Nevanlinna-Pick meromorphic interpolation: The degenerate case and minimal norm solutions

The Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem is studied in the class Sκ of meromorphic functions f with κ poles inside the unit disk D and with ‖f_‖L^∞(T)?1. In the indeterminate case, the parametrization of all solutions is given in terms of a family of linear fractional transformations with disjoint ranges. A necessary and sufficient condition for the problem being determinate is given in terms of the Pick matrix of the problem. The result is then applied to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a meromorphic function with a given pole multiplicity which satisfies Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation conditions and has the minimal possible L^∞-norm on the unit circle T.     

Primitive words,free factors and measure preservation

Let F _k be the free group on k generators. A word w ∈ F _k is called primitive if it belongs to some basis of F _k . We investigate two criteria for primitivity, and consider more generally subgroups of F _k which are free factors. The first criterion is graph-theoretic and uses Stallings core graphs: given subgroups of finite rank H ≤ J ≤ F _k we present a simple procedure to determine whether H is a free factor of J. This yields, in particular, a procedure to determine whether a given element in F _k is primitive. Again let w ∈ F _k and consider the word map w: G × … × G → G (from the direct product of k copies of G to G), where G is an arbitrary finite group. We call w measure preserving if given uniform measure on G × … × G, w induces uniform measure on G (for every finite G). This is the second criterion we investigate: it is not hard to see that primitivity implies measure preservation, and it was conjectured that the two properties are equivalent. Our combinatorial approach to primitivity allows us to make progress on this problem and, in particular, prove the conjecture for k = 2. It was asked whether the primitive elements of F _k form a closed set in the profinite topology of free groups. Our results provide a positive answer for F ₂.     

The scalar Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem with boundary conditions

We show that if the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem is solvable by a function mapping into a compact subset of the unit disc, then the problem remains solvable with the addition of any number of boundary interpolation conditions, provided the boundary interpolation values have modulus less than unity. We give new, inductive proofs of the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem with any finite number of interpolation points in the interior and on the boundary of the domain of interpolation (the right half plane or unit disc), with function values and any finite number of derivatives specified. Our solutions are analytic on the closure of the domain of interpolation. Our proofs only require a minimum of matrix theory and operator theory. We also give new, straightforward algorithms for obtaining minimal H_∞ norm solutions. Finally, some numerical examples are given.     

A new result on Davenport constant

Let G be a finite abelian group of order n and Davenport constant D(G). Let S=⁰h(S)_∏g∈Ggvg(S)∈F(G) be a sequence with a maximal multiplicity h(S) attained by 0 and t=|S|?n+D(G)−1. Then 0∈k_∑(S) for every 1?k?t+1−D(G). This is a refinement of the fundamental result of Gao [W.D. Gao, A combinatorial problem on finite abelian groups, J. Number Theory 58 (1996) 100-103].     

Certain problems on the commutativity of interpolation functors

The paper considers some interpolation problems of type of Peetre intersection problem on commutation of interpolation functors. The general statement of the problem is to find sufficient conditions for the equality F(A, G(A0, A ₁)) = G(F(A, A ₀), F(A, A ₁)), where F and G are the interpolation functors.     

Kernels in quasi-transitive digraphs

Let D be a digraph, V(D) and A(D) will denote the sets of vertices and arcs of D, respectively.A kernel N of D is an independent set of vertices such that for every w∈V(D)-N there exists an arc from w to N. A digraph is called quasi-transitive when (u,v)∈A(D) and (v,w)∈A(D) implies (u,w)∈A(D) or (w,u)∈A(D). This concept was introduced by Ghouilá-Houri [Caractérisation des graphes non orientés dont on peut orienter les arrêtes de maniere à obtenir le graphe d’ un relation d’ordre, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 254 (1962) 1370-1371] and has been studied by several authors. In this paper the following result is proved: Let D be a digraph. Suppose D=D₁∪D₂ where D_i is a quasi-transitive digraph which contains no asymmetrical infinite outward path (in D_i) for i∈{1,2}; and that every directed cycle of length 3 contained in D has at least two symmetrical arcs, then D has a kernel. All the conditions for the theorem are tight.     

