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.     

Correction: Abelian Varieties defined over their Fields of Moduli, I

Bull London Math. Soc, 4 (1972), 370–372. The proof of the theorem contains an error. Before giving acorrect proof, we state two lemmas. LEMMA 1. Let K/k be a cyclic Galois extension of degree m, let generate Gal (K/k), and let (A, I, ) be defined over K. Supposethat there exists an isomorphism :(A,I,) (A, I, ) over K suchthat v^m–1 ... = 1, where v is the canonical isomorphism(A^m, I^m, ^m) (A, I, ). Then (A, I, ) has a model over k, whichbecomes isomorphic to (A, I, ) over K. Proof. This follows easily from [7], as is essentially explainedon p. 371. LEMMA 2. Let G be an abelian pro-finite group and let : G Q/Z be a continuous character of G whose image has order p.Then either: (a) there exist subgroups G' and H of G such that H is cyclicof order p^m for some m, (G') = 0, and G = G' x H, or (b) for any m > 0 there exists a continuous character m ofG such that p^m _m = . Proof. If (b) is false for a given m, then there exists an element G, of order p^r for some r m, such that () ¦ 0. (Considerthe sequence dual to 0 Ker (p^m) G ^pm G). There exists an opensubgroup G_o of G such that (G₀) = 0 and has order p^r in G/G₀.Choose H to be the subgroup of G generated by , and then aneasy application to G/G₀ of the theory of finite abelian groupsshows the existence of G' (note that () ¦ 0 implies that is not a p-th. power in G). We now prove the theorem. The proof is correct up to the statement(iv) (except that (i) should read: F' k₁ F'ab). To removea minor ambiguity in the proof of (iv), choose to be an elementof Gal (F'_ab/k₂) whose image $$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$ in Gal (k₁/k₂) generates this last group. The error occursin the statement that the canonical map v : A^P A acts on pointsby sending a^p a; it, of course, sends a a. The proof is correct, however, in the case that it is possibleto choose so that ^p = 1 (in Gal (F'/k₂)). By applying Lemma 2 to G = Gal (F'_ab/k₂) and the map G Gal(k₁/k₂) one sees that only the following two cases have to beconsidered. (a) It is possible to choose so that ^pm = 1, for some m, andG = G' x H where G' acts trivially on k₁ and H is generatedby . (b) For any m > 0 there exists a field K, F'ab K k₁ k₂is a cyclic Galois extension of degree p^m. In the first case, we let K F'_ab be the fixed field of G'.Then (A, I, ), regarded as being defined over K, has a modelover k₂. Indeed, if m = 1, then this was observed above, butwhen m > 1 the same argument applies. In the second case, let : (A, I, ) (A$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$, I$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma }$$, $$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$) be an isomorphism defined over k₁ and let v ... ^p–1 = µ(R). If is replaced by for some Aut_k1((A, I, )) then is replacedby ^P. Thus, as µ(R) is finite, we may assume that ^pm–1= 1 for some m. Choose K, as in (b), to be of degree p^m overk₂. Let _m be a generator of Gal (K/k₂) whose restriction tok₁ is $$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma }$$. Then : (A, I, ) (A^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma }$$}, I^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$}, ^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma }$$} = (A^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$m}, I^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma }$$m}, ^{$$\stackrel{\&macr;}{\sigma}$$m} is an isomorphism defined over K and v ^mpm–1, ... ^m =^pm–1 = 1, and so, by) Lemma 1, (A, I, ) has a model overk₂ which becomes isomorphic to (A, I, over K. The proof may now be completed as before. Addendum: Professor Shimura has pointed out to me that the claimon lines 25 and 26 of p. 371, viz that µ(R) is a puresubgroup of _R^*t, does not hold for all rings R. Thus this condition,which appears to be essential for the validity of the theorem,should be included in the hypotheses. It holds, for example,if µ(R) is a direct summand of µ(F).     

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.     

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.     

Uniqueness of solutions to weak parabolic equations for measures

We study uniqueness of solutions of parabolic equations formeasures µ(dt dx) = µ_t(dx)dt of the type L*µ = 0, satisfying µ_t as t 0, where each µ_tis a probability measure on ^d, L = _t + a^ij(t, x)_xixj + bⁱ(t,x)_xj is a differential operator on (0, T) x ^d and is a giveninitial measure. One main result is that uniqueness holds underuniform ellipticity and Lipschitz conditions on a^ij but forbⁱ merely local integrability and coercivity conditions aresufficient.     

The structure of the normalisers of the congruence subgroups of the Hecke group G5

Let = 2cos (/5) and let []. Denote the normaliser ofG₀() of the Hecke group G₅ in PSL₂() by N(G₀()). Then N(G₀())= G₀(/h), where h is the largest divisor of 4 such that h² divides. Further, N(G₀())/G₀() is either 1 (if h = 1), ₂ x ₂ (if h= 2) or ₄ x ₄ (if h = 4).     

Relation Modules of Infinite Groups

Let F_n be the free group of rank n with basis x₁, x₂, ..., x_n,and let d(G) denote the minimal number of generators of thefinitely generated group G. Suppose that n d(G). There existsan exact sequence and wemay view the free abelian group as a right ZG-module by defining (rR')^g = r^g–1R' for allg G, where g^–1 is any preimage of g under , and = (g^–1)^–1 r(g^–1),the conjugate of r by g^–1. We call the relation module of G associated with the presentation(1), and say that has ambient rank n. Furthermore, we call the group F_n/R' the free abelianizedextension of G associated with (1). 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 20F05, 20C07.     

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.     

