Research Spotlight On Tutte Polynomials
A visualisation of the computation of a Tutte polynomial
Description
The minds of the
ELVIS research group spend time looking at
graphs, which are mathematical representations of networked structures (e.g. road networks, the internet, etc). Graphs surround us in our daily lives. For example, finding the quickest route to the shops is an example of a Graph Theory problem that you perform in your own head!
The
Tutte polynomial is a particularly complicated problem involving graphs, but being able to compute it has implications outside of graph theory, including theoretical physics and biology. The double helix that constitutes our DNA is a very large
knot, and one that can be represented by a Tutte polynomial. If we can speed up the calculation of Tutte polynomials, we can begin to better understand how DNA replicates and recombines itself.
David Pearce and Bennett Thompson have been collaborating with
Gary Haggard at
Bucknell University to create one of the most efficient algorithms to compute Tutte polynomials on the planet. Their work lead them to be the first team in the world to attempt to visualise the computation of Tutte polynomials, which you can see in the image.
Members
David Pearce 
