The limiting case of Haglund's (q,t)-Schröder theorem and an involution formula

As a generalization of Haglund's statistic on Dyck paths [Conjectured statistics for the q,t-Catalan numbers, Adv. Math. 175 (2) (2003) 319–334; A positivity result in the theory of Macdonald polynomials, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 98 (2001) 4313–4316], Egge et al. introduced the (q,t)-Schröder polynomial S_n,d(q,t), which evaluates to the Schröder number when q=t=1 [A Schröder generalization of Haglund's statistic on Catalan paths, Electron. J. Combin. 10 (2003) 21pp (Research Paper 16, electronic)]. In their paper, S_n,d(q,t) was conjectured to be equal to the coefficient of a hook shape on the Schur function expansion of the symmetric function e_n, which Haiman [Vanishing theorems and character formulas for the Hilbert scheme of points in the plane, Invent. Math. 149 (2002) 371–407] has shown to have a representation-theoretic interpretation. This conjecture was recently proved by Haglund [A proof of the q,t-Schröder conjecture, Internat. Math. Res. Not. (11) (2004) 525–560]. However, because that proof makes heavy use of symmetric function identities and plethystic machinery, the combinatorics behind it is not understood. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study it combinatorially. This paper investigates the limiting case of the (q,t)-Schröder Theorem and obtains interesting results by looking at some special cases.     

Minimum number of below average triangles in a weighted complete graph

Let G be an edge weighted graph with n nodes, and let A(3,G) be the average weight of a triangle in G. We show that the number of triangles with weight at most equal to A(3,G) is at least (n−2) and that this bound is sharp for all n≥7. Extensions of this result to cliques of cardinality k>3 are also discussed.     

Partial characterizations of clique-perfect and coordinated graphs: Superclasses of triangle-free graphs

A graph G is clique-perfect if the cardinality of a maximum clique-independent set of H equals the cardinality of a minimum clique-transversal of H, for every induced subgraph H of G. A graph G is coordinated if the minimum number of colors that can be assigned to the cliques of H in such a way that no two cliques with non-empty intersection receive the same color equals the maximum number of cliques of H with a common vertex, for every induced subgraph H of G. Coordinated graphs are a subclass of perfect graphs. The complete lists of minimal forbidden induced subgraphs for the classes of clique-perfect and coordinated graphs are not known, but some partial characterizations have been obtained. In this paper, we characterize clique-perfect and coordinated graphs by minimal forbidden induced subgraphs when the graph is either paw-free or {gem, W₄, bull}-free, both superclasses of triangle-free graphs.     

Error-correcting pooling designs associated with some distance-regular graphs

Motivated by the pooling designs over the incidence matrices of matchings with various sizes of the complete graph K_2n considered by Ngo and Du [Ngo and Du, Discrete Math. 243 (2003) 167–170], two families of pooling designs over the incidence matrices oft-cliques (resp. strongly t-cliques) with various sizes of the Johnson graph J(n,t) (resp. the Grassmann graph J_q(n,t)) are considered. Their performances as pooling designs are better than those given by Ngo and Du. Moreover, pooling designs associated with other special distance-regular graphs are also considered.     

Complexity of the min–max (regret) versions of min cut problems

This paper investigates the complexity of the min–max and min–max regret versions of the min s–t cut and min cut problems. Even if the underlying problems are closely related and both polynomial, the complexities of their min–max and min–max regret versions, for a constant number of scenarios, are quite contrasted since they are respectively strongly NP-hard and polynomial. However, for a non-constant number of scenarios, these versions become strongly NP-hard for both problems. In the interval scenario case, min–max versions are trivially polynomial. Moreover, for min–max regret versions, we obtain the same contrasted results as for a constant number of scenarios: min–max regret min s–t cut is strongly NP-hard whereas min–max regret min cut is polynomial.     

