Shiyue Li 李詩樂

I am a Donald J. Lewis assistant professor at the University of Michigan, mentored by David Speyer.

From 2023 to 2025, I was a member at the Institute for Advanced Study, mentored by June Huh.

In 2023, I got a PhD in mathematics at Brown University, where I was fortunate to be advised by Melody Chan.

Prior, I spent wonderful four years at Harvey Mudd College; my undergrad thesis work was guided by Dagan Karp.

Here are my Curriculum Vitae, Google Scholar, arXiv and Email.

Research

Papers

  1. Multimatroids and rational curves with cyclic action
    (with Emily Clader, Chiara Damiolini, Christopher Eur, Daoji Huang)
    International Mathematical Research Notices. (2024).
    We study the connection between multimatroids and moduli spaces of rational curves with cyclic action. Multimatroids are generalizations of matroids and delta-matroids introduced by Bouchet, which naturally arise in topological graph theory. The vantage point of moduli of curves provides a tropical framework for studying multimatroids, generalizing the previous connection between type-A permutohedral varieties (Losev--Manin moduli spaces) and matroids, and the connection between type-B permutohedral varieties (Batyrev--Blume moduli spaces) and delta-matroids. pecifically, we equate a combinatorial nef cone of the moduli space with the space of ℝ-multimatroids, a slight generalization of multimatroids, and we introduce the independence polytopal complex of a multimatroid, whose volume is identified with an intersection number on the moduli space. As an application, for the generating set of the Chow ring of the moduli space consisting of all psi-classes and their pullbacks along certain forgetful maps, we give a combinatorial formula for their intersection numbers by relating to the volumes of independence polytopal complexes of multimatroids.

  2. Kapranov degrees
    (with Joshua Brakensiek, Christopher Eur, Matt Larson)
    The moduli space of stable rational curves with marked points has two distinguished families of maps: the forgetful maps, given by forgetting some of the markings, and the Kapranov maps, given by complete linear series of ψ-classes. The collection of all these maps embeds the moduli space into a product of projective spaces. We call the multidegrees of this embedding "Kapranov degrees," which include as special cases the work of Witten, Silversmith, Castravet-Tevelev, Postnikov, Cavalieri-Gillespie-Monin, and Gillespie-Griffins-Levinson. We establish, in terms of a combinatorial matching condition, upper bounds for Kapranov degrees and a characterization of their positivity. The positivity characterization answers a question of Silversmith. We achieve this by proving a recursive formula for Kapranov degrees and by using tools from the theory of error correcting codes.

  3. Equivariant log-concavity of independence sequences of claw-free graphs
    Séminaire Lotharingien de Combinatoire 89B.
    We show that the graded vector space spanned by independent vertex sets of any claw-free graph is strongly equivariantly log-concave, viewed as a graded permutation representation of the graph automorphism group. Our proof reduces the problem to the equivariant hard Lefschetz theorem on the cohomology of a product of projective lines. Both the result and the proof generalize our previous result on graph matchings. This also gives a strengthening and a new proof of results of Hamidoune, and Chudnovsky--Seymour.

  4. K-rings of wonderful varieties and matroids
    (with Matt Larson, Sam Payne, Nick Proudfoot)
    Advances in Mathematics 441. (2024).
    We study the K-ring of the wonderful variety of a hyperplane arrangement and give a combinatorial presentation that depends only on the underlying matroid. We give a new invariant of arbitrary matorids. It computes the Euler characteristics of arbitrary line bundles on wonderful varieties and on Deligne--Mumford--Knudsen moduli spaces of stable rational curves with marked points.

  5. Wonderful compactifications and rational curves with cyclic action
    (with Emily Clader, Chiara Damiolini, Rohini Ramadas)
    Forum of Mathematics, Sigma 11. (2023).
    We prove that the moduli space of rational curves with cyclic action, constructed in our previous work, is realizable as a wonderful compactification of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement in a product of projective spaces. By proving a general result on such wonderful compactifications, we conclude that this moduli space is Chow-equivalent to an explicit toric variety (whose fan can be understood as a tropical version of the moduli space), from which a computation of its Chow ring follows.

  6. Equivariant log-concavity of graph matchings
    Algebraic Combinatorics 6. (2023) .
    We show that the graded vector space spanned by matchings in any graph is strongly equivariantly log-concave, viewed as a graded permutation representation of the graph automorphism group. Our proof constructs equivariant injections by reducing to the hard Lefschetz theorem.

  7. Intersecting psi-classes on tropical Hassett spaces
    (with Marvin Anas Hahn)
    Combinatorial Theory, 2(3). (2022).
    We study the intersection of tropical psi-classes on tropical heavy/light Hassett spaces, generalising a result of Kerber--Markwig. Our computation reveals that the weight of a maximal cone in an intersection has a combinatorial intepretation in terms of the underlying tropical curve and it is always nonnegative. In particular, our result specialises to that, in top dimension, the tropical intersection product coincides with its classical counterpart.

