This book provides an introduction to various aspects of Algebraic Statistics with the principal aim of supporting Master’s and PhD students who wish to explore the algebraic point of view regarding recent developments in Statistics. The focus is on the background needed to explore the connections among discrete random variables. The main objects that encode these relations are multilinear matrices, i.e., tensors. The book aims to settle the basis of the correspondence between properties of tensors and their translation in Algebraic Geometry. It is divided into three parts, on Algebraic Statistics, Multilinear Algebra, and Algebraic Geometry. The primary purpose is to describe a bridge between the three theories, so that results and problems in one theory find a natural translation to the others. This task requires, from the statistical point of view, a rather unusual, but algebraically natural, presentation of random variables and their main classical features. The third part of the book can be considered as a short, almost self-contained, introduction to the basic concepts of algebraic varieties, which are part of the fundamental background for all who work in Algebraic Statistics.

This volume is dedicated to Ciro Ciliberto on the occasion of his 70th birthday and contains refereed papers, offering an overview of important parts of current research in algebraic geometry and related research in the history of mathematics. It presents original research as well as surveys, both providing a valuable overview of the current state of the art of the covered topics and reflecting the versatility of the scientific interests of Ciro Ciliberto.

Tensors are ubiquitous in the sciences. The geometry of tensors is both a powerful tool for extracting information from data sets, and a beautiful subject in its own right. This book has three intended uses: a classroom textbook, a reference work for researchers in the sciences, and an account of classical and modern results in (aspects of) the theory that will be of interest to researchers in geometry. For classroom use, there is a modern introduction to multilinear algebra and to the geometry and representation theory needed to study tensors, including a large number of exercises. For researchers in the sciences, there is information on tensors in table format for easy reference and a summary of the state of the art in elementary language. This is the first book containing many classical results regarding tensors. Particular applications treated in the book include the complexity of matrix multiplication, P versus NP, signal processing, phylogenetics, and algebraic statistics. For geometers, there is material on secant varieties, G-varieties, spaces with finitely many orbits and how these objects arise in applications, discussions of numerous open questions in geometry arising in applications, and expositions of advanced topics such as the proof of the Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem and of the Weyman-Kempf method for computing syzygies.

Eminently readable, completely elementary treatment begins with linear spaces and ends with analytic geometry, covering multilinear forms, tensors, linear transformation, and more. 250 problems, most with hints and answers. 1972 edition.

Algebraic statistics uses tools from algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, combinatorics, and their computational sides to address problems in statistics and its applications. The starting point for this connection is the observation that many statistical models are semialgebraic sets. The algebra/statistics connection is now over twenty years old, and this book presents the first broad introductory treatment of the subject. Along with background material in probability, algebra, and statistics, this book covers a range of topics in algebraic statistics including algebraic exponential families, likelihood inference, Fisher's exact test, bounds on entries of contingency tables, design of experiments, identifiability of hidden variable models, phylogenetic models, and model selection. With numerous examples, references, and over 150 exercises, this book is suitable for both classroom use and independent study.

This self-contained treatment begins with three chapters on the basics of point-set topology, after which it proceeds to homology groups and continuous mapping, barycentric subdivision, and simplicial complexes. 1961 edition.

This book provides comprehensive summaries of theoretical (algebraic) and computational aspects of tensor ranks, maximal ranks, and typical ranks, over the real number field. Although tensor ranks have been often argued in the complex number field, it should be emphasized that this book treats real tensor ranks, which have direct applications in statistics. The book provides several interesting ideas, including determinant polynomials, determinantal ideals, absolutely nonsingular tensors, absolutely full column rank tensors, and their connection to bilinear maps and Hurwitz-Radon numbers. In addition to reviews of methods to determine real tensor ranks in details, global theories such as the Jacobian method are also reviewed in details. The book includes as well an accessible and comprehensive introduction of mathematical backgrounds, with basics of positive polynomials and calculations by using the Groebner basis. Furthermore, this book provides insights into numerical methods of finding tensor ranks through simultaneous singular value decompositions.

Commutative algebra, combinatorics, and algebraic geometry are thriving areas of mathematical research with a rich history of interaction. Connections Between Algebra and Geometry contains lecture notes, along with exercises and solutions, from the Workshop on Connections Between Algebra and Geometry held at the University of Regina from May 29-June 1, 2012. It also contains research and survey papers from academics invited to participate in the companion Special Session on Interactions Between Algebraic Geometry and Commutative Algebra, which was part of the CMS Summer Meeting at the University of Regina held June 2–3, 2012, and the meeting Further Connections Between Algebra and Geometry, which was held at the North Dakota State University February 23, 2013. This volume highlights three mini-courses in the areas of commutative algebra and algebraic geometry: differential graded commutative algebra, secant varieties, and fat points and symbolic powers. It will serve as a useful resource for graduate students and researchers who wish to expand their knowledge of commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, combinatorics, and the intricacies of their intersection.