The Grothendieck ring of varieties and piecewise isomorphisms

Let K ₀(Var _k ) be the Grothendieck ring of algebraic varieties over a field k. Let X, Y be two algebraic varieties over k which are piecewise isomorphic (i.e. X and Y admit finite partitions X ₁, ..., X _n , Y ₁, ..., Y _n into locally closed subvarieties such that X _i is isomorphic to Y _i for all i ≤ n), then [X] = [Y] in K ₀(Var _k ). Larsen and Lunts ask whether the converse is true. For characteristic zero and algebraically closed field k, we answer positively this question when dim X ≤ 1 or X is a smooth connected projective surface or if X contains only finitely many rational curves.     

Rigidity for pseudo pretheories

Assume F is a homotopy invariant pseudo pretheory with torsion values and X is a smooth scheme of finite type over a field k. We show for certain field extensions k⊆K the map F(X)→F(X _K ) is an isomorphism. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 14A99     

Weak approximation over function fields of curves over large or finite fields

Let K = k(C) be the function field of a curve over a field k and let X be a smooth, projective, separably rationally connected K-variety with ${X(K)\neq\emptyset}Let K = k(C) be the function field of a curve over a field k and let X be a smooth, projective, separably rationally connected K-variety with X(K) 1 ?{X(K)\neq\emptyset}. Under the assumption that X admits a smooth projective model p: X? C{\pi: \mathcal{X}\to C}, we prove the following weak approximation results: (1) if k is a large field, then X(K) is Zariski dense; (2) if k is an infinite algebraic extension of a finite field, then X satisfies weak approximation at places of good reduction; (3) if k is a nonarchimedean local field and R-equivalence is trivial on one of the fibers X_p{\mathcal{X}_p} over points of good reduction, then there is a Zariski dense subset W í C(k){W\subseteq C(k)} such that X satisfies weak approximation at places in W. As applications of the methods, we also obtain the following results over a finite field k: (4) if |k| > 10, then for a smooth cubic hypersurface X/K, the specialization map X(K)? ?_{p ? P}X_p(k(p)){X(K)\longrightarrow \prod_{p\in P}\mathcal{X}_p(\kappa(p))} at finitely many points of good reduction is surjective; (5) if char k 1 2, 3{\mathrm{char}\,k\neq 2,\,3} and |k| > 47, then a smooth cubic surface X over K satisfies weak approximation at any given place of good reduction.     

Fixed point theorems for non-Lipschitzian mappings of asymptotically nonexpansive type

LetX be a Banach space,K a nonempty, bounded, closed and convex subset ofX, and supposeT:K→K satisfies: for eachx∈K, lim sup _i→∞{sup _y∈K ‖t ⁱx−Tⁱy∼−‖x−y‖}≦0. IfT ^N is continuous for some positive integerN, and if either (a)X is uniformly convex, or (b)K is compact, thenT has a fixed point inK. The former generalizes a theorem of Goebel and Kirk for asymptotically nonexpansive mappings. These are mappingsT:K→K satisfying, fori sufficiently large, ‖Tⁱx−Tⁱy‖≦k _i‖x−y∼,x,y∈K, wherek _i→1 asi→∞. The precise assumption in (a) is somewhat weaker than uniform convexity, requiring only that Goebel’s characteristic of convexity, ɛ₀ (X), be less than one. Research supported by National Science Foundation Grant GP 18045.     

On log canonical divisors that are log quasi-numerically positive

Let (X Δ) be a four-dimensional log variety that is projective over the field of complex numbers. Assume that (X, Δ) is not Kawamata log terminal (klt) but divisorial log terminal (dlt). First we introduce the notion of “log quasi-numerically positive”, by relaxing that of “numerically positive”. Next we prove that, if the log canonical divisorK _X+Δ is log quasi-numerically positive on (X, Δ) then it is semi-ample.     

Spaces with large projection constants

For every prime numberk, we give an explicit construction of a complexk-dimensional spaceX _k with projection constantγ(X _k ) = √k − 1/√k + 1/k. Moreover, there are realk-dimensional spacesX _k withγ(x _K ) ≧ √k − 1 for a subsequence of integersk. Hence in both casesγ(X _k )/√k → 1 which is the maximal possible value sinceγ(X _k ) ≦ √k is generally true.     

