Adinkras for mathematicians

Abstract

Adinkras are graphical tools created for the study of supersymmetry representations. Besides having inherent interest for physicists, the study of adinkras has already shown connections with coding theory and Clifford algebras. Furthermore, adinkras offer many natural and accessible mathematical problems of combinatorial nature. We present the foundations for a mathematical audience, make new connections to other fields (homological algebra, poset theory, and polytopes), and solve some of these problems. Original results include the enumeration of all hypercube adinkras through dimension 5, the enumeration of odd dashings of adinkras for any dimension, and a connection between rankings and the chromatic polynomial for certain graphs. © 2013 Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DMTCS).