MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
MATH 464 Introduction to
Representation Theory
2009-2010 SPRING
Instructor
Gülin ERCAN
Office Hours
Monday 11:40-12:30
Tuesday 13:40-14:30
Computer Algorithms with
GAP
Office Hours
To Be Announced
Textbook: Representations
and Characters of Groups by Gordon James & Martin Liebeck
·
GAP and
Computational Group Theory
o
Information about GAP is obtained from its web site http://www.gap-system.org/
o
From this site you can download GAP free of charge to your
own computer.
o
From this page click on 'GAP support', then 'manual',
then 'tutorial' to get a tutorial
o
From the same page as before click on 'About GAP', then
'examples', then 'Rubik's cube' to get a useful example
o
A.M. Cohen et al, Some tapas of computer algebra,
Springer 1999, ISBN 3540634800 (chapter 8, projects 5 and 6).
o
D.F. Holt, B. Eick, E.A. O’Brien, Handbook of
computational group theory, Chapman & Hall/CRC, c2005
o
J. Neubueser, An elementary introduction to coset table
methods in computational group theory, pp. 1-45 in Groups - St. Andrews 1981
(C,M, Campbell and E.F. Robertson, eds), Cambridge UP.
o
C.C. Sims, Computation with finitely presented groups,
Cambridge University Press 1994, ISBN 0521432138
Course Content
This semester there will be two parallel courses, one
addressing the theoretical side , the other dealing with computer algorithms in
group theory using the computer system GAP. The theoretical side will be taught
on 2 days each week and on the third class day each week (on Thursdays at
15.40) we intend to teach the use of the computer package GAP during 6 sessions
in the computer lab, teaching both the use of the GAP commands and language,
and simultaneously the theory behind the algorithms which are used. No prior
programming experience is necessary. We will start by learning the basics of
the language which GAP uses, and go on to learn how to do computations with
groups .
Grading
Midterm examination : 22 April 2010 , Thursday
15:40 (30 pts)
GAP Homework (40 points)
Final (take-home) (40 points)