JM Landsberg : P v. NP and geometry

Posted by , part of the Departmental Colloquium.

At

March 8, 2010, 3 p.m.

In

SEO 636

Abstract

L. Valiant conjectured an algebraic variant of problem to compare the complexity classes P and NP, where one instead compares the determinant and permanent polynomials. K. Mulmuley and M. Sohoni have proposed a program to prove Valiant's conjecture using geometry and representation theory, which they call the Geometric Complexity Theory (GCT) program. I will give an overview of the GCT program, and describe recent work on the GCT program with L. Manivel and N. Ressayre which led us to solve a classical problem in algebraic geometry regarding dual varieties.