This seminar gives graduate students the opportunity to hear and present talks on discrete mathematics, either on topics beyond a standard combinatorics class or on original research. GCS is meant to be a friendly, slightly informal speaking environment where questions are encouraged at all points throughout the talk. We only assume a basic general knowledge of combinatorics (at most, basic combinatorics one might learn in a single semester introductory course), so students in any area are welcome to attend.
Speakers for the GCS are welcome (from the math department, other departments, and elsewhere). Please email Quentin Dubroff at
Generously sponsored by DIMACS.
Click here for information about the seminar and the archive.
| Date: | November 18th, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Speaker: | Robert Dougherty-Bliss |
| Time: | 12:15PM |
| Place: | Zoom: please email quentin [dot] dubroff [at] rutgers [dot] edu to be added to the mailing list |
| Title: | Automagic Inverse Continued Fraction Calculators |
| Abstract: | The well-exploited theory of SIMPLE continued fractions has produced some dazzling identities and wonderful irrationality proofs. The often-overlooked theory of GENERAL continued fractions is harder to champion, but just as, if not more, interesting. A recent project (viz. The Ramanujan Machine) tried to numerically "fit" general continued fractions to well-known constants, hoping to find very good rational approximations. To highlight the power of symbolic experimentation, I will tour us through automatically proving some of these conjectures and generalizing them to infinite families. |