An up-to-date account of algebraic statistics and information geometry, which also explores the emerging connections between these two disciplines.

* Contains a selection of articles exploring geometric approaches to problems in algebra, algebraic geometry and number theory * The collection gives a representative sample of problems and most recent results in algebraic and arithmetic geometry * Text can serve as an intense introduction for graduate students and those wishing to pursue research in algebraic and arithmetic geometry

From the reviews: "In this Lecture Note volume the author describes his differential-geometric approach to parametrical statistical problems summarizing the results he had published in a series of papers in the last five years. The author provides a geometric framework for a special class of test and estimation procedures for curved exponential families. ... ... The material and ideas presented in this volume are important and it is recommended to everybody interested in the connection between statistics and geometry ..." #Metrika#1 "More than hundred references are given showing the growing interest in differential geometry with respect to statistics. The book can only strongly be recommended to a geodesist since it offers many new insights into statistics on a familiar ground." #Manuscripta Geodaetica#2

Polyhedral and Algebraic Methods in Computational Geometry provides a thorough introduction into algorithmic geometry and its applications. It presents its primary topics from the viewpoints of discrete, convex and elementary algebraic geometry. The first part of the book studies classical problems and techniques that refer to polyhedral structures. The authors include a study on algorithms for computing convex hulls as well as the construction of Voronoi diagrams and Delone triangulations. The second part of the book develops the primary concepts of (non-linear) computational algebraic geometry. Here, the book looks at Gröbner bases and solving systems of polynomial equations. The theory is illustrated by applications in computer graphics, curve reconstruction and robotics. Throughout the book, interconnections between computational geometry and other disciplines (such as algebraic geometry, optimization and numerical mathematics) are established. Polyhedral and Algebraic Methods in Computational Geometry is directed towards advanced undergraduates in mathematics and computer science, as well as towards engineering students who are interested in the applications of computational geometry.

This volume contains the proceedings of the AMS Special Session on Algebraic and Geometric Methods in Applied Discrete Mathematics, held on January 11, 2015, in San Antonio, Texas. The papers present connections between techniques from “pure” mathematics and various applications amenable to the analysis of discrete models, encompassing applications of combinatorics, topology, algebra, geometry, optimization, and representation theory. Papers not only present novel results, but also survey the current state of knowledge of important topics in applied discrete mathematics. Particular highlights include: a new computational framework, based on geometric combinatorics, for structure prediction from RNA sequences; a new method for approximating the optimal solution of a sum of squares problem; a survey of recent Helly-type geometric theorems; applications of representation theory to voting theory and game theory; a study of fixed points of tensors; and exponential random graph models from the perspective of algebraic statistics with applications to networks. This volume was written for those trained in areas such as algebra, topology, geometry, and combinatorics who are interested in tackling problems in fields such as biology, the social sciences, data analysis, and optimization. It may be useful not only for experts, but also for students who wish to gain an applied or interdisciplinary perspective.

Sure to be influential, Watanabe's book lays the foundations for the use of algebraic geometry in statistical learning theory. Many models/machines are singular: mixture models, neural networks, HMMs, Bayesian networks, stochastic context-free grammars are major examples. The theory achieved here underpins accurate estimation techniques in the presence of singularities.

How does an algebraic geometer studying secant varieties further the understanding of hypothesis tests in statistics? Why would a statistician working on factor analysis raise open problems about determinantal varieties? Connections of this type are at the heart of the new field of "algebraic statistics". In this field, mathematicians and statisticians come together to solve statistical inference problems using concepts from algebraic geometry as well as related computational and combinatorial techniques. The goal of these lectures is to introduce newcomers from the different camps to algebraic statistics. The introduction will be centered around the following three observations: many important statistical models correspond to algebraic or semi-algebraic sets of parameters; the geometry of these parameter spaces determines the behaviour of widely used statistical inference procedures; computational algebraic geometry can be used to study parameter spaces and other features of statistical models.