Algebraic and combinatorial Brill-Noether theory

The interplay between algebro-geometric and combinatorial Brill-Noether theory is studied. The Brill-Noether variety of a graph shown to be non-empty if the Brill-Noether number is non-negative, as a consequence of the analogous fact for smooth projective curves. Similarly, the existence of a graph for which the Brill-Noether variety is empty implies the emptiness of the corresponding Brill-Noether variety for a general curve. The main tool is a refinement of Baker’s Specialization Lemma.