Microlocal analysis originated in the study of linear partial differential equations (PDEs) in the high-frequency regime, through a combination of ideas from Fourier analysis and classical Hamiltonian mechanics. In parallel, similar ideas and methods had been developed since the early times of quantum mechanics, the smallness of Planck’s constant allowing to use semiclassical methods. The junction between these two points of view (microlocal and semiclassical) only emerged in 1970s, and has taken its full place in the PDE community in the last 20 years. This methodology resulted in major advances in the understanding of linear and nonlinear PDEs in the last 50 years. Moreover, microlocal methods continue to find new applications in diverse areas of mathematical analysis, such as the spectral theory of nonselfadjoint operators, scattering theory, and inverse problems.

Several executions of a 3-dimensional sumcheck protocol with a random order of directions (thanks to Dev Ojha for creating the diagram)

Proofs are at the foundations of mathematics. Viewed through the lens of theoretical computer science, verifying the correctness of a mathematical proof is a fundamental computational task. Indeed, the P versus NP problem, which deals precisely with the complexity of proof verification, is one of the most important open problems in all of mathematics.

The complexity-theoretic study of proof verification has led to exciting reenvisionings of mathematical proofs. For example, probabilistically checkable proofs (PCPs) admit local-to-global structure that allows verifying a proof by reading only a minuscule portion of it. As another example, interactive proofs allow for verification via a conversation between a prover and a verifier, instead of the traditional static sequence of logical statements. The study of such proof systems has drawn upon deep mathematical tools to derive numerous applications to the theory of computation and beyond.

In recent years, such probabilistic proofs received much attention due to a new motivation, delegation of computation, which is the emphasis of this summer school. This paradigm admits ultra-fast protocols that allow one party to check the correctness of the computation performed by another, untrusted, party. These protocols have even been realized within recently-deployed technology, for example, as part of cryptographic constructions known as succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (SNARKs).

This summer school will provide an introduction to the field of probabilistic proofs and the beautiful mathematics behind it, as well as prepare students for conducting cutting-edge research in this area.