An improvement on the complexity of factoring read-once Boolean functions

Read-once functions have gained recent, renewed interest in the fields of theory and algorithms of Boolean functions, computational learning theory and logic design and verification. In an earlier paper [M.C. Golumbic, A. Mintz, U. Rotics, Factoring and recognition of read-once functions using cographs and normality, and the readability of functions associated with partial k-trees, Discrete Appl. Math. 154 (2006) 1465-1677], we presented the first polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing and factoring read-once functions, based on a classical characterization theorem of Gurvich which states that a positive Boolean function is read-once if and only if it is normal and its co-occurrence graph is P₄-free.In this note, we improve the complexity bound by showing that the method can be modified slightly, with two crucial observations, to obtain an O(n|f|) implementation, where |f| denotes the length of the DNF expression of a positive Boolean function f, and n is the number of variables in f. The previously stated bound was O(n²k), where k is the number of prime implicants of the function. In both cases, f is assumed to be given as a DNF formula consisting entirely of the prime implicants of the function.     

Read-Once Functions Revisited and the Readability Number of a Boolean Function

In this paper, we present the first polynomial time algorithm for recognizing and factoring read-once functions. The algorithm is based on algorithms for cograph recognition and a new efficient method for checking normality. Its correctness is based on a classical characterization theorem of Gurvich which states that a positive Boolean function is read-once if and only if it is normal and its co-occurrance graph is P₄-free.We also investigate the problem of factoring certain non-read-once functions. In particular, we show that if the co-occurrence graph of a positive Boolean function f is a tree, then the function is read-twice. We then extend this further proving that if f is normal and its corresponding graph is a partial k-tree, then f is a read 2^k function and a read 2^k formula for F for f can be obtained in polynomial time.     

Exceptional functions and normal families of meromorphic functions with multiple zeros

Let k be a positive integer with k?2; let h(?0) be a holomorphic function which has no simple zeros in D; and let F be a family of meromorphic functions defined in D, all of whose poles are multiple, and all of whose zeros have multiplicity at least k+1. If, for each function f∈F, f(k)(z)≠h(z), then F is normal in D.     

The Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for k-Schur functions

We prove the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for k-Schur functions of Lapointe and Morse, that is, we give an explicit formula for the expansion of the product of a power sum symmetric function and a k-Schur function in terms of k-Schur functions. This is proved using the noncommutative k-Schur functions in terms of the nilCoxeter algebra introduced by Lam and the affine analogue of noncommutative symmetric functions of Fomin and Greene.     

Modelling gateway placement in wireless networks: Geometric k-centres of unit disc graphs

Motivated by the gateway placement problem in wireless networks, we consider the geometric k-centre problem on unit disc graphs: given a set of points P in the plane, find a set F of k points in the plane that minimizes the maximum graph distance from any vertex in P to the nearest vertex in F in the unit disc graph induced by P∪F. We show that the vertex 1-centre provides a 7-approximation of the geometric 1-centre and that a vertex k-centre provides a 13-approximation of the geometric k-centre, resulting in an O(kn)-time 26-approximation algorithm. We describe O(n²m)-time and O(n³)-time algorithms, respectively, for finding exact and approximate geometric 1-centres, and an O(mn2k)-time algorithm for finding a geometric k-centre for any fixed k. We show that the problem is NP-hard when k is an arbitrary input parameter. Finally, we describe an O(n)-time algorithm for finding a geometric k-centre in one dimension.     

A recursion formula for k-Schur functions

The Bernstein operators allow one to build recursively the Schur functions. We present a recursion formula for k-Schur functions at t=1 based on combinatorial operators that generalize the Bernstein operators. The recursion leads immediately to a combinatorial interpretation for the expansion coefficients of k-Schur functions at t=1 in terms of homogeneous symmetric functions.     

Normal families of meromorphic functions with multiple values

Let F be a family of meromorphic functions defined in a domain D, let ψ(?0) be a holomorphic function in D, and k be a positive integer. Suppose that, for every function f∈F, f≠0, f(k)≠0, and all zeros of f(k)−ψ(z) have multiplicities at least (k+2)/k. If, for k=1, ψ has only zeros with multiplicities at most 2, and for k?2, ψ has only simple zeros, then F is normal in D. This improves and generalizes the related results of Gu, Fang and Chang, Yang, Schwick, et al.     

