Graduate Student Seminar: Revisiting the 100-digit challenge. Problem 2: Reliability amid Chaos, Speaker: Bernat Guillen

Graduate Student Seminars
Dec 11, 2018
12:30 pm
Fine Hall 214

Title:  Revisiting the 100-digit challenge. Problem 2: Reliability amid Chaos

Abstract:  

In 2002, Professor Nick Trefethen of Oxford University posed 10 problems to be solved to 10 digits of precision each (hence 100-digit challenge). The solutions to these problems brought up many interesting and diverse techniques and challenges in numerical analysis, computational science and experimental mathematics. Last semester we worked through problem 1. In this talk I want to discuss problem 2 and present the winning methods to solve it. The format will be collaborative, and I will type in ideas into a Jupyter/Mathematica notebook. So feel free to read the book (can be found in SIAM website) but if you do, please no spoilers!

The problem is to find with 10 digits of precision the position of a photon bouncing in a lattice of circular mirrors after 10 seconds.