We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy.
Quanta Homepage
  • Physics
  • Mathematics
  • Biology
  • Computer Science
  • Topics
  • Archive

What's up in

combinatorics

Latest Articles

combinatorics

The Astonishing Behavior of Recursive Sequences

By Alex Stone
November 16, 2023
Comment
Read Later

Some strange mathematical sequences are always whole numbers — until they’re not. The puzzling patterns have revealed ties to graph theory and prime numbers, awing mathematicians.

geometry

The Biggest Smallest Triangle Just Got Smaller

By Leila Sloman
September 8, 2023
Comment
Read Later

A new proof breaks a decades-long drought of progress on the problem of estimating the size of triangles created by cramming points into a square.

set theory

Ninth Dedekind Number Found by Two Independent Groups

By Rachel Crowell
August 1, 2023
Comment
Read Later

The numbers count a variety of seemingly unrelated mathematical structures.

geometry

Mathematicians Solve Long-Standing Coloring Problem

By Anna Kramer
July 19, 2023
Comment
Read Later

A new result shows how much of the plane can be colored by points that are never exactly one unit apart.

Ramsey theory

The Lawlessness of Large Numbers

By Leila Sloman
July 7, 2023
Comment
Read Later

Mathematicians can often figure out what happens as quantities grow infinitely large. What about when they are just a little big?

An observer times birds flying between an apple tree and an orange tree that look like graphs.
computational complexity

Computer Scientists Inch Closer to Major Algorithmic Goal

By Kevin Hartnett
June 23, 2023
Comment
Read Later

A new paper finds a faster method for determining when two mathematical groups are the same.

graph theory

Mathematicians Discover Novel Way to Predict Structure in Graphs

By Jordana Cepelewicz
June 22, 2023
Comment
Read Later

Mathematicians probe the limits of randomness in new work estimating quantities called Ramsey numbers.

combinatorics

First-Year Graduate Student Finds Paradoxical Set

By Alex Stone
June 5, 2023
Comment
Read Later

No two pairs have the same sum; add three numbers together, and you can get any whole number.

A video depiction of shifting boundaries in Colorado illustrates the endless possibilities for drawing Congressional districts.
applied math

How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering

By Mike Orcutt
June 1, 2023
Comment
Read Later

New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps.


Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • ...
  • 8
Next
Follow Quanta
Facebook
Facebook

Twitter
Twitter

Youtube
YouTube

Instagram
Instagram

RSS
RSS

Newsletter

Past Month

Most Read Articles

This Data is Current Loading...
This Data is Current Loading...
This Data is Current Loading...
The Quanta Newsletter

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox

Recent newsletters
Quanta Homepage
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram
  • About Quanta
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

All Rights Reserved © 2023
An editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation.