Equilibrium selection and altruistic behavior in noncooperative social networks

Given their importance in determining the outcome of many economic interactions, different models have been proposed to determine how social networks form and which structures are stable. In Bala and Goyal (Econometrica 68, 1181–1229, 2000), the one-sided link formation model has been considered, which is based on a noncooperative game of network formation. They found that the empty networks, the wheel in the one-way flow of benefits case and the center-sponsored star in the two-way flow case play a fundamental role since they are strict Nash equilibria of the corresponding games for a certain class of payoff functions. In this paper, we first prove that all these network structures are in weakly dominated strategies whenever there are no strict Nash equilibria. Then, we exhibit a more accurate selection device between these network architectures by considering “altruistic behavior” refinements. Such refinements that we investigate here in the framework of finite strategy sets games have been introduced by the authors in previous papers.     

Unilateral vs. bilateral link-formation: A transition without decay

We provide a model that bridges the gap between the simplest variation of two benchmark models of strategic network formation: Bala and Goyal’s two-way flow model without decay, where links can be unilaterally formed, and a variation of Jackson and Wolinsky’s model based on bilateral formation of links assuming no decay. In the model introduced and studied here a link can be created unilaterally. When it is only supported by one of the two players the flow through the link suffers some degree of decay, but when it is supported by both the flow runs without friction. When the decay in links supported by only one player is maximal (i.e. there is no flow) we have a simple variation of Jackson and Wolinsky’s connections model assuming no decay, while when flow in those links is perfect we have Bala and Goyal’s two-way flow model without decay. We study Nash, strict Nash and pairwise Nash stability for the intermediate models. Efficiency and dynamics are also examined.     

个体异质对纳什网络存在性的影响研究(英文)

在Bala and Goyal(2000)提出的双向流网络形成模型基础上,研究当个体存在异质性时对纳什网络存在性的影响.分别针对几种不同的环境设定下的个体异质性进行研究,发现个体的连接成本异质性是决定纳什网络存在性的重要因素;但相较于个体的连接成本而言,连接价值的异质性对纳什网络存在性的影响不大.     

Network formation when players seek confirmation of information

We study network formation in a situation where the network allows players to obtain information (signals) about other players. This information is important for making a payoff relevant decision. However, not all information is reliable and so players may have an incentive to check it. By obtaining multiple messages about the same player through the network, a player learns whether his information is reliable for making the payoff relevant decision. We study the existence and architecture of strict Nash networks. We find that players who are involved in at least three links sponsor all links they are involved in. These players are similar to the central players in center sponsored stars. We show that strict Nash networks can be over-connected as well as under-connected as compared to efficient networks. Finally, we extend the basic model to study heterogeneous populations. In the first scenario, we allow for the co-existence of players who only value checked information and players who also value information with unknown reliability. In the second scenario, players who do not care about checking their information co-exist with players who do. Our results are robust to both types of heterogeneity, with one exception: the presence of a single player who cares only about checked information is enough to ensure that center sponsored stars are no longer stable.     

Disk-like Tiles Derived from Complex Bases

For each positive integer k, the radix representation of the complex numbers in the base –k+i gives rise to a lattice self-affine tile T _k in the plane, which consists of all the complex numbers that can be expressed in the form ∑ _j≥1 d _j (–k+i)^–j , where d _j ∈{0, 1, 2, ...,k ²}. We prove that T _k is homeomorphic to the closed unit disk {z∈C:∣z∣ ≤ 1} if and only if k ≠ 2. The first author is supported by Youth Project of Tianyuan Foundation (10226031) and Zhongshan University Promotion Foundation for Young Teachers (34100-1131206); the second author is supported by National Science Foundation (10041005) and Guangdong Province Science Foundation (011221)     

Spot Self-Replication and Dynamics for the Schnakenburg Model in a Two-Dimensional Domain

The dynamical behavior of multi-spot solutions in a two-dimensional domain Ω is analyzed for the two-component Schnakenburg reaction–diffusion model in the singularly perturbed limit of small diffusivity ε for one of the two components. In the limit ε→0, a quasi-equilibrium spot pattern in the region away from the spots is constructed by representing each localized spot as a logarithmic singularity of unknown strength S _j for j=1,…,K at unknown spot locations x _j ∈Ω for j=1,…,K. A formal asymptotic analysis, which has the effect of summing infinite logarithmic series in powers of −1/log ε, is then used to derive an ODE differential algebraic system (DAE) for the collective coordinates S _j and x _j for j=1,…,K, which characterizes the slow dynamics of a spot pattern. This DAE system involves the Neumann Green’s function for the Laplacian. By numerically examining the stability thresholds for a single spot solution, a specific criterion in terms of the source strengths S _j , for j=1,…,K, is then formulated to theoretically predict the initiation of a spot-splitting event. The analytical theory is illustrated for spot patterns in the unit disk and the unit square, and is compared with full numerical results computed directly from the Schnakenburg model.      

On exact solutions for quantum particles with spin <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis> = 0, 1/2, 1 and de Sitter event horizon

Exact wave solutions for particles with spin 0, 1/2 and 1 in the static coordinates of the de Sitter space–time model are examined in detail. Firstly, for scalar particle, two pairs of linearly independent solutions are specified explicitly: running and standing waves. A known algorithm for calculation of the reflection coefficient R_ej{R_{\epsilon j}} on the background of the de Sitter space–time model is analyzed. It is shown that the determination of R_ej{R_{\epsilon j}} requires an additional constrain on quantum numbers er/ (^h/_2p) c >> j{\epsilon \rho / \hbar c \gg j}, where ρ is a curvature radius. When taken into account of this condition, the R_ej{R_{\epsilon j}} vanishes identically. It is claimed that the calculation of the reflection coefficient R_ej{R_{\epsilon j}} is not required at all because there is no barrier in an effective potential curve on the background of the de Sitter space–time. The same conclusion holds for arbitrary particles with higher spins, it is demonstrated explicitly with the help of exact solutions for electromagnetic and Dirac fields.     

Congruences Concerning Values of the Modular Functions <Emphasis Type="Italic">j</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript>

The j-function j(z) = q⁻¹+ 744 + 196884q + ⋅s plays an important role in many problems. In [7], Zagier, presented an interesting series of functions obtained from the j-function: j_m(ζ) = (j(ζ) – 744)∨T₀(m), where T₀(m) is the usual m′th normalized weight 0 Hecke operator. In [3], Bruinier et al. show how this series of functions can be used to describe all meromorphic modular forms on SL₂(ℤ). In this note we use these functions and basic notions about modular forms to determine previously unidentified congruence relations between the coefficients of Eisenstein series and the j-function. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary–11B50, 11F03, 11F30 The author thanks the National Science Foundation for their generous support.     

Stay-in-a-set games

There exists a Nash equilibrium (ε-Nash equilibrium) for every n-person stochastic game with a finite (countable) state space and finite action sets for the players if the payoff to each player i is one when the process of states remains in a given set of states G _i and is zero otherwise. Received: December 2000     

On one extremal problem for numerical series

Let Γ be the set of all permutations of the natural series and let α = {α _j} _j∈ℕ, ν = {ν_j} _j∈ℕ, and η = {η_j} _j∈ℕ be nonnegative number sequences for which

The Existence and Uniqueness of Nash Equilibrium Point in an m-player Game “Shoot Later, Shoot First!”

We consider the following “silent duel” of m players with a possible economic interpretation. Each player has one “bullet”, which she can shoot at any time during the time interval [0,1]. The probability that the i-th player hits the “target” at moment t is given by an increasing accuracy function f _i (t). The winner is the player who hits the target first. Under natural assumptions on the functions f _i (t) we prove the existence and uniqueness of a Nash equilibrium point in this game, and we provide an explicit construction of this equilibrium. This construction allows us to obtain exact solutions for many specific examples. Some of them are presented.This work was partly supported by RBRF grants 03-01-00479.     

