Solving finite games such as Rock-Paper-Scissors and the prisoner's dilemma gives rise to polynomial systems. This talk will discuss solving polynomial systems describing Nash equilibria and Pareto optimal solutions for finite games using homotopy continuation. After describing how to compute isolated solutions, I will briefly describe how to numerically compute all irreducible solution components of a polynomial system. The talk will conclude with a numerical algorithm for describing the real points of a complex curve.
Probability and Combinatorics
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 4:30pm
Jonathan Hauenstein
Fields Institute