Distance-hereditary graphs and signpost systems

An ordered pair (U,R) is called a signpost system if U is a finite nonempty set, R⊆U×U×U, and the following axioms hold for all u,v,w∈U: (1) if (u,v,w)∈R, then (v,u,u)∈R; (2) if (u,v,w)∈R, then (v,u,w)∉R; (3) if u≠v, then there exists t∈U such that (u,t,v)∈R. (If F is a (finite) connected graph with vertex set U and distance function d, then U together with the set of all ordered triples (u,v,w) of vertices in F such that d(u,v)=1 and d(v,w)=d(u,w)−1 is an example of a signpost system). If (U,R) is a signpost system and G is a graph, then G is called the underlying graph of (U,R) if V(G)=U and xy∈E(G) if and only if (x,y,y)∈R (for all x,y∈U). It is possible to say that a signpost system shows a way how to travel in its underlying graph. The following result is proved: Let (U,R) be a signpost system and let G denote the underlying graph of (U,R). Then G is connected and every induced path in G is a geodesic in G if and only if (U,R) satisfies axioms (4)-(8) stated in this paper; note that axioms (4)-(8)-similarly as axioms (1)-(3)-can be formulated in the language of the first-order logic.     

Tangential Nevanlinna-Pick Interpolation and Its Connection with Hamburger Matrix Moment Problem

This paper is concerned with the solution of a certain tangential Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation for Nevanlinna functions. We use the so-called block Hankel vector method to establish two intrinsic connections between the tangential Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation in the Nevanlinna class and the truncated Hamburger matrix moment problem associated with the block Hankel vector under consideration: one is a congruent relationship between their information matrices, and the other is a divisor-remainder connection between their solutions. These investigations generalize our previous work on the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation and power matrix moment problem.     

Word maps and word maps with constants of simple algebraic groups

In the present paper, we consider word maps w: G ^m → G and word maps with constants w _Σ: G ^m → G of a simple algebraic group G, where w is a nontrivial word in the free group F _m of rank m, w _Σ = w ₁ σ ₁ w ₂ ··· w _r σ _r w _{r + 1}, w ₁, …, w _{r + 1} ∈ F _m , w ₂, …, w _r ≠ 1, Σ = {σ ₁, …, σ _r | σ _i ∈ G Z(G)}. We present results on the images of such maps, in particular, we prove a theorem on the dominance of “general” word maps with constants, which can be viewed as an analogue of a well-known theorem of Borel on the dominance of genuine word maps. Besides, we establish a relationship between the existence of unipotents in the image of a word map and the structure of the representation variety R(Γ_w, G) of the group Γ_w = F _m /<w>.     

Extremal solutions of Nevanlinna-Pick problems and certain classes of inner functions

Consider a scaled Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem and let ∏ be the Blaschke product whose zeros are the nodes of the problem. It is proved that if ∏ belongs to a certain class of inner functions, then the extremal solutions of the problem or most of them are in the same class. Three different classical classes are considered: inner functions whose derivative is in a certain Hardy space, exponential Blaschke products and the well-known class of α-Blaschke products, for 0 < α < 1.     

On a cyclic connectivity property of directed graphs

Let us call a digraph D cycle-connected if for every pair of vertices u,v∈V(D) there exists a cycle containing both u and v. In this paper we study the following open problem introduced by Ádám. Let D be a cycle-connected digraph. Does there exist a universal edge in D, i.e., an edge e∈E(D) such that for every w∈V(D) there exists a cycle C such that w∈V(C) and e∈E(C)?In his 2001 paper Hetyei conjectured that cycle-connectivity always implies the existence of a universal edge. In the present paper we prove the conjecture of Hetyei for bitournaments.     

The stabilized set of p's in Krivine's theorem can be disconnected

For any closed subset F   of [1,∞]$[1,\infty ]$ which is either finite or consists of the elements of an increasing sequence and its limit, a reflexive Banach space X with a 1-unconditional basis is constructed so that in each block subspace Y of X  , _?p${?}_p$ is finitely block represented in Y   if and only if p∈F$p\in F$. In particular, this solves the question as to whether the stabilized Krivine set for a Banach space had to be connected. We also prove that for every infinite dimensional subspace Y of X there is a dense subset G of F such that the spreading models admitted by Y   are exactly the _?p${?}_p$ for p∈G$p\in G$.     

