Numerical computation of Galois groups (Q667643)

In this paper, the authors present two numerical methods to compute the Galois group and study it when it is not the full symmetric group. In particular, the first algorithm, the Branch Point Algorithm, computes generators and it has been implemented in Macaulay2 building on monodromy computations performed by Bertini. It is shown its effectiveness in examples ranging from enumerative geometry, kinematics, and statistics. The second algorithm studies the structure of the Galois group as a permutation group using fiber products to test for s-transitivity. This is practical as permutation groups that are not alternating or symmetric are at most 5-transitive. These two algorithms demonstrate that homotopy continuation can be used to compute Galois groups.