Connected -tuple twin domination in de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs

For a digraph G, a k-tuple twin dominating set D of G for some fixed k≥1 is a set of vertices such that every vertex is adjacent to at least k vertices in D, and also every vertex is adjacent from at least k vertices in D. If the subgraph of G induced by D is strongly connected, then D is called a connected k-tuple twin dominating set of G. In this paper, we give constructions of minimal connected k-tuple twin dominating sets for de Bruijn digraphs and Kautz digraphs.     

Using fractional primal–dual to schedule split intervals with demands

We consider the problem of scheduling jobs that are given as groups of non-intersecting intervals on the real line. Each job j is associated with a t-interval (which consists of up to t segments, for some t≥1), a demand, d_j[0,1], and a weight, w(j). A feasible schedule is a collection of jobs such that, for every , the total demand of the jobs in the schedule whose t-interval contains s does not exceed 1. Our goal is to find a feasible schedule that maximizes the total weight of scheduled jobs.We present a 6t-approximation algorithm for this problem that uses a novel extension of the primal–dual schema called fractional primal–dual. The first step in a fractional primal–dual r-approximation algorithm is to compute an optimal solution, x^*, of an LP relaxation of the problem. Next, the algorithm produces an integral primal solution x, and a new LP, denoted by P′, that has the same objective function as the original problem, but contains inequalities that may not be valid with respect to the original problem. Moreover, x^* is a feasible solution of P′. The algorithm also computes a solution y to the dual of P′. The solution x is r-approximate, since its weight is bounded by the value of y divided by r.We present a fractional local ratio interpretation of our 6t-approximation algorithm. We also discuss the connection between fractional primal–dual and the fractional local ratio technique. Specifically, we show that the former is the primal–dual manifestation of the latter.     

A bilinear form relating two Leonard systems

Let Φ, Φ^′ be Leonard systems over a field , and V, V^′ the vector spaces underlying Φ, Φ^′, respectively. In this paper, we introduce and discuss a balanced bilinear form on V×V^′. Such a form naturally arises in the study of Q-polynomial distance-regular graphs. We characterize a balanced bilinear form from several points of view.     

Central limit theorem and the bootstrap for -statistics of strongly mixing data

The asymptotic normality of U-statistics has so far been proved for iid data and under various mixing conditions such as absolute regularity, but not for strong mixing. We use a coupling technique introduced in 1983 by Bradley [R.C. Bradley, Approximation theorems for strongly mixing random variables, Michigan Math. J. 30 (1983),69–81] to prove a new generalized covariance inequality similar to Yoshihara’s [K. Yoshihara, Limiting behavior of U-statistics for stationary, absolutely regular processes, Z. Wahrsch. Verw. Gebiete 35 (1976), 237–252]. It follows from the Hoeffding-decomposition and this inequality that U-statistics of strongly mixing observations converge to a normal limit if the kernel of the U-statistic fulfills some moment and continuity conditions.The validity of the bootstrap for U-statistics has until now only been established in the case of iid data (see [P.J. Bickel, D.A. Freedman, Some asymptotic theory for the bootstrap, Ann. Statist. 9 (1981), 1196–1217]. For mixing data, Politis and Romano [D.N. Politis, J.P. Romano, A circular block resampling procedure for stationary data, in: R. Lepage, L. Billard (Eds.), Exploring the Limits of Bootstrap, Wiley, New York, 1992, pp. 263–270] proposed the circular block bootstrap, which leads to a consistent estimation of the sample mean’s distribution. We extend these results to U-statistics of weakly dependent data and prove a CLT for the circular block bootstrap version of U-statistics under absolute regularity and strong mixing. We also calculate a rate of convergence for the bootstrap variance estimator of a U-statistic and give some simulation results.     

Strongly indexable graphs and applications

In 1990, Acharya and Hegde introduced the concept of strongly k-indexable graphs: A (p,q)-graph G=(V,E) is said to be strongly k-indexable if its vertices can be assigned distinct numbers 0,1,2,…,p−1 so that the values of the edges, obtained as the sums of the numbers assigned to their end vertices form an arithmetic progression k,k+1,k+2,…,k+(q−1). When k=1, a strongly k-indexable graph is simply called a strongly indexable graph. In this paper, we report some results on strongly k-indexable graphs and give an application of strongly k-indexable graphs to plane geometry, viz; construction of polygons of same internal angles and sides of distinct lengths.     

