Combinatorics, Information Theory & Related Topics Seminar @ Xidian University

The seminar mainly hosts speakers in the fields of combinatorics, information theory and related topics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, additive combinatorics, algebraic combinatorics, coding theory, combinatorial designs, cryptography, discrete geometry, extremal combinatorics, finite geometry, graph theory and incidence geometry.

Organizer: Tao Zhang

Time: Thursday, 9:30am-11:30am UTC (One hour for talk and one hour for discussion)

Location: Online / Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)

Schedule (2025 Jan.--Jun.)

Date: Mar. 6

Time: 9:30am-11:30am UTC

Speaker: Jinxin Zhou (Beijing Jiaotong University)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 760-114-864)

Title: On the symmetry of token graphs

Abstract: Let G be a graph with n vertices. For 1< k < n, the k-token graph of G is a graph with vertices the k-subsets of V(G) such that two k-subsets are adjacent whenever their symmetric difference is an edge of G. In this talk, we shall introduce some of our recent work on the symmetry of token graphs.

Date: Mar. 13

Time: 9:30am-11:30am UTC

Speaker: Hong Liu (Institute for Basic Science, Korea)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 690-971-088)

Title: Chromatic, homomorphism and blowup thresholds

Abstract: I will talk about the classical chromatic/homomorphism thresholds problems which studies density conditions that guarantee an H-free graph to have bounded complexity. I will survey some recent developments, including an unexpected connection to the theory of VC dimension and also discrete geometry, a novel asymmetric version that we introduce to interpolate the two problems. If time permits, I will discuss two related problems, blowup and VC thresholds.

Date: Mar. 20

Time: 9:30am-11:30am UTC

Speaker: Yuejian Peng (Hunan University)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 948-2462-3387)

Title: Chromatic profile of $C_{2k+1}$-free graphs

Abstract: Erd\H{o}s and Simonovits asked the following question: For an integer $r\geq 2$ and a family of non-bipartite graphs $\mathcal{H}$, what is the tight bound of $\alpha$ such that any $\mathcal{H}$-free $n$-vertex graph with minimum degree at least $\alpha n$ has chromatic number at most $r$? We answer this question for $\mathcal{H}=\{C_{2k+1}\}$, $r\ge 2$ and $k\ge 3r+4$. This is a joint work with Yan Zilong and Yuan Xiaoli.

Date: Apr. 3

Time: 9:30am-11:30am UTC

Speaker: Xujin Chen (Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 948-2462-3387)

Title:Network Topologies Immune to the Strong Braess Paradox

Abstract: The Strong Braess Paradox (SBP) describes a counterintuitive scenario where providing additional roadway options to some self-interested travelers can paradoxically increase their travel times. SBP extends the classical Braess paradox by introducing stricter conditions, requiring that travel latency strictly increases for travelers who gain access to more road options.. In this talk, we discuss the conditions under which SBP does not occur in networks with selfish routing behavior. In particular, we present a complete characterization of network topologies that are immune to a particular case of SBP—the Informational Braess Paradox—thereby resolving an open question posed by Acemoglu et al. (2018).

Date: Apr. 10

Time: 9:30am-11:30am UTC

Speaker: Yongtang Shi (Nankai University)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 948-2462-3387)

Title:Extremal results on the sum of degree powers of graphs

Abstract: Let $G$ be a simple graph with the degree sequence $(d_1, d_2, \ldots,d_n)$. Given a positive integer $p$, denote the \textit{degree power} of $G$ by $e_p(G)=\sum_{i=1}^nd_i^p$. The degree power has extensive applications not only in the study of graph structures but also is closely related to graph spectra. In this talk, we show some extremal results on the sum of degree powers of graphs.

