SMRI Algebra and Geometry Online ’Schubert polynomials, the inhomogeneous TASEP, and evil-avoiding permutations’ Lauren K. Williams (Harvard University) Thursday 19th August 10:00am - 11:00am (AEST) Register: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkcemspz0uGtA8_BxxUMjb_d1q0dX34nRo Abstract: The totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) was introduced around 1970 as a model for translation in protein synthesis and traffic flow. It has interesting physical properties (e.g. boundary-induced phase transitions) and also beautiful mathematical properties. The inhomogeneous TASEP is a Markov chain of weighted particles hopping on a ring, in which the probability that two particles interchange depends on the weight of those particles. If each particle has a distinct weight, then we can think of this as a Markov chain on permutations. In many cases, the steady state probabilities can be expressed in terms of Schubert polynomials. Based on joint work with Donghyun Kim. Biography: Lauren Williams is the Robinson professor of mathematics at Harvard and the Seaver Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Her research is in algebraic combinatorics. Williams received her BA in mathematics from Harvard College in 2000, and her PhD from MIT in 2005. Subsequently, she was a postdoc at UC Berkeley and Harvard, then a faculty member at UC Berkeley from 2009 to 2018, before returning to Harvard in 2018. She is the recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, an NSF CAREER award, the AWM-Microsoft research prize, and is an Honorary member of the London Mathematical Society. Note These seminars will be recorded, including participant questions (participants only when asking questions), and uploaded to the SMRI YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/SydneyMathematicalResearchInstituteSMRI After registering, you will be sent a confirmation email ~24 hours prior to the seminar. For other SMRI seminars and events, visit https://mathematical-research-institute.sydney.edu.au/news-events/