We give a sufficient criterion for a lower bound of the cactus rank of a tensor. Then we refine that criterion in order to be able to give an explicit sufficient condition for a non-redundant decomposition of a tensor to be minimal and unique.
For each $n$, let $text{RD}(n)$ denote the minimum $d$ for which there exists a formula for the general polynomial of degree $n$ in algebraic functions of at most $d$ variables. In 1945, Segre called for a better understanding of the large $n$ behavior of $text{RD}(n)$. In this paper, we provide improved thresholds for upper bounds on $text{RD}(n)$. Our techniques build upon classical algebraic geometry to provide new upper bounds for small $n$ and, in doing so, fix gaps in the proofs of A. Wiman and G.N. Chebotarev in [Wim1927] and [Che1954].
We show that the Waring rank of the $3 times 3$ determinant, previously known to be between $14$ and $18$, is at least $15$. We use syzygies of the apolar ideal, which have not been used in this way before. Additionally, we show that the cactus rank of the $3 times 3$ permanent is at least $14$.
The geometry of the set of restrictions of rank-one tensors to some of their coordinates is studied. This gives insight into the problem of rank-one completion of partial tensors. Particular emphasis is put on the semialgebraic nature of the problem, which arises for real tensors with constraints on the parameters. The algebraic boundary of the completable region is described for tensors parametrized by probability distributions and where the number of observed entries equals the number of parameters. If the observations are on the diagonal of a tensor of format $dtimesdotstimes d$, the complete semialgebraic description of the completable region is found.
A symmetric tensor may be regarded as a partially symmetric tensor in several different ways. These produce different notions of rank for the symmetric tensor which are related by chains of inequalities. By exploiting algebraic tools such as apolarity theory, we show how the study of the simultaneous symmetric rank of partial derivatives of the homogeneous polynomial associated to the symmetric tensor can be used to prove equalities among different partially symmetric ranks. This approach aims to understand to what extent the symmetries of a tensor affect its rank. We apply this to the special cases of binary forms, ternary and quaternary cubics, monomials, and elementary symmetric polynomials.