Representation of group elements as subsequence sums

Let G be a finite (additive written) abelian group of order n. Let w₁,…,w_n be integers coprime to n such that w₁+w₂+?+w_n≡0 (mod n). Let I be a set of cardinality 2n-1 and let ξ={x_i:i∈I} be a sequence of elements of G. Suppose that for every subgroup H of G and every a∈G, ξ contains at most terms in a+H.Then, for every y∈G, there is a subsequence {y₁,…,y_n} of ξ such that y=w₁y₁+?+w_ny_n.Our result implies some known generalizations of the Erd?s-Ginzburg-Ziv Theorem.     

The hull and geodetic numbers of orientations of graphs

For an oriented graph D, let I_D[u,v] denote the set of all vertices lying on a u-v geodesic or a v-u geodesic. For S⊆V(D), let I_D[S] denote the union of all I_D[u,v] for all u,v∈S. Let [S]_D denote the smallest convex set containing S. The geodetic number g(D) of an oriented graph D is the minimum cardinality of a set S with I_D[S]=V(D) and the hull number h(D) of an oriented graph D is the minimum cardinality of a set S with [S]_D=V(D). For a connected graph G, let O(G) be the set of all orientations of G, define g⁻(G)=min{g(D):D∈O(G)}, g⁺(G)=max{g(D):D∈O(G)}, h⁻(G)=min{h(D):D∈O(G)}, and h⁺(G)=max{h(D):D∈O(G)}. By the above definitions, h⁻(G)≤g⁻(G) and h⁺(G)≤g⁺(G). In the paper, we prove that g⁻(G)<h⁺(G) for a connected graph G of order at least 3, and for any nonnegative integers a and b, there exists a connected graph G such that g⁻(G)−h⁻(G)=a and g⁺(G)−h⁺(G)=b. These results answer a problem of Farrugia in [A. Farrugia, Orientable convexity, geodetic and hull numbers in graphs, Discrete Appl. Math. 148 (2005) 256-262].     

A generalized Stieltjes criterion for the complete indeterminacy of interpolation problems

The main result of this paper is a generalized Stieltjes criterion for the complete indeterminacy of interpolation problems in the Stieltjes class. This criterion is a generalization to limit interpolation problems of the classical Stieltjes criterion for the indeterminacy of moment problems. It is stated in terms of the Stieltjes parameters M _j and N _j . We obtain explicit formulas for the Stieltjes parameters. General constructions are illustrated by examples of the Stieltjes moment problem and the Nevanlinna-Pick problem in the Stieltjes class.     

Generalized 3G theorem and application to relativistic stable process on non-smooth open sets

Let G(x,y) and GD(x,y) be the Green functions of rotationally invariant symmetric α-stable process in Rd and in an open set D, respectively, where 0<α<2. The inequality GD(x,y)GD(y,z)/GD(x,z)?c(G(x,y)+G(y,z)) is a very useful tool in studying (local) Schrödinger operators. When the above inequality is true with c=c(D)∈(0,∞), then we say that the 3G theorem holds in D. In this paper, we establish a generalized version of 3G theorem when D is a bounded κ-fat open set, which includes a bounded John domain. The 3G we consider is of the form GD(x,y)GD(z,w)/GD(x,w), where y may be different from z. When y=z, we recover the usual 3G. The 3G form GD(x,y)GD(z,w)/GD(x,w) appears in non-local Schrödinger operator theory. Using our generalized 3G theorem, we give a concrete class of functions belonging to the non-local Kato class, introduced by Chen and Song, on κ-fat open sets. As an application, we discuss relativistic α-stable processes (relativistic Hamiltonian when α=1) in κ-fat open sets. We identify the Martin boundary and the minimal Martin boundary with the Euclidean boundary for relativistic α-stable processes in κ-fat open sets. Furthermore, we show that relative Fatou type theorem is true for relativistic stable processes in κ-fat open sets. The main results of this paper hold for a large class of symmetric Markov processes, as are illustrated in the last section of this paper. We also discuss the generalized 3G theorem for a large class of symmetric stable Lévy processes.     