Mader’s Conjecture On Extremely Critical Graphs

A non-complete graph G is called an (n,k)-graph if it is n-connected but G—X is not (n−|X|+1)-connected for any X ⊂V (G) with |X|≤k. Mader conjectured that for k≥3 the graph K_2k+2−(1−factor) is the unique (2k,k)-graph(up to isomorphism). Here we prove this conjecture.     

Existence of a-fold Perfect （v, {5, 8}, 1）-Mendelsohn Designs

Let v be a positive integer and let K be a set of positive integers. A （v, K, 1）-Mendelsohn design, which we denote briefly by （v, K, 1）-MD, is a pair （X, B） where X is a v-set （of points） and B is a collection of cyclically ordered subsets of X （called blocks） with sizes in the set K such that every ordered pair of points of X are consecutive in exactly one block of B. If for all t =1, 2,..., r, every ordered pair of points of X are t-apart in exactly one block of B, then the （v, K, 1）-MD is called an r-fold perfect design and denoted briefly by an r-fold perfect （v, K, 1）-MD. If K = {k） and r = k - 1, then an r-fold perfect （v, （k）, 1）-MD is essentially the more familiar （v, k, 1）-perfect Mendelsohn design, which is briefly denoted by （v, k, 1）-PMD. In this paper, we investigate the existence of 4-fold perfect （v, （5, 8}, 1）-Mendelsohn designs.     

1 -convex manifolds are p- k?hler

We study here K?hler-type properties of 1-convex manifolds, using the duality between forms and compactly supported currents, and some properties of the Aeppli groups of (q-convex manifolds. We prove that, when the exceptional setS of the l-convex manifoldX has dimensionk, X is p-K?hler for everyp > k, and isk-K?hler if and only if “the fundamental class” ofS does not vanish. There are classical examples whereX is notk-K?hler even with a smoothS, but we prove that this cannot happen if2k ≥n = dimX, nor for suitable neighborhoods of S; in particular,X is always balanced (i.e.,(n - 1)-Kahler). Partially supported by MIUR research funds.     

On Kummer extensions of the power series field

In this paper we study the Kummer extensions K ′ of a power series field K = k ((X₁, …, X_r)), where k is an algebraically closed field of arbitrary characteristic, with special emphasis in the case where K ′ is generated by a Puiseux power series. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Partitioning Posets

Given a poset P = (X, ≺ ), a partition X ₁, ..., X _k of X is called an ordered partition of P if, whenever x ∈ X _i and y ∈ X _j with x ≺ y, then i ≤ j. In this paper, we show that for every poset P = (X, ≺ ) and every integer k ≥ 2, there exists an ordered partition of P into k parts such that the total number of comparable pairs within the parts is at most (m − 1)/k, where m ≥ 1 is the total number of edges in the comparability graph of P. We show that this bound is best possible for k = 2, but we give an improved bound, , for k ≥ 3, where c(k) is a constant depending only on k. We also show that, given a poset P = (X, ≺ ) and an integer 2 ≤ k ≤ |X|, we can find an ordered partition of P into k parts that minimises the total number of comparable pairs within parts in time polynomial in the size of P. We prove more general, weighted versions of these results. Supported by an EPSRC doctoral training grant.     

Affine cross-polytopes inscribed in a convex body

Let X be an affine cross-polytope, i.e., the convex hull of n segments A ₁ B ₁,…, A _n B _n in \mathbbRⁿ {\mathbb{R}^n} that have a common midpoint O and do not lie in a hyperplane. The affine flag F(X) of X is the chain O ∈ L ₁ ⊂⋯ ⊂ L _n = \mathbbRⁿ {\mathbb{R}^n} , where L _k is the k-dimensional affine hull of the segments A ₁ B ₁,…, A _k B _k , k ≤ n. It is proved that each convex body K ⊂ \mathbbRⁿ {\mathbb{R}^n} is circumscribed about an affine cross-polytope X such that the flag F(X) satisfies the following condition for each k ∈{2,…, n}:the (k−1)-planes of support at A _k and B _k to the body L _k ∩ K in the k-plane L _k are parallel to L _k −1.Each such X has volume at least V(K)/2 ^n(n−1)/2. Bibliography: 5 titles.     

