TITLE: Embedding into $l_p$ with constant average distortion
SPEAKER: Ofer Neinman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
WHEN: 12:00-13:00, October 20
WHERE: Wean Hall 5403
ABSTRACT:
An embedding is a function between metric spaces, usualy from an arbitrary one into a more simple and structured space (such a Euclidean space). The distortion is the multiplicative amount by which distances change. A well known theorem of Bourgain states that every metric space embeds into Euclidean space with $O(\log n)$ distortion, which is tight. Our result is a strengthening of Bourgain’s Theorem, providing a CO-Lipschitz embedding with constant average distortion. As a matter of fact, it provides for any $\epsilon$ the best $\epsilon$-slack distortion simultaneously.
This is joint work with Yair Bartal and Ittai Abraham.
Monday, October 17, 4:30 pm, Wean Hall 7500 (Coffee at 4:15)
Speaker: Robert Griffiths (CMU)
Title: Dense Coding Using Quantum Entanglement
Abstract:
Entanglement is a somewhat mysterious property of a quantum system, one with no direct classical analog. Dense coding is a process in which entanglement can be used to increase the capacity of a quantum channel to carry information by a factor of two, despite the fact that entanglement by itself does not transport information. The question addressed in this talk is how dense coding, both the original protocol (Bennett and Wiesner) and some more recent variations thereof, can help us understand entanglement and its role in quantum information theory.
I just discovered that there is another book about TeX that has been “freed”:
TeX for the Impatient
ftp://ftp.tug.org/tex/impatient-1.0/book.pdf
I have not found time to read it yet, but flipping through the PDF suggests that this is a pretty good book.
As for why you would want to read about TeX? Well, at least you can tell confidently which one of the following five gives a different (probably unintended) output:
1. H{\aa}stad
2. H\aastad
3. H\aa
stad
4. H\aa{}stad
5. H\aa stad
and perhaps even explain the (visually non-existent) differences between the other four. 
P.S. I feel obligated to make sure you really know 2 is wrong unless you really have defined \aastad. 1 and 4 are better because they are less confusing. A control word “eats” the spaces and also the end-of-line after it, hence 3 and 5 both “work” but for a less obvious reason.
