A game locating a needle in a square haystack

The following hider-seeker zero-sum game is considered. The hider hides a needle of length , in the closed unit square, and the seeker tries to locate it by shooting in a straight line across the square. The payoff to the seeker is 1 if he hits the needle and 0 otherwise.A solution of the game is obtained when or whena lies in either of the intervals and ; in addition, it is shown that, whenn is a positive integer anda=1/n, the value of the game is 1/2n. The properties of the solutions are in marked contrast to those for the analogous game over the closed unit disc, which the authors solved in a previous paper, and suggest that a complete solution may well be difficult. It is also shown that every member of a whole class of haystack games has a value.     

Borel stay-in-a-set games

Consider an n-person stochastic game with Borel state space S, compact metric action sets A ₁,A ₂,,A _n , and law of motion q such that the integral under q of every bounded Borel measurable function depends measurably on the initial state x and continuously on the actions (a ₁,a ₂,,a _n ) of the players. If the payoff to each player i is 1 or 0 according to whether or not the stochastic process of states stays forever in a given Borel set G _i , then there is an -equilibrium for every >0. AMS (1991) subject classification: 60G40, 91A60, 60E15, 46A55.     

Stochastic two-target pursuit-evasion differential games in the plane

A stochastic version of a two-target homicidal chauffeur, pursuit-evasion differential game (using polar coordinates) is considered. This is used to model a dogfight between a very agile playerQ and a less maneuverable playerP. First, the case where both players have complete observation of the state of the game is considered. A numerical study is conducted, by solving numerically a nonlinear partial differential equation on a torus in ², to investigate the role of the parameters of speed, maneuverability, and performance of the weapon systems, in the encounter. Second, the model is extended to include the case where playerP is jamming playerQ's measurements of , where denotes the bearing ofQ fromP. A numerical study is conducted, by solving numerically a nonlinear partial differential equation on a generalized torus in ³, to investigate the role of the jamming parameter on the outcome of the combat.     

A geometric construction of the K-loop of a hyperbolic space

It is well known that the homogeneous orthochronous proper Lorentzgroup is isomorphic to the proper motion group of the hyperbolic space. To each Lorentz boost \ {id} there corresponds in the hyperbolic space exactly one lineL such that fixes each of the two ends ofL . Furthermore has no fixed points but each plane containingL is fixed by . If we fix a pointo, then to each other pointa there is exactly one boosta ⁺ such thatL _a+ is the line joiningo anda anda ⁺(o)=a. The set P of points of the hyperbolic space is turned in a K-loop (P, +) bya+b:=a ⁺(b). Each line of the hyperbolic space has the representationa+Z(b) wherea, b P,b 0 andZ(b):= {x P |x+b=b+x}.Dedicated to H. Salzmann on the occasion of his 65th birthdaySupported by the NATO Scientific Affairs Division grant CRG 900103.     

On products of additive functions (a third approach)

Summary Leta ₁, , a_s : G K be additive functions from an abelian groupG into a fieldK such thata ₁(g)··a_s(g) = 0 for allg G. If char(K) =0, then it is well known that one of the functions a₁ has to vanish. We give a new proof of this result and show that, if char(K) > 0, it is only valid under additional assumptions.     

Groups with a class of Frobenius-Abelian elements

Let G be a group, a G ^#, and let F_a be the set of all Frobenius subgroups with noninvariant factor a in G. In Theorems 1–3, we show that if a ² 1and G has sufficiently many subgroups a, a ^g F _a. then a^G F _a.An element a is called (almost) Frobenius if, for (almost) all elements a ^g,the subgroup a, a ^g either belongs to F _a or is Abelian. In Theorems 4–5, we investigate the structure of a ^G in G for the case where a is an (almost) Frobenius-Abelian element of order 2.In Theorem 6, we prove that a binary factorable group is locally completely factorable. Translated fromAlgebra i Logika, Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 531–549, September-October, 1995.     

Expansion of the Element sin a Via Exponentials for Hermitian Elements a

Let A be a complex Banach algebra with identity and let a A be a Hermitian element. An interpolation formula is proved expressing sin a in terms of exponentials. This formula implies, in particular, the identity sin a = |sin a|. Bibliography: 6 titles.     

Games of Chains and Cutsets in the Boolean Lattice II

Let 2 ^[n] denote the poset of all subsets of [n]={1,2,...,n} ordered by inclusion. Following Gutterman and Shahriari (Order 14, 1998, 321–325) we consider a game G _n (a,b,c). This is a game for two players. First, Player I constructs a independent maximal chains in 2 ^[n]. Player II will extend the collection to a+b independent maximal chains by finding another b independent maximal chains in 2 ^[n]. Finally, Player I will attempt to extend the collection further to a+b+c such chains. The last Player who is able to complete her move wins. In this paper, we complete the analysis of G _n (a,b,c) by considering its most difficult instance: when c=2 and a+b+2=n. We prove, the rather surprising result, that, for n7, Player I wins G _n (a,n–a–2,2) if and only if a3. As a consequence we get results about extending collections of independent maximal chains, and about cutsets (collections of subsets that intersect every maximal chain) of minimum possible width (the size of largest anti-chain).     