Small deviation probabilities for sums of independent positive random variables

In this note, we give estimates of small deviation probabilities of the sum ∑_j≥1 λ_j X_j, where {λ_j} are nonnegative numbers and {X_j} are i.i.d. positive random variables that satisfy mild assumptions at zero and infinity. Bibliography: 10 titles. __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 341, 2007, pp. 151–167.     

Estimates for the rate of strong approximation in the multidimensional invariance principle

The aim of this paper is to derive simplest consequences of the author's result of the multidimensional invariance principle. We obtain bounds for the rate of strong Gaussian approximation of sums of independent R ^d-valued random variables ξ_j having finite moments of the form EH (‖ξ_j‖), where H (x) is a monotone function growing not slower than x² and not faster than e^cx. A multidimensional version of results of Sakhanenko is obtained. Bibliography: 19 titles. __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 339, 2006, pp. 37–53.     

Large Closed Queueing Networks in Semi-Markov Environment and Their Application

The paper studies closed queueing networks containing a server station and k client stations. The server station is an infinite server queueing system, and client stations are single-server queueing systems with autonomous service, i.e. every client station serves customers (units) only at random instants generated by a strictly stationary and ergodic sequence of random variables. The total number of units in the network is N. The expected times between departures in client stations are (N μ _j )⁻¹. After a service completion in the server station, a unit is transmitted to the jth client station with probability p _j (j=1,2,…,k), and being processed in the jth client station, the unit returns to the server station. The network is assumed to be in a semi-Markov environment. A semi-Markov environment is defined by a finite or countable infinite Markov chain and by sequences of independent and identically distributed random variables. Then the routing probabilities p _j (j=1,2,…,k) and transmission rates (which are expressed via parameters of the network) depend on a Markov state of the environment. The paper studies the queue-length processes in client stations of this network and is aimed to the analysis of performance measures associated with this network. The questions risen in this paper have immediate relation to quality control of complex telecommunication networks, and the obtained results are expected to lead to the solutions to many practical problems of this area of research.      

On the divisibility of power LCM matrices by power GCD matrices

Let S = {x ₁, ..., x _n } be a set of n distinct positive integers and e ⩾ 1 an integer. Denote the n × n power GCD (resp. power LCM) matrix on S having the e-th power of the greatest common divisor (x _i , x _j ) (resp. the e-th power of the least common multiple [x _i , x _j ]) as the (i, j)-entry of the matrix by ((x _i , x _j ) ^e ) (resp. ([x _i , x _j ] ^e )). We call the set S an odd gcd closed (resp. odd lcm closed) set if every element in S is an odd number and (x _i , x _j ) ∈ S (resp. [x _i , x _j ] ∈ S) for all 1 ⩽ i, j ⩽ n. In studying the divisibility of the power LCM and power GCD matrices, Hong conjectured in 2004 that for any integer e ⩾ 1, the n × n power GCD matrix ((x _i , x _j ) ^e ) defined on an odd-gcd-closed (resp. odd-lcm-closed) set S divides the n × n power LCM matrix ([x _i , x _j ] ^e ) defined on S in the ring M _n (ℤ) of n × n matrices over integers. In this paper, we use Hong’s method developed in his previous papers [J. Algebra 218 (1999) 216–228; 281 (2004) 1–14, Acta Arith. 111 (2004), 165–177 and J. Number Theory 113 (2005), 1–9] to investigate Hong’s conjectures. We show that the conjectures of Hong are true for n ⩽ 3 but they are both not true for n ⩾ 4. Research is partially supported by Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, by SRF for ROCS, SEM, China and by the Lady Davis Fellowship at the Technion, Israel Research is partially supported by a UGC (HK) grant 2160210 (2003/05).     

