In tropical algebraic geometry, the solution sets of polynomial equations are piecewise-linear. We introduce the tropical variety of a polynomial ideal, and we identify it with a polyhedral subcomplex of the Gröbner fan. The tropical Grassmannian arises in this manner from the ideal of quadratic Plücker relations. It is shown to parametrize all tropical linear spaces. Lines in tropical projective space are trees, and their tropical Grassmannian G2,n equals the space of phylogenetic trees studied by Billera, Holmes and Vogtmann. Higher Grassmannians offer a natural generalization of the space of trees. Their facets correspond to binomial initial ideals of the Plücker ideal. The tropical Grassmannian G3,6 is a simplicial complex glued from 1035 tetrahedra.

Abstract. These notes outline some basic notions of Tropical Geometry and survey some of its applications for problems in classical (real and complex) geometry. To appear in the Proceedings of the Madrid ICM. 1.

Abstract. The notions of convexity and convex polytopes are introduced in the setting of tropical geometry. Combinatorial types of tropical polytopes are shown to be in bijection with regular triangulations of products of two simplices. Applications to phylogenetic trees are discussed. 1.

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Abstract. The real trees form a class of metric spaces that extends the class of trees with edge lengths by allowing behavior such as infinite total edge length and vertices with infinite branching degree. Aldous’s Brownian continuum random tree, the random tree-like object naturally associated with a standard Brownian excursion, may be thought of as a random compact real tree. The continuum random tree is a scaling limit as N → ∞ of both a critical Galton-Watson tree conditioned to have total population size N as well as a uniform random rooted combinatorial tree with N vertices. The Aldous–Broder algorithm is a Markov chain on the space of rooted combinatorial trees with N vertices that has the uniform tree as its stationary distribution. We construct and study a Markov process on the space of all rooted compact real trees that has the continuum random tree as its stationary distribution and arises as the scaling limit as N → ∞ of the Aldous–Broder chain. A key technical ingredient in this work is the use of a pointed Gromov–

Abstract. We study Jacobian varieties for tropical curves. These are real tori equipped with integral affine structure and symmetric bilinear form. We define tropical counterpart of the theta function and establish tropical versions of the Abel-Jacobi, Riemann-Roch and Riemann theta divisor theorems. 1.

ABSTRACT. A number of reconfiguration problems in robotics, biology, computer science, combinatorics, and group theory coordinate local rules to effect global changes in system states. We define for any such reconfigurable system a cubical complex — the state complex — which coordinates independent local moves. We prove classification and realization theorems for state complexes, using CAT(0) geometry as the primary tool. We also classify the topology of spaces of optimal reconfiguration paths using techniques from CAT(0) geometry. 1.

Abstract. We give the first analysis of a systematic scan version of the Metropolis algorithm. Our examples include generating random elements of a Coxeter group with probability determined by the length function. The analysis is based on interpreting Metropolis walks in terms of the multiplication in the Iwahori-Hecke algebra. 1.

Abstract. We use Dirichlet form methods to construct and analyze a reversible Markov process, the stationary distribution of which is the Brownian continuum random tree. This process is inspired by the subtree prune and re-graft (SPR) Markov chains that appear in phylogenetic analysis. A key technical ingredient in this work is the use of a novel Gromov– Hausdorff type distance to metrize the space whose elements are compact real trees equipped with a probability measure. Also, the investigation of the Dirichlet form hinges on a new path decomposition of the Brownian excursion. 1.

The article surveys structural characterizations of several graph classes defined by distance properties, which have in part a general algebraic flavor and can be interpreted as subdirect decomposition. The graphs we feature in the first place are the median graphs and their various kinds of generalizations, e.g., weakly modular graphs, or fiber-complemented graphs, or l1-graphs. Several kinds of l1-graphs admit natural geometric realizations as polyhedral complexes. Particular instances of these graphs also occur in other geometric contexts, for example, as dual polar graphs, basis graphs of (even ∆-)matroids, tope graphs, lopsided sets, or plane graphs with vertex degrees and face sizes bounded from below. Several other classes of graphs, e.g., Helly graphs (as injective objects), or bridged graphs (generalizing chordal graphs), or tree-like graphs such as distance-hereditary graphs occur in the investigation of graphs satisfying some basic properties of the distance function, such as the Helly property for balls, or the convexity of balls or of the neighborhoods of convex sets, etc. Operators between graphs or complexes relate some of the