Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Mathematics, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

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X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a medical imaging framework. It takes measured projections of X-rays through two-dimensional cross-sections of an object from multiple angles and incorporates algorithms in building a sequence of two-dimensional reconstructions of the interior structure. This thesis comprises a review of the different types of algebraic algorithms used in X-ray CT. Using simulated test data, I evaluate the viability of algorithmic alternatives that could potentially reduce overexposure to radiation, as this is seen as a major health concern and the limiting factor in the advancement of CT [36, 34]. Most of the current evaluations in the literature [31, 39, 11] deal with low-resolution reconstructions and the results are impressive, however, modern CT applications demand very high-resolution imaging. Consequently, I selected ve of the fundamental algebraic reconstruction algorithms (ART, SART, Cimmino's Method, CAV, DROP) for extensive testing and the results are reported in this thesis. The quantitative numerical results obtained in this study, con rm the qualitative suggestion that algebraic techniques are not yet adequate for practical use. However, as algebraic techniques can actually produce an image from corrupt and/or missing data, I conclude that further re nement of algebraic techniques may ultimately lead to a breakthrough in CT. / UOIT

The following is my M.Sc. thesis on moduli space techniques in algebraic and symplectic geometry. It is divided into the following two parts: the rst part is devoted to presenting moduli problems in algebraic geometry using a modern perspective, via the language of stacks and the second part is devoted to studying moduli problems from the perspective of symplectic geometry. The key motivation to the rst part is to present the theorem of Keel and Mori [20] which answers the classical question of under what circumstances a quotient exists for the action of an algebraic group G acting on a scheme X. Part two of the thesis is a more elaborate description of the topics found in Chapter 8 of [28].

The following is my M.Sc. thesis on moduli space techniques in algebraic and symplectic geometry. It is divided into the following two parts: the rst part is devoted to presenting moduli problems in algebraic geometry using a modern perspective, via the language of stacks and the second part is devoted to studying moduli problems from the perspective of symplectic geometry. The key motivation to the rst part is to present the theorem of Keel and Mori [20] which answers the classical question of under what circumstances a quotient exists for the action of an algebraic group G acting on a scheme X. Part two of the thesis is a more elaborate description of the topics found in Chapter 8 of [28].

Barycentric coordinates are functions on a polygon, one for each vertex, whose values are coefficients that provide an expression of a point of the polygon as a convex combination of the vertices. Wachspress barycentric coordinates are barycentric coordinates that are defined by rational functions of minimal degree. We study the rational map on P2 defined by Wachspress barycentric coordinates, the Wachspress map, and we describe polynomials that set-theoretically cut out the closure of the image, the Wachspress variety. The map has base points at the intersection points of non-adjacent edges. The Wachspress map embeds the polygon into projective space of dimension one less than the number of vertices. Adjacent edges are mapped to lines meeting at the image of the vertex common to both edges, and base points are blown-up into lines. The deformed image of the polygon is such that its non-adjacent edges no longer intersect but both meet the exceptional line over the blown-up corresponding base point. We find an ideal that cuts out the Wachspress variety set-theoretically. The ideal is generated by quadratics and cubics with simple expressions along with other polynomials of higher degree. The quadratic generators are scalar products of vectors of linear forms and the cubics are determinants of 3 x 3 matrices of linear forms. Finally, we conjecture that the higher degree generators are not needed, thus the ideal is generated in degrees two and three.

Mémoire rédigé en vue de l'obtention de l'habilitation à diriger les recherches. Il donne un résumé de mon activité de recherche (anneaux de Chow, classes de Stiefel-Whitney, algèbres de Hopf, entrelacs, K-théorie de Milnor).

The study of the infinite (countable) family of partial differential equations known as the Kadomtzev - Petviashvili (KP) hierarchy has received much interest in the mathematical and theoretical physics community for over forty years. Recently there has been a renewed interest in its application to enumerative combinatorics inspired by Witten's conjecture (now Kontsevich's theorem). In this thesis we provide a detailed development of the KP hierarchy and some of its applications with an emphasis on the combinatorics involved. Up until now, most of the material pertaining to the KP hierarchy has been fragmented throughout the physics literature and any complete accounts have been for purposes much diff erent than ours. We begin by describing a family of related Lie algebras along with a module on which they act. We then construct a realization of this module in terms of polynomials and determine the corresponding Lie algebra actions. By doing this we are able to describe one of the Lie group orbits as a family of polynomials and the equations that de fine them as a family of partial diff erential equations. This then becomes the KP hierarchy and its solutions. We then interpret the KP hierarchy as a pair of operators on the ring of symmetric functions and describe their action combinatorially. We then conclude the thesis with some combinatorial applications.

This thesis presents the theory of affine algebraic sets defined over an arbitrary field K. We define basic concepts such as the Zariski topology, coordinate ring of functions, regular functions, and dimension. We are interested in the relationship between the geometry of an affine algebraic set over a field K and its geometry induced by the algebraic closure of K. Various versions of Hilbert-Nullstellensatz are presented, introducing a new variant over finite fields. Examples are provided throughout the paper and a question on the dimension of irreducible affine algebraic sets is formulated.