Localization transition of <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-friendly walkers

 Friendly walkers is a stochastic model obtained from independent one-dimensional simple random walks {S ^k _j } _j≥0 , k=1,2,…,d by introducing ``non-crossing condition': and ``reward for collisions' characterized by parameters . Here, the reward for collisions is described as follows. If, at a given time n, a site in ℤ is occupied by exactly m≥2 walkers, then the site increases the probabilistic weight for the walkers by multiplicative factor exp (β _m )≥1. We study the localization transition of this model in terms of the positivity of the free energy and describe the location and the shape of the critical surface in the (d−1)-dimensional space for the parameters . Received: 13 June 2002 / Revised version: 24 August 2002 Published online: 28 March 2003 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 82B41, 82B26, 82D60, 60G50 Key words or phrases: Random walks – Random surfaces – Lattice animals – Phase transitions – Polymers – Random walks     

On the Duality Principle by Casazza, Kutyniok, and?Lammers

The R-dual sequences of a frame {f _i } _i∈I , introduced by Casazza, Kutyniok and Lammers in (J. Fourier Anal. Appl. 10(4):383–408, 2004), provide a powerful tool in the analysis of duality relations in general frame theory. In this paper we derive conditions for a sequence {ω _j } _j∈I to be an R-dual of a given frame {f _i } _i∈I . In particular we show that the R-duals {ω _j } _j∈I can be characterized in terms of frame properties of an associated sequence {n _i } _i∈I . We also derive the duality results obtained for tight Gabor frames in (Casazza et al. in J. Fourier Anal. Appl. 10(4):383–408, 2004) as a special case of a general statement for R-duals of frames in Hilbert spaces. Finally we consider a relaxation of the R-dual setup of independent interest. Several examples illustrate the results.     

On Spectral Minimal Partitions: A Survey

Given a bounded open set Ω in \mathbbRⁿ{\mathbb{R}^n} (or a Riemannian manifold) and a partition of Ω by k open sets D _j , we can consider the quantity max _j λ(D _j ) where λ(D _j ) is the groundstate energy of the Dirichlet realization of the Laplacian in D _j . If we denote by \mathfrakL_k(W){\mathfrak{L}_k(\Omega)} the infimum over all the k-partitions of max _j λ(D _j ), a minimal (spectral) k-partition is then a partition which realizes the infimum. Although the analysis is rather standard when k = 2 (we find the nodal domains of a second eigenfunction), the analysis of higher k’s becomes non trivial and quite interesting.     

An optimal bound on the tail distribution of the number of recurrences of an event in product spaces

 Let X ₁ ,X ₂ ,... be independent random variables and a a positive real number. For the sake of illustration, suppose A is the event that |X _i+1 +...+X _j |≥a for some integers 0≤i<j<∞. For each k≥2 we upper-bound the probability that A occurs k or more times, i.e. that A occurs on k or more disjoint intervals, in terms of P(A), the probability that A occurs at least once. More generally, let X=(X ₁ ,X ₂ ,...)Ω=Π _{j ≥1}Ω _j be a random element in a product probability space (Ω,ℬ,P=⊗ _{j ≥1} P _j ). We are interested in events AB that are (at most contable) unions of finite-dimensional cylinders. We term such sets sequentially searchable. Let L(A) denote the (random) number of disjoint intervals (i,j] such that the value of X _(i,j] =(X _i+1 ,...,X _j ) ensures that XA. By definition, for sequentially searchable A, P(A)≡P(L(A)≥1)=P(𝒩_{−ln (P(Ac))} ≥1), where 𝒩_γ denotes a Poisson random variable with some parameter γ>0. Without further assumptions we prove that, if 0<P(A)<1, then P(L(A)≥k)<P(𝒩_{−ln (P(Ac))} ≥k) for all integers k≥2. An application to sums of independent Banach space random elements in l ^∞ is given showing how to extend our theorem to situations having dependent components. Received: 8 June 2001 / Revised version: 30 October 2002 Published online: 15 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*" Supported by NSF Grant DMS-99-72417. RID="†" ID="†" Supported by the Swedish Research Council. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 60E15, 60G50 Key words or phrases: Tail probability inequalities – Hoffmann-Jo rgensen inequality – Poisson bounds – Number of event recurrences – Number of entrance times – Product spaces     

An analog of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic in ordered groupoids

In the note we consider ordered groupoids with the Riesz interpolation property, that is, ifa _i ≤b _j (i, j=1,2), then there exists ac such thata _i ≤c≤b _j (i, j=1,2). For such groupoids possessing the descending chain condition for the positive cone and the property