  8. Permutohedral complexes and rational curves with cyclic action
    (with Emily Clader, Chiara Damiolini, Daoji Huang, Rohini Ramadas)
    manuscripta mathematica. (2022)
    We construct a moduli space of rational curves with finite-order automorphism and weighted orbits, and studied a three-way bijection between the boundary strata of the moduli space, the faces of a polytopal complex, and certain cosets of the complex reflection group.

  9. Relative Bott--Samelson varieties
    La Matematica 2. (2023)
    We generalize Brion's Bott--Samelson resolution of singularities of Richardson varieties to a relative setting. We then applied it to give a resolution of singularities for the Brill-Noether variety with imposed ramification on twice-marked elliptic curves, studied by Chan--Osserman--Pflueger.

  10. Topology of tropical moduli space of weighted stable curves in higher genus
    (with Siddarth Kannan, Stefano Serpente, Claudia He Yun; slides)
    Advances in Geometry 23(3). (2023).
    We prove the simple connectivity of the moduli spaces of weighted stable tropical curves of volume one, for all higher genus and all rational weights. We also compute their Euler characteristics.

  11. Chow ring of heavy/light Hassett spaces via tropical geometry
    (with Siddarth Kannan and Dagan Karp)
    Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A. 178C. (2021)
    We compute the Chow ring of heavy/light Hassett spaces of genus zero via tropical compactification and toric intersection theory.

Invited talks and travels

Teaching

Canada/USA Mathcamp

Music

    I am an avid amateur musician. Along with friends, I explore and engage with a wide variety of music.

    Piano

    My primary instrument is the piano, which I started playing at age 4. During college, I had a blast learning from Gayle Blankenburg, as well as from a group of extremely talented peers in her studio.

    Here are some pieces I’ve enjoyed playing in recent years, some with my friends:

    • John Sabastian Bach – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
    • Johann Christian Bach – Quintet in D major, Op. 22, No. 1 (with flute, oboe, violin, and cello)
    • Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 “Tempest”
    • Johannes Brahms – 16 Waltzes, Op. 39, No. 11 (four hands, with Maggie Rao)
    • Johannes Brahms – 16 Waltzes, Op. 39, No. 15 (four hands, with Maggie Rao)
    • Johannes Brahms – Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2
    • Johannes Brahms – Ballade, Op. 118, No. 3
    • Frédéric Chopin – Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4
    • Frédéric Chopin – Étude, Op. 10, No. 3 “Tristesse”
    • Frédéric Chopin – Étude, Op. 10, No. 12 “Revolutionary”
    • Frédéric Chopin – Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, No. 1
    • Claude Debussy – Arabesque No. 1
    • Claude Debussy – Children’s Corner: No. 6, “Golliwogg’s Cakewalk”
    • Gabriel Fauré – Élégie, Op. 24 (cello and piano, with Calvin Leung)
    • Franz Liszt – Un Sospiro in D-flat Major, from Trois Études de Concert
    • Felix Mendelssohn – Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14
    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331: III. “Alla Turca” (six hands, with Siyi Hu, Weiyun Anna Ma)
    • Sergei Rachmaninov – Prelude in D, Op. 23, No. 4
    • Sergei Rachmaninov – Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12
    • Maurice Ravel – Ma Mère l’Oye (with Daniel Stewart)
    • Jean Sibelius – Romance in D-flat major, Op. 24, No. 9
    • Franz Schubert – Klavierstück No. 2 in E-flat major, D.946
    • Franz Schubert – “An die Musik,” D.547 (with soprano by Haoxing Du)

    Classical Guitar

    My secondary instrument is the classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, which I started learning at age 12. During college, I was incredibly lucky to study guitar and baroque lute with Jack Sanders. I was also playing in the Pomona College Guitar Quartet from 2024 to 2016.

    • Isaac Albéniz – Asturias (Leyenda)
    • Anonymous – Romanza in E minor
    • John Sabastian Bach – Prelude, Sarabande, Gigue & Double from Lute Suite in C minor, BWV 997 (arr. for classical guitar)
    • Matteo Carcassi – Étude in A minor
    • Richard Clayderman & Paul de Senneville – “Ballade pour Adeline” (arr. for classical guitar)
    • Claude Debussy – La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (arr. for classical guitar)
    • Alonso Mudarra – Fantasia X
    • Luis de Narváez – Tres Diferencias por otra parte
    • Maurice Ravel – Rêverie (with Pomona Guitar Quartet)
    • Traditional – Greensleeves
    • Traditional – Scarborough Fair (after Simon & Garfunkel version)
    • Yuquijirō Yocoh – Sakura Variations

    Other

    I also enjoy thinking and chatting about music theory, composition, and ethnomusicology. Other instruments that I dabble in include the Balinese gamelan, and the baroque lute. I have also sung in choir and in a cappella.