Abstract for the talk on 19.11.2018 (10:00 h)

Seminar on Nonlinear Algebra

Alex Fink (Queen Mary University of London)
Schubert varieties in Gaussian conditional independence
19.11.2018, 10:00 h, MPI für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften Leipzig, E1 05 (Leibniz-Saal)

We study conditional independence of sets of coordinates in a multivariate Gaussian distribution, with an interest in the different conditional independence models that are possible. In one natural case, corresponding to certain memoryless processes that generalise Markov chains, a complete answer can be obtained using the tools of Schubert varieties and determinantal ideals. This is joint work with Jenna Rajchgot and Seth Sullivant.