Allen Hatcher

Bio: Allen Hatcher is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: n-skeleton & Computational topology. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 6619 citations.

Topology and data

Abstract: An important feature of modern science and engineering is that data of various kinds is being produced at an unprecedented rate This is so in part because of new experimental methods, and in part because of the increase in the availability of high powered computing technology It is also clear that the nature of the data we are obtaining is significantly different For example, it is now often the case that we are given data in the form of very long vectors, where all but a few of the coordinates turn out to be irrelevant to the questions of interest, and further that we don’t necessarily know which coordinates are the interesting ones A related fact is that the data is often very high-dimensional, which severely restricts our ability to visualize it The data obtained is also often much noisier than in the past and has more missing information (missing data) This is particularly so in the case of biological data, particularly high throughput data from microarray or other sources Our ability to analyze this data, both in terms of quantity and the nature of the data, is clearly not keeping pace with the data being produced In this paper, we will discuss how geometry and topology can be applied to make useful contributions to the analysis of various kinds of data Geometry and topology are very natural tools to apply in this direction, since geometry can be regarded as the study of distance functions, and what one often works with are distance functions on large finite sets of data The mathematical formalism which has been developed for incorporating geometric and topological techniques deals with point clouds, ie finite sets of points equipped with a distance function It then adapts tools from the various branches of geometry to the study of point clouds The point clouds are intended to be thought of as finite samples taken from a geometric object, perhaps with noise Here are some of the key points which come up when applying these geometric methods to data analysis • Qualitative information is needed: One important goal of data analysis is to allow the user to obtain knowledge about the data, ie to understand how it is organized on a large scale For example, if we imagine that we are looking at a data set constructed somehow from diabetes patients, it would be important to develop the understanding that there are two types of the disease, namely the juvenile and adult onset forms Once that is established, one of course wants to develop quantitative methods for distinguishing them, but the first insight about the distinct forms of the disease is key

Classification of topological quantum matter with symmetries

Abstract: In recent years an increasing amount of attention has been devoted to quantum materials with topological characteristics that are robust against disorder and other perturbations. In this context it was discovered that topological materials can be classified with respect to their dimension and symmetry properties. This review provides an overview of the classification schemes of both fully gapped and gapless topological materials and gives a pedagogical introduction into the field of topological band theory.

An overview of limited feedback in wireless communication systems

Abstract: It is now well known that employing channel adaptive signaling in wireless communication systems can yield large improvements in almost any performance metric. Unfortunately, many kinds of channel adaptive techniques have been deemed impractical in the past because of the problem of obtaining channel knowledge at the transmitter. The transmitter in many systems (such as those using frequency division duplexing) can not leverage techniques such as training to obtain channel state information. Over the last few years, research has repeatedly shown that allowing the receiver to send a small number of information bits about the channel conditions to the transmitter can allow near optimal channel adaptation. These practical systems, which are commonly referred to as limited or finite-rate feedback systems, supply benefits nearly identical to unrealizable perfect transmitter channel knowledge systems when they are judiciously designed. In this tutorial, we provide a broad look at the field of limited feedback wireless communications. We review work in systems using various combinations of single antenna, multiple antenna, narrowband, broadband, single-user, and multiuser technology. We also provide a synopsis of the role of limited feedback in the standardization of next generation wireless systems.

Barcodes: The persistent topology of data

Abstract: This article surveys recent work of Carlsson and collaborators on applications of computational algebraic topology to problems of feature detection and shape recognition in high-dimensional data. The primary mathematical tool considered is a homology theory for point-cloud data sets — persistent homology — and a novel representation of this algebraic characterization — barcodes. We sketch an application of these techniques to the classification of natural images. 1. The shape of data When a topologist is asked, “How do you visualize a four-dimensional object?” the appropriate response is a Socratic rejoinder: “How do you visualize a threedimensional object?” We do not see in three spatial dimensions directly, but rather via sequences of planar projections integrated in a manner that is sensed if not comprehended. We spend a significant portion of our first year of life learning how to infer three-dimensional spatial data from paired planar projections. Years of practice have tuned a remarkable ability to extract global structure from representations in a strictly lower dimension. The inference of global structure occurs on much finer scales as well, with regards to converting discrete data into continuous images. Dot-matrix printers, scrolling LED tickers, televisions, and computer displays all communicate images via arrays of discrete points which are integrated into coherent, global objects. This also is a skill we have practiced from childhood. No adult does a dot-to-dot puzzle with anything approaching anticipation. 1.1. Topological data analysis. Problems of data analysis share many features with these two fundamental integration tasks: (1) how does one infer high dimensional structure from low dimensional representations; and (2) how does one assemble discrete points into global structure. The principal themes of this survey of the work of Carlsson, de Silva, Edelsbrunner, Harer, Zomorodian, and others are the following: (1) It is beneficial to replace a set of data points with a family of simplicial complexes, indexed by a proximity parameter. This converts the data set into global topological objects. (2) It is beneficial to view these topological complexes through the lens of algebraic topology — specifically, via a novel theory of persistent homology adapted to parameterized families. (3) It is beneficial to encode the persistent homology of a data set in the form of a parameterized version of a Betti number: a barcode. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of DARPA # HR0011-07-1-0002. The work reviewed in this article is funded by the DARPA program TDA: Topological Data Analysis.