Cluster Sets of Harmonic Functions at the Boundary of a Half-Space

The purpose of this paper is to answer some questions posedby Doob [2] in 1965 concerning the boundary cluster sets ofharmonic and superharmonic functions on the half-space D givenby D = R^n–1 x (0, + ), where n 2. Let f: D [–,+] and let Z D. Following Doob, we write B_Z (respectively C_Z)for the non-tangential (respectively minimal fine) cluster setof f at Z. Thus l B_Z if and only if there is a sequence (X_m)of points in D which approaches Z non-tangentially and satisfiesf(X_m) l. Also, l C_Z if and only if there is a subset E ofD which is not minimally thin at Z with respect to D, and whichsatisfies f(X) l as X Z along E. (We refer to the book byDoob [3, 1.XII] for an account of the minimal fine topology.In particular, the latter equivalence may be found in [3, 1.XII.16].)If f is superharmonic on D, then (see [2, 6]) both sets B_Z andC_Z are subintervals of [–, +]. Let denote (n –1)-dimensional measure on D. The following results are due toDoob [2, Theorem 6.1 and p. 123]. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification31B25.     

Boundaries of reduced free group C*-algebras

We prove that the crossed product C*-algebra C*_r(, ) of a freegroup with its boundary sits naturally between the reducedgroup C*-algebra C*_r and its injective envelope I(C*_r). In otherwords, we have natural inclusion C*_r C*_r(, ) I(C*_r) of C*-algebras.     

Asymptotic Cones of Finitely Generated Groups

Answering a question of Gromov [7], we shall present an exampleof a finitely generated group and two non-principal ultrafiltersA, B such that the asymptotic cones Con_A and Con_B are nothomeomorphic. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 20F06,20F32.     

Correction: on the Intersection Matrices of Curves lying on Irregular Algebraic Surfaces

Professor W. F. Hammond has kindly drawn my attention to a blunderin 4 of the above paper. He referred to the ( – 2r) xß submatrix D of the skew-symmetric matrix displayednear the top of page 181, of which it is asserted that it issquare and non-singular, and pointed out that, from the factthat the matrix of which D forms part is regular, it may onlybe deduced that the columns of D are linearly independent; thatis, it only follows that – 2r ß. The validity of the equation – 2r = ß is essentialto the succeeding argument and, fortunately, may be establishedby alternative means. Using the nomenclature of the paper, wehave on F the set ₁^*, ..., _2r^*, ₁^*, ..., _ß^* of independent3-cycles (independent because they cut independent 1-cycleson the curve C), which may be completed, to form a basis forsuch cycles on F, by a further set ₁', ..., _2q–2r–pof independent 3-cycles, each of which meets C in a cycle homologousto zero on C. The cycles ₁^*, ..., ^* are invariant cycles andare independent on F so that, if > 2r + ß, thereis a non-trivial linear combination ^* of these having zero intersectionon C with each of the cycles ₁^*, ..., _2r^*, ₁^*, ..., _ß^*.Thus we have. (^* ._k^*)c = 0 = (^* ._i^*)c i.e. (^* ._k^*) = 0 = (^* ._i^* on F (1 k 2r; 1 i ß). Furthermore, (_j . C) 0 on C and we have (^* ._j .C)_C = 0 i.e. (^* ._j) = 0 on F (1 j 2q – 2r – ß). It now follows that ^* 0 on F (for it has zero intersectionwith every member of a basic set of 3-cycles on F). But thiscondradicts the assumption that ^* is a non-trivial linear combinationof the independent cycles ₁^*, ...,^*; and hence < 2r + ß.     

Finite groups in Stone-Cech compactifications

Let be an infinite cardinal and let G = ₂. Now let β Gbe the Stone–ech compactification of G as a discrete semigroup,and let =_<c_{β G} {xG\{0}:minsupp (x)}. We show that thesemigroup contains no nontrivial finite group.     

The Index of Toeplitz Operators on Free Transformation Group C*-Algebras

Let be a discrete group acting on a compact manifold X, letV be a -equivalent Hermitian vector bundle over X, and let Dbe a first-order elliptic self-adjoint -equivalent differentialoperator acting on sections of V. This data is used to defineToeplitz operators with symbols in the transformation groupC*-algebra C(X), and it is shown that if the symbol of sucha Toeplitz operator is invertible, then the operator is Fredholm.In the case where is finite and acts freely on X, a geometric-topologicalformula for the index is stated that involves an explicitlyconstructed differential form associated to the symbol. 2000Mathematics Subject Classification 47A53 (primary), 19K56, 47B35,46L87 (secondary).     

On the Hecke Algebra of a Noncongruence Subgroup

Let SL₂(Z) be a subgroup of finite index, and let H denote theHecke algebra of . The aim of this note is to give some informationabout the action of H on spaces of modular forms for certainnoncongruence subgroups , which can be deduced from the geometricresults of [9]. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 11F11,11G18.     