Interior points of convex hulls

If a setX ⊂E ⁿ has non-emptyk-dimensional interior, or if some point isk-dimensional surrounded, then the classic theorem of E. Steinitz may be extended. For example ifX ⊂E ⁿ has int _k X ≠ 0, (0 ≦k≦n) and ifp ɛ int conX, thenp ɛ int conY for someY ⊂X with cardY≦2n−k+1.     

The Chromatic Spectrum of Mixed Hypergraphs

 A mixed hypergraph is a triple ℋ=(X, ?, ?), where X is the vertex set, and each of ?, ? is a list of subsets of X. A strict k-coloring of ℋ is a surjection c:X→{1,…,k} such that each member of ? has two vertices assigned a common value and each member of ? has two vertices assigned distinct values. The feasible set of H is {k: H has a strict k-coloring}. Among other results, we prove that a finite set of positive integers is the feasible set of some mixed hypergraph if and only if it omits the number 1 or is an interval starting with 1. For the set {s,t} with 2≤s≤t−2, the smallest realization has 2t−s vertices. When every member of ?∪? is a single interval in an underlying linear order on the vertices, the feasible set is also a single interval of integers. Received: May 24, 1999 Final version received: August 31, 2000     

Approximation of Projections of Random Vectors

Let X be a d-dimensional random vector and X _θ its projection onto the span of a set of orthonormal vectors {θ ₁,…,θ _k }. Conditions on the distribution of X are given such that if θ is chosen according to Haar measure on the Stiefel manifold, the bounded-Lipschitz distance from X _θ to a Gaussian distribution is concentrated at its expectation; furthermore, an explicit bound is given for the expected distance, in terms of d, k, and the distribution of X, allowing consideration not just of fixed k but of k growing with d. The results are applied in the setting of projection pursuit, showing that most k-dimensional projections of n data points in ℝ ^d are close to Gaussian, when n and d are large and k=clog (d) for a small constant c.     

Homogenous projective factors for actions of semi-simple Lie groups

We analyze the structure of a continuous (or Borel) action of a connected semi-simple Lie group G with finite center and real rank at least 2 on a compact metric (or Borel) space X, using the existence of a stationary measure as the basic tool. The main result has the following corollary: Let P be a minimal parabolic subgroup of G, and K a maximal compact subgroup. Let λ be a P-invariant probability measure on X, and assume the P-action on (X,λ) is mixing. Then either λ is invariant under G, or there exists a proper parabolic subgroup Q⊂G, and a measurable G-equivariant factor map ϕ:(X,ν)→(G/Q,m), where ν=∫ _K kλdk and m is the K-invariant measure on G/Q. Furthermore, The extension has relatively G-invariant measure, namely (X,ν) is induced from a (mixing) probability measure preserving action of Q. Oblatum 14-X-1997 & 18-XI-1998 / Published online: 20 August 1999     

Factoriality of complete intersections in ℙ<Superscript>5</Superscript>

Let X be a complete intersection of two hypersurfaces F _n and F _k in ℙ⁵ of degree n and k, respectively, with n ≥ k, such that the singularities of X are nodal and F _k is smooth. We prove that if the threefold X has at most (n + k − 2)(n − 1) − 1 singular points, then it is factorial.     

Elementary Symmetric Polynomials in Random Variables

The subject of the paper is the probability-theoretic properties of elementary symmetric polynomials σ _k of arbitrary degree k in random variables X _i (i=1,2,…,m) defined on special subsets of commutative rings ℛ _m with identity of finite characteristic m. It is shown that the probability distributions of the random elements σ _k (X ₁,…,X _m ) tend to a limit when m→∞ if X ₁,…,X _m form a Markov chain of finite degree μ over a finite set of states V, V⊂ℛ _m , with positive conditional probabilities. Moreover, if all the conditional probabilities exceed a prescribed positive number α, the limit distributions do not depend on the choice of the chain.      

A property of (v,k, λ)-designs

It is shown that if the subsetsX ₁,...,X _v of a setX form a (v, k, λ)-design, then there does not exist another subsetX _v+1 ofX havingany cardinalityk ₁ and intersecting each of theX _j, 1≦j≦v, inany number λ₁ of elements, where 0<k ₁<v and 0<λ₁<k (in order to avoid uninteresting cases).