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Xuehuai He

/ɕye'hwaɪ/, any pronouns

Email: xuehuai [dot] he [at] yale [dot] edu

Last updated on Apr. 19, 2025.

Academic interests​

  • Linguistics: semantics of numerals; approximation; classifier languages; object marking
  • Others: programming languages theory; geometry, topology, algebra, and related math topics

Recent updates​

Manuscripts​

Under review​

Unfolding Search Synthesis

Qihong Chen, Xuehuai He, Eli Pregerson, Lucas Bang

ICFP25

G[8,4][8,2][8,4]->[8,2][8,6][8,4]->[8,6][8,1][8,2]->[8,1][8,3][8,2]->[8,3][8,5][8,6]->[8,5][8,7][8,6]->[8,7][4,1][8,1]->[4,1][4,2][8,1]->[4,2][4,3][8,3]->[4,3][4,4][8,3]->[4,4][2,1][4,1]->[2,1][6,1][4,1]->[6,1][2,2][4,2]->[2,2][6,2][4,2]->[6,2][1,1][2,1]->[1,1][3,1][2,1]->[3,1][5,1][6,1]->[5,1][7,1][6,1]->[7,1][1,2][2,2]->[1,2][3,2][2,2]->[3,2][5,2][6,2]->[5,2][7,2][6,2]->[7,2][2,3][4,3]->[2,3][6,3][4,3]->[6,3][2,4][4,4]->[2,4][6,4][4,4]->[6,4][1,3][2,3]->[1,3][3,3][2,3]->[3,3][5,3][6,3]->[5,3][7,3][6,3]->[7,3][1,4][2,4]->[1,4][3,4][2,4]->[3,4][5,4][6,4]->[5,4][7,4][6,4]->[7,4][4,5][8,5]->[4,5][4,6][8,5]->[4,6][4,7][8,7]->[4,7][4,8][8,7]->[4,8][2,5][4,5]->[2,5][6,5][4,5]->[6,5][2,6][4,6]->[2,6][6,6][4,6]->[6,6][1,5][2,5]->[1,5][3,5][2,5]->[3,5][5,5][6,5]->[5,5][7,5][6,5]->[7,5][1,6][2,6]->[1,6][3,6][2,6]->[3,6][5,6][6,6]->[5,6][7,6][6,6]->[7,6][2,7][4,7]->[2,7][6,7][4,7]->[6,7][2,8][4,8]->[2,8][6,8][4,8]->[6,8][1,7][2,7]->[1,7][3,7][2,7]->[3,7][5,7][6,7]->[5,7][7,7][6,7]->[7,7][1,8][2,8]->[1,8][3,8][2,8]->[3,8][5,8][6,8]->[5,8][7,8][6,8]->[7,8][8,4][8,2][8,4]->[8,2][8,6][8,4]->[8,6][8,1][8,2]->[8,1][8,3][8,2]->[8,3][8,5][8,6]->[8,5][8,7][8,6]->[8,7][4,1][8,1]->[4,1][4,2][8,1]->[4,2][4,3][8,3]->[4,3][4,4][8,3]->[4,4][2,1][4,1]->[2,1][6,1][4,1]->[6,1][2,2][4,2]->[2,2][6,2][4,2]->[6,2][1,1][2,1]->[1,1][3,1][2,1]->[3,1][5,1][6,1]->[5,1][7,1][6,1]->[7,1][1,2][2,2]->[1,2][3,2][2,2]->[3,2][5,2][6,2]->[5,2][7,2][6,2]->[7,2][2,3][4,3]->[2,3][6,3][4,3]->[6,3][2,4][4,4]->[2,4][6,4][4,4]->[6,4][1,3][2,3]->[1,3][3,3][2,3]->[3,3][5,3][6,3]->[5,3][7,3][6,3]->[7,3][1,4][2,4]->[1,4][3,4][2,4]->[3,4][5,4][6,4]->[5,4][7,4][6,4]->[7,4][4,5][8,5]->[4,5][4,6][8,5]->[4,6][4,7][8,7]->[4,7][4,8][8,7]->[4,8][2,5][4,5]->[2,5][6,5][4,5]->[6,5][2,6][4,6]->[2,6][6,6][4,6]->[6,6][1,5][2,5]->[1,5][3,5][2,5]->[3,5][5,5][6,5]->[5,5][7,5][6,5]->[7,5][1,6][2,6]->[1,6][3,6][2,6]->[3,6][5,6][6,6]->[5,6][7,6][6,6]->[7,6][2,7][4,7]->[2,7][6,7][4,7]->[6,7][2,8][4,8]->[2,8][6,8][4,8]->[6,8][1,7][2,7]->[1,7][3,7][2,7]->[3,7][5,7][6,7]->[5,7][7,7][6,7]->[7,7][1,8][2,8]->[1,8][3,8][2,8]->[3,8][5,8][6,8]->[5,8][7,8][6,8]->[7,8]
  • In preparation to submit to The International Conference on Functional Programming.
  • Abstract: Search problems are very important with applications in cyber-security and user recommendation, and synthesizing search strategies by maximizing entropy is an established method for solving search problems. We present a formalization and implementation of this strategy as a hylomorphism. For a particular search problem specification, our anamorphism creates a tree of information gain maximizing queries given previous outcomes. Our catamorphism takes this tree and a specific search problem instance and collapses it down to the sequence of queries that will lead to the target being discovered. We tested our hylomorphism on a number of search spaces to demonstrate its functionality.
  • Contact me for more details about this paper.

Approximation on Numerals: Insights from the Grammar of Approximating Number Pairs (ANPs) in Mandarin Chinese

Xuehuai He

NACCL36

  • Under review for the Proceedings of the 36th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics, the Ohio State University, 2024.
  • Abstract: Approximating number pairs (ANPs), like in ‘twenty or thirty people’, appear cross-linguistically and usually indicate an approximate range rather than a precise disjunction of either twenty or thirty. This paper explores the syntax and semantics of well-formed ANPs in Mandarin Chinese, proposing generalizations in semantic types and scopes of approximation across various approximative numeral expressions in Mandarin Chinese. I propose that approximative expressions on numerals are independent of the specific numerals chosen and the only variable parameter in the construction would be the range specific to the concrete approximative expression used.
  • [PDF for current version]

Talks and posters​

2024​

The Grammar of Approximating Number Pairs in Mandarin ChineseXuehuai He

JLAO37NACCL36

2023​

Adinkras as Origami

An 4-dimensional Adinkra graph (a Hamming tesseract) embedded on a torus.An 4-dimensional Adinkra graph (a Hamming tesseract) embedded on a torus. Arsh Chhabra, Xuehuai He, Elena O'Grady, Melinda Yang, Cameron Thomas, Edray Goins

MathFest2023

Abstract: Around 20 years ago, physicists Michael Faux and Jim Gates invented Adinkras as a way to better understand Supersymmetry. These are bipartite graphs whose vertices represent bosons and fermions, and whose edges represent operators which relate the particles. Recently, Doran et al. determined that Adinkras are a type of Dessin d'Enfant by explicitly exhibiting a Belyi map as a composition $\beta: S \to \mathbb P^1(\mathbb C) \to \mathbb P^1(\mathbb C)$. We are interested in exhibiting the same Belyi map as a different composition $\beta: S \to E(\mathbb C) \to \mathbb P^1(\mathbb C)$.

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