Trivial Cycles in Graphs Embedded in 3-Manifolds

A cycle C of a graph embedded in a 3-manifold M is said tobe trivial in if it bounds a disk with interior disjoint from. Let e be an edge of with ends on C. We shall study the relationbetween triviality of cycles in and that of – e and/e. Let C₁ be one of the two cycles in C e containing e. Themain theorem says that if C is trivial in – e and C₁/eis trivial in /e, then either C or C₁ is trivial in . Some applicationsto cycle trivial graphs will be given in Section 2.     

An Upper Bound for the Hyperbolic Metric of a Convex Domain

In [1], Beardon introduced the Apollonian metric defined forany domain D in Rⁿ by This metric is Möbius invariant, and for simply connectedplane domains it satisfies the inequality _D2_D, where _D denotesthe hyperbolic distance in D, and so gives a lower bound onthe hyperbolic distance. Furthermore, it is shown in [1, Theorem6.1] that for convex plane domains, the Apollonian metric satisfies, and, by considering the example of the infinite strip {x + iy:|y|<1}, that the best possibleconstant in this inequality is at least . In this paper we makethe following improvements.     

Classification Des Ideaux a Droite De A1(k)

Les études récentes sur les idéaux àdroite de A₁(k), la première algèbre de Weyl surun corps algébriquement clos et de caractéristiquenulle k, nous montrent que : pour tout idéal I 0 àdroite de A₁(k), il existe x Q = frac(A₁(k)), et V V telsque : I = xD(R, V) o V est l'ensemble des sous-espaces primairementdécomposables de k[t] = R, et D(R, V), l'idéalà droite {d A₁(k/d(R V}. Dans cet article nous montreronsprincipalement que: pour tout 0 I idéal à droitede A₁(k, !n N, (x, ) Q^* x Aut_k(A₁(k)) : I = x(D(R, O(X_n))),où X_n est la courbe d'algèbre des fonctions régulières: O(X_n = k+tⁿ⁺¹k[t]. La forme des idéaux décriteci-dessus permet de voir dans une hypothèse de Letzteret Makar-Limanov, pour deux courbes algébriques affinesX et X' on a : D(XD(X') co dim D(X = co dim D(X'). Recent studies on right ideals of the first Weyl algebra A₁(k)over an algebraic closed field k with characteristic zero showthat: for each right ideal I 0 of A₁(k), there exist x Q =fracA₁(k)) and a primary decomposable sub-space V of k[t] suchthat I=xD(R,V), where D(R,V) : = {d A₁(k)/d(R) V} is a rightideal of A₁(k). In this paper, we show that for all right idealsI 0 of A₁(k), !n N, (x, ) Q^* x Aut_k(A₁(k)) : I = x(D(R, O(X_n))),where X_n denotes the affine algebraic curve with ring of regularfunctions O(X_n=k+tⁿ⁺¹k[t]. With ideals as described above, onecan easily see, under a hypothesis given by Letzter and Makar-Limanov,that for two affine algebraic curves X and X', D(X)D(X') codim D(X) = co dim D(X'). 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification16S32.     

Packing, Tiling, Orthogonality and Completeness

Let R^d be an open set of measure 1. An open set DR^d is calleda ‘tight orthogonal packing region’ for if D–Ddoes not intersect the zeros of the Fourier transform of theindicator function of , and D has measure 1. Suppose that isa discrete subset of R^d. The main contribution of this paperis a new way of proving the following result: D tiles R^d whentranslated at the locations if and only if the set of exponentialsE = {exp 2i, x: } is an orthonormal basis for L²(). (This resulthas been proved by different methods by Lagarias, Reeds andWang [9] and, in the case of being the cube, by Iosevich andPedersen [3]. When is the unit cube in R^d, it is a tight orthogonalpacking region of itself.) In our approach, orthogonality ofE is viewed as a statement about ‘packing’ R^d withtranslates of a certain non-negative function and, additionally,we have completeness of E in L²() if and only if the above-mentionedpacking is in fact a tiling. We then formulate the tiling conditionin Fourier analytic language, and use this to prove our result.2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 52C22, 42B99, 11K70.     

Belyi Uniformization of Elliptic Curves

Belyi's Theorem implies that a Riemann surface X representsa curve defined over a number field if and only if it can beexpressed as U/, where U is simply-connected and is a subgroupof finite index in a triangle group. We consider the case whenX has genus 1, and ask for which curves and number fields canbe chosen to be a lattice. As an application, we give examplesof Galois actions on Grothendieck dessins. 1991 MathematicsSubject Classification 30F10, 11G05.     

