The Mixed Curvatures on C N

The aim of the present paper is devoted to the investigation of some geometrical properties on the middle envelope in terms of the invariants of the third quadratic form of the normal line congruence C_N . The mixed middle curvature and mixed curvature on C_N are obtained in tenus of the Mean and Gauss curvatures of the surface of reference. Our study is considered as a continuation to Stephanidis ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5]). The technique adapted here is based on the methods of moving frames and their related exteriour forms [6] and [7].     

2-Arc-transitive cyclic covers of K n,n −nK 2

Du et al. (in J. Comb. Theory B 74:276–290, 1998 and J. Comb. Theory B 93:73–93, 2005), classified regular covers of complete graph whose fiber-preserving automorphism group acts 2-arc-transitively, and whose covering transformation group is either cyclic or isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}_{p}^{2}$ or $\mathbb{Z}_{p}^{3}$ with p a prime. In this paper, a complete classification is achieved of all the regular covers of bipartite complete graphs minus a matching K _n,n ?nK ₂ with cyclic covering transformation groups, whose fiber-preserving automorphism groups act 2-arc-transitively.     

A note on quadratic convergence of a smoothing Newton algorithm for the LCP

The linear complementarity problem (LCP) is to find ${(x,s)\in\mathfrak{R}^n\times\mathfrak{R}^n}$ such that (x, s) ≥ 0, s = Mx + q, x ^T s = 0 with ${M\in\mathfrak{R}^{n\times n}}$ and ${q\in\mathfrak{R}^n}$ . The smoothing Newton algorithm is one of the most efficient methods for solving the LCP. To the best of our knowledge, the best local convergence results of the smoothing Newton algorithm for the LCP up to now were obtained by Huang et al. (Math Program 99:423–441, 2004). In this note, by using a revised Chen–Harker–Kanzow–Smale smoothing function, we propose a variation of Huang–Qi–Sun’s algorithm and show that the algorithm possesses better local convergence properties than those given in Huang et al. (Math Program 99:423–441, 2004).     

Skew Pieri rules for Hall–Littlewood functions

We produce skew Pieri rules for Hall–Littlewood functions in the spirit of Assaf and McNamara (J. Comb. Theory Ser. A 118(1):277–290, 2011). The first two were conjectured by the first author (Konvalinka in J. Algebraic Comb. 35(4):519–545, 2012). The key ingredients in the proofs are a q-binomial identity for skew partitions and a Hopf algebraic identity that expands products of skew elements in terms of the coproduct and the antipode.     

On the functional codes defined by quadrics and Hermitian varieties

In recent years, functional codes have received much attention. In his PhD thesis, F.A.B. Edoukou investigated various functional codes linked to quadrics and Hermitian varieties defined in finite projective spaces (Edoukou, PhD Thesis, 2007). This work was continued in (Edoukou et al., Des Codes Cryptogr 56:219–233, 2010; Edoukou et al., J Pure Appl Algebr 214:1729–1739, 2010; Hallez and Storme, Finite Fields Appl 16:27–35, 2010), where the results of the thesis were improved and extended. In particular, Hallez and Storme investigated the functional codes ${C_2(\mathcal{H})}$ , with ${\mathcal{H}}$ a non-singular Hermitian variety in PG(N, q ²). The codewords of this code are defined by evaluating the points of ${\mathcal{H}}$ in the quadratic polynomials defined over ${\mathbb{F}_{q^2}}$ . We now present the similar results for the functional code ${C_{Herm}(\mathcal{Q})}$ . The codewords of this code are defined by evaluating the points of a non-singular quadric ${\mathcal{Q}}$ in PG(N, q ²) in the polynomials defining the Hermitian varieties of PG(N, q ²).     

On locally bounded above solutions of an equation of the Goła̧b–Schinzel type

We characterize solutions ${f, g : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}}$ of the functional equation f(x + g(x)y) = f(x)f(y) under the assumption that f is locally bounded above at each point ${x \in \mathbb{R}}$ . Our result refers to Go?a?b and Schinzel (Publ Math Debr 6:113–125, 1959) and Wo?od?ko (Aequationes Math 2:12–29, 1968).     

Several identities for certain products of theta functions

By means of a technique used by Carlitz and Subbarao to prove the quintuple product identity (Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 32(1):42–44, 1972), we recover a general identity (Chu and Yan, Electron. J. Comb. 14:#N7, 2007) for expanding the product of two Jacobi triple products. For applications, we briefly explore identities for certain products of theta functions φ(q), ψ(q) and modular relations for the Göllnitz-Gordon functions.     

