In the earliest days of MathOverflow, there was a '20 questions' seminar (see ) run by graduate students at Berkeley. Many questions from the seminar were cross-posted to MathOverflow. This tag now exists solely for the historical record.
8
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3answers
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How much “Morse theory” can be accomplished given only a continuous transformation of a space?
If $M$ is a Riemannian manifold and $f:M\to \mathbb{R}$ a Morse-Smale function (which is just a rigorous way to say "generic smooth function"), then Morse theory essentially recovers the manifold ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Which sequences can be extended to analytic functions? (e. g., Ackermann's function)
Let {an} be a sequence of complex numbers indexed by the positive integers. Does there always exist an analytic function f such that f(n) = an for n=1,2,...? If not, are there any simple necessary or ...
7
votes
5answers
856 views
Analogues of the Weierstrass p function for higher genus compact Riemann surfaces
There was a previous post on the correspondence between Riemann surfaces and algebraic geometry. I want to ask a related but more detailed question.
BACKGROUND:
Engelbrekt gave an overview of how ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
cohomology and Eilenberg-MacLane spaces
This question is related to this question from Dinakar, which I found interesting but don't yet have the background to understand at that level.
Unless I'm mistaken, the rough statement is that ...
8
votes
4answers
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When does the sheaf direct image functor f_* have a right adjoint?
Say f: X → Y is a morphism of schemes. The sheaf direct image functor f★ always has a left adjoint, namely the sheaf inverse image functor f★ (with tensoring).
Under what ...
11
votes
3answers
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How should I approximate real numbers by algebraic ones?
Given a high precision real number, how should I go about guessing an algebraic integer that it's close to?
Of course, this is extremely poorly defined -- every real number is close to a rational ...
6
votes
2answers
401 views
Can I finitely color Z^2 such that (x,a) and (a,y) are different for every x,y,a?
I ran into this obstacle in a harmonic analysis problem; I know epsilon about coloring problems.
Is it possible to finitely color Z^2 so that the points (x,a) and (a,y) are differently colored for ...
8
votes
6answers
875 views
What is an example of a topological space that is not homotopy equivalent to a CW-complex?
It would also be nice if someone can explain this comment appearing on the Wikipedia page on CW-complexes:
"The homotopy category of CW complexes is, in the opinion of some experts, the best if not ...
21
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7answers
3k views
understanding Steenrod squares
There is a function on Z/2Z-cohomology called Steenrod squaring: Sqi:H^k(X,Z/2Z) --> Hk+i(X,Z/2Z). (Coefficient group suppressed from here on out.) Its notable axiom (besides things like ...
5
votes
2answers
284 views
Characterizing the Radon transforms of log-concave functions
f:Rd→R≥0 is log-concave if log(f) is concave (and the domain of log(f) is convex).
Theorem: For all σ on the sphere Sd-1 and r∈R, gσ(r) := ∫σ.x=rf(x)dS(x) is a ...
13
votes
5answers
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Can you explicitly write R^2 as a disjoint union of two totally path disconnected sets?
An anonymous question from the 20-questions seminar:
Can you explicitly write R^2 as a disjoint union of two totally path disconnected sets?
5
votes
5answers
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When does the sequence of iterates of a rational function converge?
Darsh asks at the 20-questions seminar:
Let f:P^1 -> P^1 be rational function.
Can you say when the sequence ...
10
votes
4answers
606 views
Can you describe the image of the exponential map B(H)->B(H).
James Tener asks at the 20-questions seminar:
The exponential map exp:B(H)->B(H) is just defined by its Taylor series. Can you describe its image?
2
votes
2answers
801 views
Is there a category in which finite limits and directed colimits *don't* commute
Andrew Critch asks at the 20-questions seminar:
In Set and AbGrp (the categories of sets and abelian groups, respectively), finite limits commute with directed colimits. As an example, if you're ...
19
votes
7answers
2k views
How do you see the genus of a curve, just looking at its function field?
Yuhao asked in the 20-questions seminar:
The genus of a curve is a birational invariant; the function field of a curve determines it up to birational equivelance.
How do you see the genus directly ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Critical points on a fiber bundle
Consider a (smooth) bundle Eā_B_, and a (smooth) function f: E ā R on the total space. Then it makes sense to talk about the derivatives of f along the fibers. Let C be the subspace of E consisting ...
6
votes
2answers
404 views
How can you find small denominators inside triangles?
Darsh asked over at the 20 questions seminar:
Take a triangle in R^2 with coordinates at rational points. Can we find the smallest denominator point in the interior? (Consider denominator of an ...
33
votes
5answers
3k views
Can N^2 have only digits 0 and 1, other than N=10^k?
Pablo Solis asked this at a recent 20 questions seminar at Berkeley. Is there a positive integer N, not of the form 10^k, such that the digits of N^2 are all 0s and 1s?
It seems very unlikely, but I ...