Existence of periodic solutions for a fourth-order -Laplacian equation with a deviating argument

In this paper, we study the existence of periodic solutions for a fourth-order p-Laplacian differential equation with a deviating argument as follows:

[φ_p(u^″(t))]^″+f(u^″(t))+g(u(t−τ(t)))=e(t).

Under various assumptions, the existence of periodic solutions of the problem is obtained by applying Mawhin’s continuation theorem.     

A new proof of the Gasca–Maeztu conjecture for

In the Chung–Yao construction of poised nodes for bivariate polynomial interpolation [K.C. Chung, T.H. Yao, On lattices admitting unique Lagrange interpolations, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 14 (1977) 735–743], the interpolation nodes are intersection points of some lines. The Berzolari–Radon construction [L. Berzolari, Sulla determinazione di una curva o di una superficie algebrica e su alcune questioni di postulazione, Lomb. Ist. Rend. 47 (2) (1914) 556–564; J. Radon, Zur mechanischen Kubatur, Monatsh. Math. 52 (1948) 286–300] seems to be more general, since in this case the nodes of interpolation lie (almost) arbitrarily on some lines. In 1982 Gasca and Maeztu conjectured that every poised set allowing the Chung–Yao construction is of Berzolari–Radon type. So far, this conjecture has been confirmed only for polynomial spaces of small total degree n≤4, the result being evident for n≤2 and not hard to see for n=3. For the case n=4 two proofs are known: one of J.R. Busch [J.R. Busch, A note on Lagrange interpolation in , Rev. Un. Mat. Argentina 36 (1990) 33–38], and another of J.M. Carnicer and M. Gasca [J.M. Carnicer, M. Gasca, A conjecture on multivariate polynomial interpolation, Rev. R. Acad. Cienc. Exactas Fís. Nat. (Esp.) Ser. A Mat. 95 (2001) 145–153]. Here we present a third proof which seems to be more geometric in nature and perhaps easier. We also present some results for the case of n=5 and for general n which might be useful for later consideration of the problem.     

A filtration of -Catalan numbers

The operator of F. Bergeron, Garsia, Haiman and Tesler [F. Bergeron, A. Garsia, M. Haiman, G. Tesler, Identities and positivity conjectures for some remarkable operators in the theory of symmetric functions, Methods Appl. Anal. 6 (1999) 363–420] acting on the k-Schur functions [L. Lapointe, A. Lascoux, J. Morse, Tableaux atoms and a new Macdonald positivity conjecture, Duke Math. J. 116 (2003) 103–146; L. Lapointe, J. Morse, Schur functions analogs for a filtration of the symmetric functions space, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 101 (2003) 191–224; L. Lapointe, J. Morse, Tableaux on k+1-cores, reduced words for affine permutations and k-Schur expansion, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 112 (2005) 44–81] indexed by a single column has a coefficient in the expansion which is an analogue of the (q,t)-Catalan number with a level k. When k divides n we conjecture a representation theoretical model in this case such that the graded dimensions of the module are the coefficients of the (q,t)-Catalan polynomials of level k. When the parameter t is set to 1, the Catalan numbers of level k are shown to count the number of Dyck paths that lie below a certain Dyck path with q counting the area of the path.     

-Linked planar graphs

A graph G is (m,n)-linked if for any two disjoint subsets R,BV(G) with |R|m and |B|n, G has two disjoint connected subgraphs containing R and B, respectively. We shall prove that a planar graph with at least six vertices is (3,3)-linked if and only if G is 4-connected and maximal.     