Blow up for the critical generalized Korteweg–de Vries equation. I: Dynamics near the soliton

We consider the quintic generalized Korteweg–de Vries equation (gKdV) $$u_t + (u_{xx} + u^5)_x =0,$$ which is a canonical mass critical problem, for initial data in H ¹ close to the soliton. In earlier works on this problem, finite- or infinite-time blow up was proved for non-positive energy solutions, and the solitary wave was shown to be the universal blow-up profile, see [16], [26] and [20]. For well-localized initial data, finite-time blow up with an upper bound on blow-up rate was obtained in [18]. In this paper, we fully revisit the analysis close to the soliton for gKdV in light of the recent progress on the study of critical dispersive blow-up problems (see [31], [39], [32] and [33], for example). For a class of initial data close to the soliton, we prove that three scenarios only can occur: (i) the solution leaves any small neighborhood of the modulated family of solitons in the scale invariant L ² norm; (ii) the solution is global and converges to a soliton as t → ∞; (iii) the solution blows up in finite time T with speed $$\|u_x(t)\|_{L^2} \sim \frac{C(u_0)}{T-t} \quad {\rm as}\, t\to T.$$ Moreover, the regimes (i) and (iii) are stable. We also show that non-positive energy yields blow up in finite time, and obtain the characterization of the solitary wave at the zero-energy level as was done for the mass critical non-linear Schrödinger equation in [31].     

Lipschitz regularity for constrained local minimizers of convex variational integrals with a wide range of anisotropy

We establish interior gradient bounds for functions ${u \in W^1_{1, {\rm loc}} (\Omega)}$ which locally minimize the variational integral ${J [u, \Omega] = \int_\Omega h \left( |\nabla u| \right) dx}$ under the side condition ${u \ge \Psi}$ a.e. on Ω with obstacle ${\Psi}$ being locally Lipschitz. Here h denotes a rather general N-function allowing (p, q)-ellipticity with arbitrary exponents 1 < p ≤ q < ∞. Our arguments are based on ideas developed in Bildhauer et al. (Z Anal Anw 20:959–985, 2001) combined with techniques originating in Fuchs (2011).     

Generators for cubic surfaces with two skew lines over finite fields

Let S be a smooth cubic surface defined over a field K. As observed by Segre [5] and Manin [3, 4], there is a secant and tangent process on S that generates new K-rational points from old ones. It is natural to ask for the size of a minimal generating set for S(K). In a recent paper, for fields K with at least 13 elements, Siksek [7] showed that if S contains a skew pair of K-lines, then S(K) can be generated from one point. In this paper we prove the corresponding version of this result for fields K having at least 4 elements, and slightly milder results for # K = 2 or 3.     

An improved local convergence analysis for a two-step Steffensen-type method

We study a class of Steffensen-type algorithm for solving nonsmooth variational inclusions in Banach spaces. We provide a local convergence analysis under ω-conditioned divided difference, and the Aubin continuity property. This work on the one hand extends the results on local convergence of Steffensen’s method related to the resolution of nonlinear equations (see Amat and Busquier in Comput. Math. Appl. 49:13–22, 2005; J. Math. Anal. Appl. 324:1084–1092, 2006; Argyros in Southwest J. Pure Appl. Math. 1:23–29, 1997; Nonlinear Anal. 62:179–194, 2005; J. Math. Anal. Appl. 322:146–157, 2006; Rev. Colomb. Math. 40:65–73, 2006; Computational Theory of Iterative Methods, 2007). On the other hand our approach improves the ratio of convergence and enlarges the convergence ball under weaker hypotheses than one given in Hilout (Commun. Appl. Nonlinear Anal. 14:27–34, 2007).     

A symmetry property for q-weighted Robinson–Schensted and other branching insertion algorithms

In [19], a \(q\) -weighted version of the Robinson–Schensted algorithm was introduced. In this paper, we show that this algorithm has a symmetry property analogous to the well-known symmetry property of the usual Robinson–Schensted algorithm. The proof uses a generalisation of the growth diagram approach introduced by Fomin [5–8]. This approach, which uses ‘growth graphs’, can also be applied to a wider class of insertion algorithms which have a branching structure, including some of the other \(q\) -weighted versions of the Robinson–Schensted algorithm which have recently been introduced by Borodin–Petrov [2].     

The number of directions determined by less than q points

In this article we prove a theorem about the number of directions determined by less then q affine points, similar to the result of Blokhuis et al. (in J. Comb. Theory Ser. A 86(1), 187–196, 1999) on the number of directions determined by q affine points.     

