A New Approach to 1/N Expansion in Random Matrix Theory

Watch this 39-minute lecture where Chi-Fang Chen from the University of California, Berkeley presents a new approach to 1/N expansion in random matrix theory at IPAM's Free Entropy Theory and Random Matrices Workshop. Recorded on February 28, 2025, the talk explores how random matrix quantities exhibit a 1/N-expansion where the asymptotic limit of large dimension N→∞ becomes tractable. Discover a simple method to control the finite dimension regime from the large-N limit using soft arguments from polynomial approximation. The presentation illustrates key ideas for a new approach to strong convergence developed with Garza-Vargas, Tropp, and van Handel. For more information about this workshop hosted by the Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (IPAM), visit their website.