Exceptional Functions and Normality

Yang proved in [10] that if f and f^(k) have no fix-points forevery fF, where F is a family of meromorphic functions in adomain G and k a fixed integer, then F is normal in G. In thispaper we prove normality for families F for which every fF omits₁ and f^(k) omits ₂, where ₁ and ₂ are analytic functions with. 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 30D35, 30D45.     

Serre's Theorem on the Cohomology Algebra of a p-Group

The purpose of this note is to give a proof of a theorem ofSerre, which states that if G is a p-group which is not elementaryabelian, then there exist an integer m and non-zero elementsx₁, ..., x_m H¹ (G, Z/p) such that with ß the Bockstein homomorphism. Denote by m_G thesmallest integer m satisfying the above property. The theoremwas originally proved by Serre [5], without any bound on m_G.Later, in [2], Kroll showed that m_G p^k – 1, with k =dim_Z/pH¹ (G, Z/p). Serre, in [6], also showed that m_G (p^k –1)/(p – 1). In [3], using the Evens norm map, Okuyamaand Sasaki gave a proof with a slight improvement on Serre'sbound; it follows from their proof (see, for example, [1, Theorem4.7.3]) that m_G (p + 1)p^k–2. However, m_G can be sharpenedfurther, as we see below. For convenience, write H^*(G, Z/p) = H^*(G). For every x_i H¹(G),set 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 20J06.     

The Symmetrized Bidisc and Lempert's Theorem

Let G C² be the open symmetrized bidisc, namely G = {(₁ + ₂,₁₂) : |₁| < 1, |₂| < 1}. In this paper, a proof is giventhat G is not biholomorphic to any convex domain in C². By combiningthis result with earlier work of Agler and Young, the authorshows that G is a bounded domain on which the Carathéodorydistance and the Kobayashi distance coincide, but which is notbiholomorphic to a convex set. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification32F45 (primary), 15A18 (secondary).     

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.     

Frame duality properties for projective unitary representations

Let be a projective unitary representation of a countable groupG on a separable Hilbert space H. If the set B of Bessel vectorsfor is dense in H, then for any vector x H the analysis operator_x makes sense as a densely defined operator from B to ²(G)-space.Two vectors x and y are called -orthogonal if the range spacesof _x and _y are orthogonal, and they are -weakly equivalent ifthe closures of the ranges of _x and _y are the same. These propertiesare characterized in terms of the commutant of the representation.It is proved that a natural geometric invariant (the orthogonalityindex) of the representation agrees with the cyclic multiplicityof the commutant of (G). These results are then applied to Gaborsystems. A sample result is an alternate proof of the knowntheorem that a Gabor sequence is complete in L²( ^d) ifand only if the corresponding adjoint Gabor sequence is ²-linearlyindependent. Some other applications are also discussed.     

Approximation of Ground State Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions of Dirichlet Laplacians

Let be a bounded connected open set in R^N, N 2, and let –0be the Dirichlet Laplacian defined in L²(). Let > 0 be thesmallest eigenvalue of –, and let > 0 be its correspondingeigenfunction, normalized by ||||₂ = 1. For sufficiently small>0 we let R() be a connected open subset of satisfying Let – 0 be the Dirichlet Laplacian on R(), and let >0and >0 be its ground state eigenvalue and ground state eigenfunction,respectively, normalized by ||||₂=1. For functions f definedon , we let Sf denote the restriction of f to R(). For functionsg defined on R(), we let Tg be the extension of g to satisfying 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 47F05.     

Cocroissance Des Groupes A Petite Simplification

Let be a group presented by e₁,...,e_m|r₁,...,r_k, L the freegroup generated by e₁,...,e_m, and N = Ker(L). Let c_n be thenumber of elements of length n in N. We know that c = lim sup(c_n)^1/n exists and that (2m–1) < c 2m – 1. ifN {1}. We prove that if the group satisfies a condition slightlyweaker than the small cancellation condition C^'() with <1/6, then c(2m–1) when the lengths of the relations r_itend to infinity. A consequence of this result is a theoremof Grigorchuk.     

On Extensions of Myers' Theorem

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold, and let h be a smoothfunction on M. Let p^h(x) = inf||–₁(Ric_x(,)–2Hess(h_x(,)).Here Ric_x denotes the Ricci curvature at x and Hess(h) is theHessian of h. Then M has finite fundamental group if ^h–p^h<0. Here ^h =:+2L_h is the Bismut-Witten Laplacian. This leadsto a quick proof of recent results on extension of Myers' theoremto manifolds with mostly positive curvature. There is also asimilar result for noncompact manifolds.     

Cardinal Invariants and Eventually Different Functions

In this paper we study several kinds of maximal almost disjointfamilies. In the main result of this paper we show that forsuccessor cardinals , there is an unexpected connection betweeninvariants a_e(), b() and a certain cardinal invariant m_d(⁺)on ⁺. As a corollary we get for example the following result.For a successor cardinal , even assuming that ^< = and 2= ⁺, the following is not provable in Zermelo–Fraenkelset theory. There is a ⁺-cc poset which does not collapse andwhich forces a() = ⁺ < a_e() = ⁺⁺ = 2. We also apply the ideasfrom the proofs of these results to study a = a() and non(M).2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 03E17 (primary), 03E05(secondary).     

Partial Difference Sets with Paley Parameters

Partial difference sets with parameters (,k,,µ) = (,(– 1)/2, ( – 5)/4,( – 1)/4) are called Paleypartial difference sets. By using finite local rings, we constructa family of Paley PDSs for abelian p-groups with any given exponent.Furthermore, we prove some non-existence results on Paley PDSs.Using these results, we prove that Paley PDSs exist in a rank2 abelian group if and only if the group is isomorphic to Z_p^r x Z_{p ^r} where p is an odd prime.     

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.