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Formal Power Series
Student-Run Research| Speaker: | Gus Wiseman, UC Davis |
| Location: | 2112 MSB |
| Start time: | Wed, Oct 18 2006, 12:10PM |
Description
Abstract: Exponential formal power series are useful in many
situations involving enumeration of structures on finite sets. Two
particularly elegant examples of this usage are Joyal's proof of
Cayley's formula for counting trees, and Rota's functional, which
elucidates some classical identities involving Bell numbers. In this
introductory talk I will present these examples and discuss some
theoretical aspects of the method.