Archived Versions

Algebraic Combinatorics

As taught in: Spring 2009

Colorful image showing a stop sign shape inside a square.

A random tiling of a stop sign shape, going from an Aztec diamond to a square. It was made by starting with all horizontal dominoes, and then performing ten billion moves in which a random pair of dominoes is rotated, replacing two horizontals with two verticals or vice versa. Horizontal dominoes are red or green, depending on parity, and vertical ones are blue or yellow. (Image courtesy of Cris Moore. Used with permission.)

Instructors:

Dr. Gregg Musiker

MIT Course Number:

18.312

Level:

Undergraduate

Course Features

Course Description

This is an introductory course in algebraic combinatorics. No prior knowledge of combinatorics is expected, but assumes a familiarity with linear algebra and finite groups. Topics were chosen to show the beauty and power of techniques in algebraic combinatorics. Rigorous mathematical proofs are expected.