Normal factor graphs (NFGs) are graphical representations of sums of products. This talk is aimed toward presenting NFGs as an intuitive route to some topics involving such sums of products. I will discuss simple tools that allow transformations of NFGs, then make a quick revisit to the duality theorem for codes on graphs and to holographic algorithms.
Further, I will introduce NFGs as a probabilistic model and point out their connection to some existing models.
Finally, I will conclude with the possible use of NFGs in facilitating stochastic approximations of the partition function for some models in statistical physics.
Ali Al-Bashabsheh obtained a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Ottawa in 2014. His research interests include coding theory, probabilistic models, and information theory.