Date: Apr. 24

Time: 9:00am-11:00am UTC

Speaker: Qing Xiang (Southern University of Science and Technology)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: 212-489-675)

Title:Linear Representations of Finite Geometries and Associated LDPC Codes

Abstract: The linear representation of a subset of a finite projective space is an incidence structure of affine points and lines determined by the subset. In this talk we use character theory to show that the rank of the incidence matrix has a direct geometric interpretation in terms of certain hyperplanes. We consider the LDPC codes defined by taking the incidence matrix and its transpose as parity-check matrices, and in the former case prove a conjecture of Vandendriessche that the code is generated by words of minimum weight called plane words. In the latter case we compute the minimum weight in some cases and provide a few constructions of codewords.

Date: May 6

Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm UTC

Speaker: Ben Lund (Institute for Basic Science, Korea)

Location: Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236), Tencent Meeting: 529-195-633

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: May 15

Speaker: Yue Zhou (National University of Defense Technology)

Location: Online (Tencent Meeting: TBA)

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: May 22

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: May 29

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: Jun. 12

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: Jun. 19

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Date: Jun. 26

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Problem Sharing & Discussion

In this seminar, a volunteer will share an interesting problem, then everyone will engage in a discussion around it.

Combinatorics group

Organizer:

Tao Zhang


Member:

Chengfei Xie

Menglong Zhang

Tao Zhang


Time:

Wednesday, 2:00pm--4:00pm UTC


Location:

Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)


Topics:

1. Turan problem

Coding group

Organizer:

Liangliang Xu


Member:

Tingting Chen

Liangliang Xu

Min Xu


Time:

Thursday, 2:00pm--4:00pm UTC


Location:

Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)

Learning Seminars

In addition to the research seminar, we also organize a learning seminar in various topics for graduate students interested in Combinatorics & Information Theory.

Cryptography (2025 Mar.-- 2025 Jun.)

Organizer: Tao Zhang

Speaker: Liren Xu

Time: Tuesday, 2:00pm--3:40pm UTC

Location: Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)

Reference:

1. An introduction to mathematical cryptography (J. Hoffstein, J. Pipher, J. H. Silverman)

Finite geometry (2025 Mar.-- 2025 Jun.)

Organizer: Tao Zhang

Speaker: Tao Zhang

Time: Tuesday, 3:50pm--5:30pm UTC

Location: Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)

Reference:

1. Finite Geometry and Combinatorial Applications (Simeon Ball)

Cryptography (2024 Nov.-- 2025 Jan.)

Organizer: Tao Zhang

Speaker: Chengfei Xie, Liren Xu

Time: Thursday, 9:30am--11:30am UTC

Location: Cybersecurity Innovation Building A-1236(网络安全创新大楼12楼A-1236)

Reference:

1. Lectures on geometry of numbers (B. Friedman)

2. An introduction to mathematical cryptography (J. Hoffstein, J. Pipher, J. H. Silverman)

Workshops

International conference on tiling and Fourier bases (2025 Sep.15-- Sep.19)

The focus of this workshop will be on the structure of tiling and spectral sets (the Fuglede problem). Related areas are also welcome.

For details, please refer to: https://ictfb2025.github.io/

Past Seminars

Explore the seminars we organized earlier.

2025 Seminars

Date: Jan. 9

Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm UTC

Speaker: Wenjun Yu (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)

Title: Repair Schemes and Properties of Linear Codes

Abstract: There are two major factors that influence the speed of repairing a single failed node in distributed storage systems. The first is the number of blocks required to recover the failed node, and the second is the proportion of sequential reads and writes, which can be quantified using the skip cost introduced by Yeow Meng Chee et al. They proposed repair schemes with zero skip cost for Zigzag Codes and distributed storage systems based on certain $(3,4,v)$ designs. In this talk, we present repair schemes with zero skip cost for distributed storage systems based on $(t,k,v)$ covering designs.
Another topic addresses the relationship between the generalized cover radii (with applications to PIR) $R_t$ and the generalized Hamming weights of a linear code (related to security performance) $d_t$. Dor and Moshe conjectured that $R_t \geq \floor{\frac{d_t-1}{2}}$ for all linear codes. We demonstrate that this conjecture holds for specific classes of linear codes.


Date: TBA

Speaker: TBA

Title:TBA

Abstract: TBA

Contact

For inquiries, please reach out to us at: zhant220@163.com (Tao Zhang)