Branden

Petter Brändén

"Zeros of multivariate polynomials in combinatorics"

Over the past century, combinatorialists have been interested in what the zeros of univariate polynomials may tell us about a given problem in combinatorics. For example chromatic roots, Rota's critical problem and Pólya frequency sequences. During the past decade, techniques focusing on the zeros of multivariate polynomials have been developed and used to solve open problems in combinatorics and other areas. I will talk about these techniques and problems, as well as point to open problems and challenges in the area.