Cycle decompositions of graphs. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. This project aims to solve long-standing and significant open problems in the field of mathematics known as graph theory. Solving such problems will undoubtedly bring Australian research in this field to the fore, and help to enhance Australia's international research profile generally. The project offers substantial postgraduate training in the form of t ....Cycle decompositions of graphs. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. This project aims to solve long-standing and significant open problems in the field of mathematics known as graph theory. Solving such problems will undoubtedly bring Australian research in this field to the fore, and help to enhance Australia's international research profile generally. The project offers substantial postgraduate training in the form of three excellent PhD projects in discrete mathematics. The computer age has ensured that this is a booming discipline and an increasing component of undergraduate syllabi around the world. It is thus a crucial area in which to be providing quality research training.Read moreRead less
Matchings in Combinatorial Structures. The theory of matching in graphs concerns the problem of pairing up objects, subject to constraints on which objects may be paired. It is a well-developed theory that is not only of tremendous mathematical importance, but is also widely applied to efficiently deal with allocation and scheduling problems. Much less is known, however, about the equally important but harder problem of dividing objects into collections of three or more. This project aims to add ....Matchings in Combinatorial Structures. The theory of matching in graphs concerns the problem of pairing up objects, subject to constraints on which objects may be paired. It is a well-developed theory that is not only of tremendous mathematical importance, but is also widely applied to efficiently deal with allocation and scheduling problems. Much less is known, however, about the equally important but harder problem of dividing objects into collections of three or more. This project aims to address this deficiency by developing the theory of matching in important combinatorial objects. The problems it expects to solve are of great significance in their own right, and when considered together may help to lay a foundation for a more general theory of matching.Read moreRead less
Decompositions of graphs into cycles: Alspach's Conjecture and the Oberwolfach problem. Graph theory is used extensively to model and solve practical problems in physical, biological and social systems. By answering two long-standing and fundamental questions, the project will extend a long tradition of Australian research excellence in the field, and provide substantial high-quality postgraduate training in line with national needs.
Fractional decomposition of graphs and the Nash-Williams conjecture. Nash-Williams' conjecture is a famous unsolved problem about decomposing graphs (abstract networks). Breakthrough results achieved in recent years have shown that the conjecture, along with other major graph decomposition problems, could be solved if only more were known about fractional decomposition. This project aims to clear this bottleneck to progress by dramatically expanding the state of knowledge on fractional decomposi ....Fractional decomposition of graphs and the Nash-Williams conjecture. Nash-Williams' conjecture is a famous unsolved problem about decomposing graphs (abstract networks). Breakthrough results achieved in recent years have shown that the conjecture, along with other major graph decomposition problems, could be solved if only more were known about fractional decomposition. This project aims to clear this bottleneck to progress by dramatically expanding the state of knowledge on fractional decomposition. Expected outcomes include major progress on Nash-Williams' conjecture and related graph decomposition problems. This should enhance Australia's research reputation in pure mathematics and provide benefits in downstream applications areas including statistics, data transmission, and fibre-optic networks.Read moreRead less
The Oberwolfach Problem and related Graph Factorisations. Graph factorisation is an active area of research in combinatorial mathematics that is driven both by theoretical questions and by new and varied applications, particularly in digital communication and information technologies. The aim of this project is to solve the Oberwolfach Problem: a fundamental and historically significant graph factorisation question that has intrigued researchers for decades. Building on recent breakthroughs, new ....The Oberwolfach Problem and related Graph Factorisations. Graph factorisation is an active area of research in combinatorial mathematics that is driven both by theoretical questions and by new and varied applications, particularly in digital communication and information technologies. The aim of this project is to solve the Oberwolfach Problem: a fundamental and historically significant graph factorisation question that has intrigued researchers for decades. Building on recent breakthroughs, new and widely applicable graph factorisation techniques are intended to be developed. The project outcomes are expected to have ongoing influence and impact on research in the field.Read moreRead less
Factorisations of graphs. This project will investigate combinatorial structures and their connections within graph theory and design theory. These structures play roles in applications as diverse as scheduling, communications and data storage and security. Results from this project will significantly enhance Australia's excellent reputation in discrete mathematics.
Emerging applications of advanced computational methods and discrete mathematics. Ongoing improvements in computer performance are revolutionising research in combinatorial discrete mathematics, and leading to exciting new applications in information technology and the biological and chemical sciences. As a result, substantial international research effort, both at universities and in commercial and industrial organisations, is being channelled into high-performance computation and theoretical p ....Emerging applications of advanced computational methods and discrete mathematics. Ongoing improvements in computer performance are revolutionising research in combinatorial discrete mathematics, and leading to exciting new applications in information technology and the biological and chemical sciences. As a result, substantial international research effort, both at universities and in commercial and industrial organisations, is being channelled into high-performance computation and theoretical problems in combinatorial mathematics. Our aim is to develop and apply advanced computational methods through the study of several unsolved theoretical problems in design theory and practical problems in exact matrix computation and drug design.Read moreRead less
Elliptic special functions. Although elliptic functions and special functions are both classical areas of mathematics, the field of elliptic special functions was only established in the last two decades. It combines ideas from analysis, modular forms and statistical mechanics to tackle problems in number theory (elliptic curves), algebra (elliptic quantum groups), mathematical physics (Seiberg duality) and more. This project aims to settle two important problems in the field of elliptic special ....Elliptic special functions. Although elliptic functions and special functions are both classical areas of mathematics, the field of elliptic special functions was only established in the last two decades. It combines ideas from analysis, modular forms and statistical mechanics to tackle problems in number theory (elliptic curves), algebra (elliptic quantum groups), mathematical physics (Seiberg duality) and more. This project aims to settle two important problems in the field of elliptic special functions: the resolution of Boyd's conjectures concerning Mahler measures and L-values of elliptic curves, and the construction of an Askey-Wilson-Koorwinder theory of elliptic biorthogonal functions for the A-type root system.Read moreRead less
The Mukhin-Varchenko and Rogers-Ramanujan conjectures. This project is aimed at proving two deep conjectures in pure mathematics. The conjectures are linked to many areas of mathematics, and success in proving either conjecture will signify a fundamental breakthrough in the fields of algebra, combinatorics and number theory.