Tue, 26 Apr 2016
14:00
L3

Best L1 polynomial approximation

Yuji Nakatsukasa
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

An important observation in compressed sensing is the exact recovery of an l0 minimiser to an underdetermined linear system via the l1 minimiser, given the knowledge that a sparse solution vector exists. Here, we develop a continuous analogue of this observation and show that the best L1 and L0 polynomial approximants of a corrupted function (continuous analogue of sparse vectors) are equivalent. We use this to construct best L1 polynomial approximants of corrupted functions via linear programming. We also present a numerical algorithm for computing best L1 polynomial approximants to general continuous functions, and observe that compared with best L-infinity and L2 polynomial approximants, the best L1 approximants tend to have error functions that are more localized.

Joint work with Alex Townsend (MIT).

Thu, 24 Nov 2016

16:00 - 17:00
L3

An engineer's dive into Oxford Applied Maths, and becoming faculty at a Medical School

Athanasios Tsanas
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

In this talk, I am reflecting on the last 8 extremely enjoyable years I spent in the department (DPhil, OCIAM, 2008-2012, post-doc, WCMB, 2012-2016). My story is a little unusual: coming from an Engineering undergraduate background, spending 8 years in the Maths department, and now moving to a faculty position at the Medical School. However, I think it highlights well the enormous breadth and applicability of mathematics beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. I will discuss different projects during my time in Oxford, focusing on time-series, signal processing, and statistical machine learning methods, with diverse applications in real-world problems.

Thu, 01 Dec 2016

16:00 - 17:00
L3

Asymptotic and Numerical Analysis of Carrier's Problem

Jon Chapman, Patrick Farrell
(University of Oxford)
Abstract

A computational and asymptotic analysis of the solutions of Carrier's problem  is presented. The computations reveal a striking and beautiful bifurcation diagram, with an infinite sequence of alternating pitchfork and fold bifurcations as the bifurcation parameter tends to zero. The method of Kuzmak is then applied to construct asymptotic solutions to the problem. This asymptotic approach explains the bifurcation structure identified numerically, and its predictions of the bifurcation points are in excellent agreement with the numerical results. The analysis yields a novel and complete taxonomy of the solutions to the problem, and demonstrates that a claim of Bender & Orszag is incorrect.

Subscribe to University of Oxford