Title:  Cyclotomic Factors of the Descent Set Polynomial

Abstract:  The descent set polynomial is defined in terms of the descent set statistics of a permutation and was first introduced by Chebikin, Ehrenborg, Pylyavskyy, and Readdy.  This polynomial was found to have many factors which are cyclotomic polynomials.  In this talk, we will explore why these cyclotomic factors exist, focusing on instances of the 2pth cyclotomic polynomial for a prime p.

We will also discuss activities for next semester and talk about organizing practice sessions for the math modeling contest