Partitioning a graph of bounded tree-width to connected subgraphs of almost uniform size

Assume that each vertex of a graph G is assigned a nonnegative integer weight and that l and u are nonnegative integers. One wishes to partition G into connected components by deleting edges from G so that the total weight of each component is at least l and at most u. Such an “almost uniform” partition is called an (l,u)-partition. We deal with three problems to find an (l,u)-partition of a given graph; the minimum partition problem is to find an (l,u)-partition with the minimum number of components; the maximum partition problem is defined analogously; and the p-partition problem is to find an (l,u)-partition with a fixed number p of components. All these problems are NP-complete or NP-hard, respectively, even for series-parallel graphs. In this paper we show that both the minimum partition problem and the maximum partition problem can be solved in time O(u⁴n) and the p-partition problem can be solved in time O(p²u⁴n) for any series-parallel graph with n vertices. The algorithms can be extended for partial k-trees, that is, graphs with bounded tree-width.     

Hessenberg pairs of linear transformations

Let denote a field and V denote a nonzero finite-dimensional vector space over . We consider an ordered pair of linear transformations A:V→V and A^*:V→V that satisfy (i)–(iii) below.

1. [(i)]Each of A,A^* is diagonalizable on V.

2. [(ii)]There exists an ordering of the eigenspaces of A such that

where V_-1=0, V_d+1=0.

3. [(iii)]There exists an ordering of the eigenspaces of A^* such that

where , .

We call such a pair a Hessenberg pair on V. In this paper we obtain some characterizations of Hessenberg pairs. We also explain how Hessenberg pairs are related to tridiagonal pairs.

Discrete -convex extremal distributions: Theory and applications

Given a nondegenerate moment space with s fixed moments, explicit formulas for the discrete s-convex extremal distribution have been derived for s=1,2,3 (see [M. Denuit, Cl. Lefèvre, Some new classes of stochastic order relations among arithmetic random variables, with applications in actuarial sciences, Insurance Math. Econom. 20 (1997) 197–214]). If s=4, only the maximal distribution is known (see [M. Denuit, Cl. Lefèvre, M. Mesfioui, On s-convex stochastic extrema for arithmetic risks, Insurance Math. Econom. 25 (1999) 143–155]). This work goes beyond this limitation and proposes a method for deriving explicit expressions for general nonnegative integer s. In particular, we derive explicitly the discrete 4-convex minimal distribution. For illustration, we show how this theory allows one to bound the probability of extinction in a Galton–Watson branching process. The results are also applied to derive bounds for the probability of ruin in the compound binomial and Poisson insurance risk models.     

Bayesian factor analysis with fat-tailed factors and its exact marginal likelihood

The traditional Bayesian factor analysis method is extended. In contrast to the case for previous studies, the matrix variate t-distribution is utilized to provide a prior density on the latent factors. This is a natural extension of the traditional model and yields many advantages. The crucial issue is the selection of the number of factors. The marginal likelihood, constructed by asymptotic and computational approaches, is generally utilized for this problem. However, both theoretical and computational problems have arisen.In this paper, the exact marginal likelihood is derived. It enables us to evaluate posterior model probabilities without inducing the above problems. Monte Carlo experiments were conducted to examine the performance of the proposed Bayesian factor analysis modelling methodology. The simulation results show that the proposed methodology performs well.     

Minimum degree conditions for -linked graphs

For a fixed multigraph H with vertices w₁,…,w_m, a graph G is H-linked if for every choice of vertices v₁,…,v_m in G, there exists a subdivision of H in G such that v_i is the branch vertex representing w_i (for all i). This generalizes the notions of k-linked, k-connected, and k-ordered graphs.Given a connected multigraph H with k edges and minimum degree at least two and n7.5k, we determine the least integer d such that every n-vertex simple graph with minimum degree at least d is H-linked. This value D(H,n) appears to equal the least integer d^′ such that every n-vertex graph with minimum degree at least d^′ is b(H)-connected, where b(H) is the maximum number of edges in a bipartite subgraph of H.     

Anti-periodic solutions for a class of nonlinear th-order differential equations with delays

In this paper, we use the Leray–Schauder degree theory to establish new results on the existence and uniqueness of anti-periodic solutions for a class of nonlinear nth-order differential equations with delays of the form

x⁽ⁿ⁾(t)+f(t,x⁽ⁿ⁻¹⁾(t))+g(t,x(t−τ(t)))=e(t).