Symmetry in c, d, n of Jacobian elliptic functions

The relation connecting the symmetric elliptic integral RF with the Jacobian elliptic functions is symmetric in the first three of the four letters c, d, n, and s that are used in ordered pairs to name the 12 functions. A symbol Δ(p,q)=ps²(u,k)−qs²(u,k), p,q∈{c,d,n}, is independent of u and allows formulas for differentiation, bisection, duplication, and addition to remain valid when c, d, and n are permuted. The five transformations of first order, which change the argument and modulus of the functions, take a unified form in which they correspond to the five nontrivial permutations of c, d, and n. There are 18 transformations of second order (including Landen's and Gauss's transformations) comprising three sets of six. The sets are related by permutations of the original functions cs, ds, and ns, and there are only three sets because each set is symmetric in two of these. The six second-order transformations in each set are related by first-order transformations of the transformed functions, and all 18 take a unified form. All results are derived from properties of RF without invoking Weierstrass functions or theta functions.     

Normality criteria of meromorphic functions sharing one value

Let k be a positive integer and F be a family of meromorphic functions in a domain D⊂C such that each f∈F has only zeros of multiplicity at least k+1. If for each pair (f, g) in F, ff(k) and gg(k) share a non-zero complex number a ignoring multiplicity, then F is normal in D.     

Subclasses of k-trees: Characterization and recognition

A k-tree is either a complete graph on k vertices or a graph G=(V,E) that contains a vertex whose neighbourhood in G induces a complete graph on k vertices and whose removal results in a k-tree. We present two new subclasses of k-trees and their properties. First, we present the definition and characterization of k-path graphs, based on the concept of k-paths, that generalizes the classic concept of paths. We also introduce the simple-clique k-trees, of which the maximal outerplanar graphs and the planar 3-trees are particular cases. Based on Characterization Theorems, we show recognition algorithms for both families. Finally, we establish the inclusion relations among these new classes and k-trees.     

Normality criteria of meromorphic functions with multiple zeros

Take positive integers n,k?2. Let F be a family of meromorphic functions in a domain D⊂C such that each f∈F has only zeros of multiplicity at least k. If, for each pair (f,g) in F, fn(f(k)) and gn(g(k)) share a non-zero complex number a ignoring multiplicity, then F is normal in D.     

Self-duality of bounded monotone boolean functions and related problems

In this paper we examine the problem of determining the self-duality of a monotone boolean function in disjunctive normal form (DNF). We show that the self-duality of monotone boolean functions with n disjuncts such that each disjunct has at most k literals can be determined in O(2^k2k²n) time. This implies an O(n²logn) algorithm for determining the self-duality of -DNF functions. We also consider the version where any two disjuncts have at most c literals in common. For this case we give an O(n^4(c+1)) algorithm for determining self-duality.     

Some extremal bounds for subclasses of univalent functions

In this paper we obtain the sharp lower bound for , for functions f that are k-uniformly convex in the unit disk U. Next we consider the problem of finding the minimum of for functions f that are k-uniformly convex in the disk of radius r. Corresponding results for the class of starlike functions related to the class of k-uniformly convex functions are presented.     

Starlikeness and subordination properties of a linear operator

In this paper, we introduce a new class of p-valent analytic functions defined by using a linear operator L_k^α. For functions in this class H_k^α(p,λh) we estimate the coefficients. Furthermore, some subordination properties related to the operator L_k^α are also derived.     

Specialization of Appell's functions to univariate hypergeometric functions

Univariate specializations of Appell's hypergeometric functions F₁, F₂, F₃, F₄ satisfy ordinary Fuchsian equations of order at most 4. In special cases, these differential equations are of order 2 and could be simple (pullback) transformations of Euler's differential equation for the Gauss hypergeometric function. The paper classifies these cases, and presents corresponding relations between univariate specializations of Appell's functions and univariate hypergeometric functions. The computational aspect and interesting identities are discussed.     