Exact Multiplicity and Stability of Periodic Solutions for a Duffing Equation

The purpose of this paper is to give new criteria for the exact multiplicity and stability of 2π-periodic solutions for Duffing equation x′′ + cx′ + g(t, x) = h(t). The proof is based on the connections between degree theory and local index of periodic solutions due to Ortega [17], and the new L ^p estimates (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞) for periodic and anti-periodic eigenvalues of Hill’s equation due to Zhang and Li [26]. The class of g(t, x) has been greatly generalized.     

Slid Product of Loops: a Generalization

In this paper, following the slid product construction for loops with inverses of Pasotti and Zizioli [J Geom 100(1–2):129–145, 2011], we present the general setting in order to build up a new loop ${(L,\bigoplus)}$ starting from loops (K, +) equipped with a well ordering “ ${\preceq}$ ”, ${(P,\widehat{+})}$ and (P, +) with the same neutral element. The results established in the aforementioned note are generalized as well. Moreover we investigate the nuclei of L, the normality of subloops isomorphic to (K, +) and ${(P,\widehat{+})}$ and discuss some examples.     

Rigidity and the Lower Bound Theorem for Doubly Cohen–Macaulay Complexes

We prove that for d≥3, the 1-skeleton of any (d?1)-dimensional doubly Cohen–Macaulay (abbreviated 2-CM) complex is generically d-rigid. This implies that Barnette’s lower bound inequalities for boundary complexes of simplicial polytopes (Barnette, D. Isr. J. Math. 10:121–125, 1971; Barnette, D. Pac. J. Math. 46:349–354, 1973) hold for every 2-CM complex of dimension ≥2 (see Kalai, G. Invent. Math. 88:125–151, 1987). Moreover, the initial part (g ₀,g ₁,g ₂) of the g-vector of a 2-CM complex (of dimension ≥3) is an M-sequence. It was conjectured by Björner and Swartz (J. Comb. Theory Ser. A 113:1305–1320, 2006) that the entire g-vector of a 2-CM complex is an M-sequence.     

On a q-analogue for Bernoulli numbers

Inspired by Borwein et al. (Am. Math. Mon., 116(5):387–412, 2009), we define a sequence of q-analogues for the Bernoulli numbers under the framework of Strodt operators. We show that they not only satisfy identities similar to those of the q-analogue proposed by Carlitz (Duke Math. J., 15(4):987–1000, 1948), but also interesting analytical properties as functions of q. In particular, we give a simple analytic proof of a generalization of an explicit formula for the Bernoulli numbers given by Woon (Math. Mag., 70(1):51–56, 1997). We also define a set of q-analogues for the Stirling numbers of the second kind within our framework and prove a q-extension of a related, well-known closed form relating Bernoulli and Stirling numbers.     

A Characterization of the Finite Veronesean by Intersection Properties

A combinatorial characterization of the Veronese variety of all quadrics in PG(n, q) by means of its intersection properties with respect to subspaces is obtained. The result relies on a similar combinatorial result on the Veronesean of all conics in the plane PG(2, q) by Ferri [Atti Accad. Naz. Lincei Rend. 61(6), 603?C610 (1976)], Hirschfeld and Thas [General Galois Geometries. Oxford University Press, New York (1991)], and Thas and Van Maldeghem [European J. Combin. 25(2), 275?C285 (2004)], and a structural characterization of the quadric Veronesean by Thas and Van Maldeghem [Q. J. Math. 55(1), 99?C113 (2004)].     

Quadratic functions with prescribed spectra

We study a class of quadratic p-ary functions ${{\mathcal{F}}_{p,n}}$ from ${\mathbb{F}_{p^n}}$ to ${\mathbb{F}_p, p \geq 2}$ , which are well-known to have plateaued Walsh spectrum; i.e., for each ${b \in \mathbb{F}_{p^n}}$ the Walsh transform ${\hat{f}(b)}$ satisfies ${|\hat{f}(b)|^2 \in \{ 0, p^{(n+s)}\}}$ for some integer 0 ≤ s ≤ n ? 1. For various types of integers n, we determine possible values of s, construct ${{\mathcal{F}}_{p,n}}$ with prescribed spectrum, and present enumeration results. Our work generalizes some of the earlier results, in characteristic two, of Khoo et. al. (Des Codes Cryptogr, 38, 279–295, 2006) and Charpin et al. (IEEE Trans Inf Theory 51, 4286–4298, 2005) on semi-bent functions, and of Fitzgerald (Finite Fields Appl 15, 69–81, 2009) on quadratic forms.