Beyond exact counting: Approximation and symmetry

This project in theoretical computer science studies the resources required to solve computational problems. The focus lies on problems that ask to approximately count certain mathematical structures (think of determining the number of solutions to Sudoku puzzles) and on problems with inherent symmetries (think of the polynomial x² + y², where x and y can be interchanged without changing the polynomial). This grant will allow for the recruitment of two postdocs to study such problems.