Fractal interpolation on the Sierpinski Gasket

We prove for the Sierpinski Gasket (SG) an analogue of the fractal interpolation theorem of Barnsley. Let V₀={p₁,p₂,p₃} be the set of vertices of SG and the three contractions of the plane, of which the SG is the attractor. Fix a number n and consider the iterations uw=uw₁uw₂?uwn for any sequence w=(w₁,w₂,…,wn)∈n{1,2,3}. The union of the images of V₀ under these iterations is the set of nth stage vertices Vn of SG. Let F:Vn→R be any function. Given any numbers αw(w∈n{1,2,3}) with 0<|αw|<1, there exists a unique continuous extension of F, such that

f(uw(x))=αwf(x)+hw(x)     

Some sufficient conditions for the existence of kernels in infinite digraphs

A kernel N of a digraph D is an independent set of vertices of D such that for every w∈V(D)−N there exists an arc from w to N. If every induced subdigraph of D has a kernel, D is said to be a kernel perfect digraph. D is called a critical kernel imperfect digraph when D has no kernel but every proper induced subdigraph of D has a kernel. If F is a set of arcs of D, a semikernel modulo F of D is an independent set of vertices S of D such that for every z∈V(D)−S for which there exists an (S,z)-arc of D−F, there also exists an (z,S)-arc in D. In this work we show sufficient conditions for an infinite digraph to be a kernel perfect digraph, in terms of semikernel modulo F. As a consequence it is proved that symmetric infinite digraphs and bipartite infinite digraphs are kernel perfect digraphs. Also we give sufficient conditions for the following classes of infinite digraphs to be kernel perfect digraphs: transitive digraphs, quasi-transitive digraphs, right (or left)-pretransitive digraphs, the union of two right (or left)-pretransitive digraphs, the union of a right-pretransitive digraph with a left-pretransitive digraph, the union of two transitive digraphs, locally semicomplete digraphs and outward locally finite digraphs.     

Noncommutative interpolation and Poisson transforms

General results of interpolation (e.g., Nevanlinna-Pick) by elements in the noncommutative analytic Toeplitz algebraF ^∞ (resp., noncommutative disc algebraA _n) with consequences to the interpolation by bounded operator-valued analytic functions in the unit ball of ℂⁿ are obtained. Noncommutative Poisson transforms are used to provide new von Neumann type inequalities. Completely isometric representations of the quotient algebraF ^∞/J on Hilbert spaces whereJ is anyw ^*-closed, 2-sided ideal ofF ^∞, are obtained and used to construct aw ^*-continuous,F ^∞/J-functional calculus associated to row contractionsT=[T ₁,…,T _n] whenf(T₁, …, T_n)=0 for anyf∈J. Other properties of the dual algebraF ^∞/J are considered. The second author was partially supported by NSF DMS-9531954.     

On the supremum of the pseudocompact group topologies

P is the class of pseudocompact Hausdorff topological groups, and P^′ is the class of groups which admit a topology T such that (G,T)∈P. It is known that every G=(G,T)∈P is totally bounded, so for G∈P^′ the supremum T^∨(G) of all pseudocompact group topologies on G and the supremum T#(G) of all totally bounded group topologies on G satisfy T^∨⊆T#.The authors conjecture for abelian G∈P^′ that T^∨=T#. That equality is established here for abelian G∈P^′ with any of these (overlapping) properties. (a) G is a torsion group; (b) |G|?c²; (c) r₀(G)=|G|=ω|G|; (d) |G| is a strong limit cardinal, and r₀(G)=|G|; (e) some topology T with (G,T)∈P satisfies w(G,T)?c; (f) some pseudocompact group topology on G is metrizable; (g) G admits a compact group topology, and r₀(G)=|G|. Furthermore, the product of finitely many abelian G∈P^′, each with the property T^∨(G)=T#(G), has the same property.