sobolev spaces. I'm searching for a book (or something similar) ...
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Symplectic formulation of statistical physics

Does there exists a symplectic formulation of statistical physics? I know that thermodynamics can be written in a symplectic language and of course classical mechanics is intrinsically formulated ...
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What the heck is the Continuum Hypothesis doing in Weibel's Homological Algebra?

On page 98 of Weibel's An Introduction to Homological Algebra he mentions that the ring $R = \prod_{i=1}^\infty \mathbb{C}$ has global dimension $\geq 2$ with equality iff the continuum hypothesis ...
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Weil conjecture for algebraic surfaces

Deligne's proof of the Weil conjecture is difficult. On the other hand, there are some "simpler" proofs of the Weil conjecture in the case of algebraic curves. For instance, in GTM52, one see it ...
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Geometric intuition for limits

I'm the sort of mathematician who works really well with elements. I really enjoy point-set topology, and category theory tends to drive me crazy. When I was given a bunch of exercises on subjects ...
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Atiyah-Patodi-Singer Eta invariant and Chern-Simons form

I am trying to understand the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem in the case of Dirac operators in four dimensions. I have three questions about the eta invariant: 1) Is eta a topological invariant ...
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Generators of the kernel of multiplication of a ring

Is the following true? Let $R$ be a commutative ring and $S$ be an $R$-algebra. Let $\mu: S\otimes_R S\to S$ be the multiplication. Let $I$ be the kernel of $\mu$. Let $J\subset I/I^2$ be the ...
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What are the zero entropy invariant measures for an Anosov geodesic flow?

Let $M$ be the double-torus with a hyperbolic Riemannian metric. The geodesic flow on the unit tangent bundle $T^1M$ has many invariant Borel probability measures. In particular there are closed ...
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How strict can I be in the definition of “2-group”?

Recall that a group is an associative, unital monoid $G$ such that the map $(p_1,m) : G \times G \to G\times G$ is an isomorphism of sets. Here $p_1$ is the first projection and $m$ is the ...
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Are these two $q$-continued fractions equivalent?

In this MSE post, Nicco Mnisi defined a particular $q$-continued fraction of order $12$. More generally, define the cfrac found in Ramanujan's Notebooks, Vol III, Chap. 16, page 24, U(q) = ...
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