Duality between quasi-concave functions and monotone linkage functions

A function F defined on the family of all subsets of a finite ground set E is quasi-concave, if F(X∪Y)≥min{F(X),F(Y)} for all X,Y⊆E. Quasi-concave functions arise in many fields of mathematics and computer science such as social choice, graph theory, data mining, clustering and other fields. The maximization of a quasi-concave function takes, in general, exponential time. However, if a quasi-concave function is defined by an associated monotone linkage function, then it can be optimized by a greedy type algorithm in polynomial time. Recently, quasi-concave functions defined as minimum values of monotone linkage functions were considered on antimatroids, where the correspondence between quasi-concave and bottleneck functions was shown Kempner and Levit (2003) [6]. The goal of this paper is to analyze quasi-concave functions on different families of sets and to investigate their relationships with monotone linkage functions.     

Normal families of meromorphic functions and shared functions

The paper is devoted to the normal families of meromorphic functions and shared functions. Generalizing a result of Chang (2013), we prove the following theorem. Let h (≠≡ 0,∞) be a meromorphic function on a domain D and let k be a positive integer. Let F be a family of meromorphic functions on D, all of whose zeros have multiplicity at least k + 2, such that for each pair of functions f and g from F, f and g share the value 0, and f^(k) and g^(k) share the function h. If for every f ∈ F, at each common zero of f and h the multiplicities m_f for f and m_h for h satisfy m_f ≥ m_h + k + 1 for k > 1 and m_f ≥ 2m_h + 3 for k = 1, and at each common pole of f and h, the multiplicities nf for f and nh for h satisfy n_f ≥ n_h + 1, then the family F is normal on D.     

On distance-3 matchings and induced matchings

For a finite undirected graph G=(V,E) and positive integer k≥1, an edge set M⊆E is a distance-k matching if the pairwise distance of edges in M is at least k in G. For k=1, this gives the usual notion of matching in graphs, and for general k≥1, distance-k matchings were called k-separated matchings by Stockmeyer and Vazirani. The special case k=2 has been studied under the names induced matching (i.e., a matching which forms an induced subgraph in G) by Cameron and strong matching by Golumbic and Laskar in various papers.Finding a maximum induced matching is NP-complete even on very restricted bipartite graphs and on claw-free graphs but it can be done efficiently on various classes of graphs such as chordal graphs, based on the fact that an induced matching in G corresponds to an independent vertex set in the square L(G)² of the line graph L(G) of G which, by a result of Cameron, is chordal for any chordal graph G.We show that, unlike for k=2, for a chordal graph G, L(G)³ is not necessarily chordal, and finding a maximum distance-3 matching, and more generally, finding a maximum distance-(2k+1) matching for k≥1, remains NP-complete on chordal graphs. For strongly chordal graphs and interval graphs, however, the maximum distance-k matching problem can be solved in polynomial time for every k≥1. Moreover, we obtain various new results for maximum induced matchings on subclasses of claw-free graphs.     

Construction of bent functions via Niho power functions

A Boolean function with an even number n=2k of variables is called bent if it is maximally nonlinear. We present here a new construction of bent functions. Boolean functions of the form f(x)=tr(α₁x^d₁+α₂x^d₂), α₁,α₂,x∈F_2ⁿ, are considered, where the exponents d_i (i=1,2) are of Niho type, i.e. the restriction of x^d_i on F_2^k is linear. We prove for several pairs of (d₁,d₂) that f is a bent function, when α₁ and α₂ fulfill certain conditions. To derive these results we develop a new method to prove that certain rational mappings on F_2ⁿ are bijective.     

Normal families and value distribution in connection with composite functions

We prove a value distribution result which has several interesting corollaries. Let k∈N, let α∈C and let f be a transcendental entire function with order less than 1/2. Then for every nonconstant entire function g, we have that (f○g)^(k)−α has infinitely many zeros. This result also holds when k=1, for every transcendental entire function g. We also prove the following result for normal families. Let k∈N, let f be a transcendental entire function with ρ(f)<1/k, and let a₀,…,ak−1,a be analytic functions in a domain Ω. Then the family of analytic functions g such that