The A-Polynomial has Ones in the Corners

1. Definition of the A-polynomial The A-polynomial was introduced in [3] (see also [5]), and wepresent an alternative definition here. Let M be a compact 3-manifoldwith boundary a torus T. Pick a basis , µ of ₁T, whichwe shall refer to as the longitude and meridian. Consider thesubset R_U of the affine algebraic variety R = Hom (₁M, SL₂C)having the property that () and (µ) are upper triangular.This is an algebraic subset of R, since one just adds equationsstating that the bottom-left entries in certain matrices arezero. There is a well-defined eigenvalue map given by taking the top-left entries of () and (µ).1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 57M25, 57M50.     

Normal Families and Shared Values

For f a meromorphic function on the plane domain D and a C,let _f(a) = {z D: f(z) = a}. Let F be a family of meromorphicfunctions on D, all of whose zeros are of multiplicity at leastk. If there exist b 0 and h > 0 such that for every f F,_f(0) = _f^(k)(b) and 0 < |f^(k+1)(z)| h whenever z _f(0), thenF is a normal family on D. The case _f(0) = Ø is a celebratedresult of Gu [5]. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 30D45,30D35.     

The Series of Norms in a Soluble p-Group

The norm of a group G is the subgroup of elements of G whichnormalise every subgroup of G. We shall denote it (G). An ascendingseries of subgroups _i(G) in G may be defined recursively by:₀(G) = 1 and, for i 0, _i+1(G)/_i(G) = (G/_i(G)). For each i,the section _i+1(G)/i(G) clearly contains the centre of the groupG/_i(G). A result of Schenkman [8] gives a very close connectionbetween this norm series and the upper central series: _i(G) _i(G) _2i(G). 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 20E15.     

An infinite Family of 4-Arc-Transitive Cubic Graphs Each with Girth 12

If p is any prime, and is that automorphism of the group SL(3,p) which takes each matrix to the transpose of its inverse,then there exists a connected trivalent graph (p) on vertices with the split extensionSL(3, p) as a group of automorphisms acting regularly on its4-arcs. In fact if p 3 then this group is the full automorphismgroup of (p), while the graph (3) is 5-arc-transitive with fullautomorphism group SL(3,3)0 x C₂. The girth of (p) is 12, exceptin th case p = 2 (where the girth is 6). Furthermore, in allcases (p) is bipartite, with SL(3, p) fixing each part. Alsowhen p 1 mod 3 the graph (p) is a triple cover of another trivalentgraph, which has automorphism group PSL(3, p)0 acting regularlyon its 4-arcs. These claims are proved using elementary theoryof symmetric graphs, together with a suitable choice of threematrices which generate SL(3, Z). They also provide a proofthat the group 4⁺(a¹²) described by Biggs in Computational grouptheor(ed. M. Atkinson) is infinite.     

Corrigendum: Elliptic Curves and Quadratic Recurrence Sequences

The statement of the numerical values and z₀ on page 167 of[1, Section 3] contained an error. The values that were actuallyused were (to nine decimal places): thesebeing shifted, by the periods 2₁ and 2₃ respectively, comparedwith the values given in [1] (with ₁ = 1.496729323 and ₃ = 1.225694691i).With ₀ = ₁ and (z) denoting the sigma function (z; g2, g3) withinvariants g2 = 4, g3 = –1 associated with the ellipticcurve given by equation (3.2), these values of and z₀ yield and the latter three values all agreewith those stated in the paper (apart from rounding down thelast digit in the imaginary part of A). 2000 Mathematics SubjectClassification 11B37 (primary), 33E05, 37J35 (secondary).     

Beurling and Lipschitz Algebras

It is well known that there exist infinite closed subsets Eof T such that A(E) = C(E) (see, for example, [3]). Such setsare called Helson sets. Let E be a closed subset of T, let 0< < 1, and let A(E) be the restriction of the Beurlingalgebra A(T). Then A(E) lipE. We shall show that A(E) = lipEif and only if E is finite. This answers a question raised byPedersen [5], where partial results were obtained. 1991 MathematicsSubject Classification 46J10.     

A reverse Denjoy theorem

Suppose that C₁ and C₂ are two simple curves joining 0 to ,non-intersecting in the finite plane except at 0 and enclosinga domain D which is such that, for all large r, has measure at most 2, where 0 < < .Suppose also that u is a non-constant subharmonic function inthe plane such that u(z) = B(|z|, u) for all large z C₁ C₂.Let A_D(r, u) = inf { u(z):z D and | z | = r }. It is shownthat if A_D(r, u) = O(1) (or A_D(r, u) = o(B(r, u))), then lim_r B(r, u)/r^/2 > 0 (or lim_r log B(r, u)/log r /2).     

Spaces Universal under Closed Embeddings for Finite-Dimensional Complete Metric Spaces

We shall prove that for every natural number n and every cardinalnumber there exists an n-dimensional complete metric spaceX_n, of weight such that every n-dimensional complete metricspace of weight is embeddable in X_n, as a closed subset.