Combinatorial QFT, CO 739-002, September 4 - December 2, 2025
Quantum field theory intertwines continuous and discrete structures. On the discrete side, combinatorics plays a central role in describing and understanding its expansions and models. This lecture series focuses on the combinatorial aspects of quantum field theory. In the first part, we explore analytic combinatorics techniques, inspired by QFT, for the
enumeration of graphs. These methods turn out to be surprisingly powerful in addressing deep questions in algebraic geometry, topology, and statistical models on graphs. In the second part, we turn to discrete structures arising in perturbative expansions of QFT. We study these from a modern combinatorics viewpoint, using tools such as Lorentzian polynomials and generalized permutahedra to better understand the mathematical objects at the heart of quantum field theory.
This course is offered by the University of Waterloo's Department of Combinatorics & Optimization.
Lectures will be held at Perimeter Institute, 31 Caroline St N, Waterloo. Students will need to sign in and out of Perimeter each day. No classes week of October 13.
December 2025
- Dec 02
November 2025
- Nov 27
- Nov 25
- Nov 20
- Nov 18
- Nov 13
- Nov 11
- Nov 06
- Nov 04
October 2025
- Oct 30
- Oct 28
- Oct 23
- Oct 21
- Oct 09
- Oct 07
- Oct 02
September 2025
- Sep 30
- Sep 25
- Sep 23
- Sep 18
- Sep 16
- Sep 11
- Sep 09
- Sep 04