Convexity of Nonlinear Image of a Small Ball with Applications to Optimization

Let f: XY be a nonlinear differentiable map, X,Y are Hilbert spaces, B(a,r) is a ball in X with a center a and radius r. Suppose f (x) is Lipschitz in B(a,r) with Lipschitz constant L and f (a) is a surjection: f (a)X=Y; this implies the existence of >0 such that f (a)^* yy, yY. Then, if r,/(2L), the image F=f(B(a,)) of the ball B(a,) is convex. This result has numerous applications in optimization and control. First, duality theory holds for nonconvex mathematical programming problems with extra constraint x–a. Special effective algorithms for such optimization problems can be constructed as well. Second, the reachability set for small power control is convex. This leads to various results in optimal control.     

The lion and man problem revisited

A pursuerP, whose speed is bounded by 1, wants to get closer to an evaderE, whose speed is bounded by >1.P wants to reduce his distancePE fromE below the capture radius . Both players are confined to a circular arena. This problem is equivalent to a problem discussed by Flynn, who characterized and gave numerical bounds to the least upper boundd* on the values ofPE thatE can maintain. He used direct methods and did not use Isaacs' theory.We solve our problem relying on the theory of singular surfaces in differential games. We construct and investigate barriers of the game of kind, and we replace Flynn's bounds ond* by analytical (exact) values for various speeds .The support of the TW Department of THT, Enschede, Holland, is gratefully acknowledged.     

On x 6 + x + a in Characteristic Three

Let F be a field of characteristic 3 and 0 a F. We show that the 10 ways to factor x ⁶ + x + a into two cubics over the algebraic closure F are in natural Galois bijection with the 10 roots of x ¹⁰ + ^ax + 1. We use this to (1) prove the two polynomials have the same splitting field; (2) prove that a difference set constructed by Arasu and Player using the polynomial x ⁶ + x + a is isomorphic to a difference set constructed by Dillon using the polynomial x ¹⁰ + x + a; (3) obtain a natural realization for the accidental isomorphism between the alternating group A ₆ and the special linear group PSL₂(9); and (4) characterize how x ⁶ + x + a factors when F = GF (3^m) with m odd. For example, x ⁶ + x + a is irreducible if and only if a can be written as ^{– 36} + ⁴ with F ^× and Tr(⁵) 0.     

A Test-Example of a Quadratic Lattice

We compute the subdirectly irreducible factors of the free Hermitean (semi)lattice generated by a single element a subject to the relation aa ; we also compute the factors of its induced distributive presentation.     

Some extensions of a property of linear representation functions

Let A={a₁,a₂,…}(a₁<a₂<) be an infinite sequence of nonnegative integers. Let k≥2 be a fixed integer and for , let R_k(A,n) be the number of solutions of a_i1++a_ik=n,a_i1,…,a_ikA, and let and denote the number of solutions with the additional restrictions a_i1<<a_ik, and a_i1≤≤a_ik respectively. Recently, Horváth proved that if d>0 is an integer, then there does not exist n₀ such that for n>n₀. In this paper, we obtain the analogous results for R_k(A,n), and .     

Commutators and decompositions of orthomodular lattices

We show that in any complete OML (orthomodular lattice) there exists a commutatorc such that [0,c ] is a Boolean algebra. This fact allows us to prove that a complete OML satisfying the relative centre property is isomorphic to a direct product [0,a] × [0,a ] wherea is a join of two commutators, [0,a] is an OML without Boolean quotient and [0,a ] is a Boolean algebra. The proof uses a new characterization of the relative centre property in complete OMLs. In a final section, we specify the previous direct decomposition in the more particular case of locally modular OMLs.     

The number of integer points under a parabola

The remainder term for the number of integer points under the parabola in the region 0 < x b a, 0 < y x²/a admits a boundo(a^1/x+c/Inina) with the unimprovable exponent 1/2.Translated from Matematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 699–704, November, 1975.The author is grateful to A. I. Vinogradov and O. M. Fomenko for their discussions.     

Algebras generated by a weighted shift

Techniques of Olin and Thomson and of Chevreau, Pearcy and Shields are used to prove the following: If T is an injective weighted shift on H with r(T)=T then for each L (a(T), weak-*)^*, there exist f, g H so that L(A)=Af, g for all A a(T). Thus the map i(A)=A is a homeomorphism from (a(T), weak-*) onto (a(T), WOT).