A local Hahn–Banach theorem and its applications

An important consequence of the Hahn–Banach theorem says that on any locally convex Hausdorff topological space X, there are sufficiently many continuous linear functionals to separate points of X. In the paper, we establish a “local” version of this theorem. The result is applied to study the uo-dual of a Banach lattice that was recently introduced in Gao et al. (Positivity 22(3):711–725, 2018). We also provide a simplified approach to the measure-free characterization of uniform integrability established in Kardaras (J Funct Anal 266:1913–1927, 2014).     

Finite-order invariants of ornaments

Anornament is a collection of oriented closed curves in a plane, no three of which intersect at the same point. We consider homotopy invariants of ornaments. Thefinite-order invariants of ornaments are a natural analog of the Vassiliev invariants of links. The calculation of them is based on the homological study of the corresponding space of singular objects. We perform the “local” part of these calculations and a part of the “global” one, which allows us to estimate the dimensions of the spaces of invariants of any order. We also construct explicity two large series of such invariants and establish some new algebraic structures in the space of invariants. Translated from Itogi Nauki i Tekhniki, Seriya Sovremennaya Matematika i Ee Prilozheniya. Tematicheskie Obzory. Vol. 35, Algebraicheskaya Geometriya-6, 1996.     

First Hitting Time Analysis of the Independence Metropolis Sampler

In this paper, we study a special case of the Metropolis algorithm, the Independence Metropolis Sampler (IMS), in the finite state space case. The IMS is often used in designing components of more complex Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms. We present new results related to the first hitting time of individual states for the IMS. These results are expressed mostly in terms of the eigenvalues of the transition kernel. We derive a simple form formula for the mean first hitting time and we show tight lower and upper bounds on the mean first hitting time with the upper bound being the product of two factors: a “local” factor corresponding to the target state and a “global” factor, common to all the states, which is expressed in terms of the total variation distance between the target and the proposal probabilities. We also briefly discuss properties of the distribution of the first hitting time for the IMS and analyze its variance. We conclude by showing how some non-independence Metropolis–Hastings algorithms can perform better than the IMS and deriving general lower and upper bounds for the mean first hitting times of a Metropolis–Hastings algorithm.     

The Geometry of Standard Deontic Logic

Whereas geometrical oppositions (logical squares and hexagons) have been so far investigated in many fields of modal logic (both abstract and applied), the oppositional geometrical side of “deontic logic” (the logic of “obligatory”, “forbidden”, “permitted”, . . .) has rather been neglected. Besides the classical “deontic square” (the deontic counterpart of Aristotle’s “logical square”), some interesting attempts have nevertheless been made to deepen the geometrical investigation of the deontic oppositions: Kalinowski (La logique des normes, PUF, Paris, 1972) has proposed a “deontic hexagon” as being the geometrical representation of standard deontic logic, whereas Joerden (jointly with Hruschka, in Archiv für Rechtsund Sozialphilosophie 73:1, 1987), McNamara (Mind 105:419, 1996) and Wessels (Die gute Samariterin. Zur Struktur der Supererogation, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2002) have proposed some new “deontic polygons” for dealing with conservative extensions of standard deontic logic internalising the concept of “supererogation”. Since 2004 a new formal science of the geometrical oppositions inside logic has appeared, that is “n-opposition theory”, or “NOT”, which relies on the notion of “logical bi-simplex of dimension m” (m = n − 1). This theory has received a complete mathematical foundation in 2008, and since then several extensions. In this paper, by using it, we show that in standard deontic logic there are in fact many more oppositional deontic figures than Kalinowski’s unique “hexagon of norms” (more ones, and more complex ones, geometrically speaking: “deontic squares”, “deontic hexagons”, “deontic cubes”, . . ., “deontic tetraicosahedra”, . . .): the real geometry of the oppositions between deontic modalities is composed by the aforementioned structures (squares, hexagons, cubes, . . ., tetraicosahedra and hyper-tetraicosahedra), whose complete mathematical closure happens in fact to be a “deontic 5-dimensional hyper-tetraicosahedron” (an oppositional very regular solid).      

Homotopy classification of equivariant regular sections

In his paper [2], Bierstone proves the equivariant Gromov theorem which is an integrability theorem for “open regularity condition” of equivariant sections of a smooth G-fibre bundle under the assumption that all orbit bundles of base manifold are non-closed. Here, we prove the result without his assumption under a nice “open regularity condition” which we call “G-extensible”. One of the examples of “G-extensible condition” is given by notions of Thom-Boardman singularities.     

The semantics of knowledge attributions

The basic idea of conversational contextualism is that knowledge attributions are context sensitive in that a given knowledge attribution may be true if made in one context but false if made in another, owing to differences in the attributors’ conversational contexts. Moreover, the context sensitivity involved is traced back to the context sensitivity of the word “know,” which, in turn, is commonly modelled on the case either of genuine indexicals such as “I” or “here” or of comparative adjectives such as “tall” or “rich.” But contextualism faces various problems. I argue that in order to solve these problems we need to look for another account of the context sensitivity involved in knowledge attributions and I sketch an alternative proposal.     

Orthogonal and bounded orthogonal spectral representations

The concept of an orthogonal spectral representation (OTSR) of a Hilbert spaceH relative to a spectral measureE(.) is introduced and it is shown that every Hilbert space admits an OTSR relative to a given spectral measure. Apart from the various results obtained about OTSRs, the principal result of Allan Brown (1974) is deduced as an easy consequence of this study. A new complete system of unitary invariants called the “equivalence of OTSRs”, is given for spectral measures. Two special types of OTSRs called “BOTSR” and “COBOTSR” are introduced and characterized respectively in terms of the “GCGS-property” and “CGS-property” of the associated spectral measure. Various complete systems of unitary invariants are given for spectral measures with the GCGS-property. Finally, the Wecken-Plesner-Rohlin theorem on hermitian operators with simple spectra is generalized to arbitrary spectral measures.     

On the reduction to a complete class in multiple decision problems (2)

Summary As a criterion for the reduction to a complete class of decision rule in case where actions, samples and states are finite in number, “regret-relief ratio” criterion and “incremental loss-gain ratio” criterion were introduced in 2-state of nature case [2]. In this paper, “generalized regret-relief ratio” criterion ink-state of nature case is introduced as an extension of “regret-relief ratio” criterion and its usefulness is shown with an example. The Institute of Statistical Mathematics     

Concavity of the Lagrangian for quasi-periodic orbits

Percival introduced a “Lagrangian” for finding quasi-periodic orbits. For suitable area preserving mappings, we show that Percival's “Lagrangian” is strictly concave with respect to an appropriate affine structure on its domain. Consequently, the “Lagrangian” admits a unique maximum in the case of irrational frequencies. Supported by NSF grant MCS 79-02017     

On the Structure of the Ergosurface of Pomeransky-Senkov Black Rings

We study the properties of the ergosurface of the Pomeransky–Senkov black rings, and show that it splits into an “inner” and an “outer” region. As for the singular set, the topology of the “outer ergosurface” depends upon the value of parameters.     

Lebesgue numbers and Atsuji spaces in subsystems of second-order arithmetic

We study Lebesgue and Atsuji spaces within subsystems of second order arithmetic. The former spaces are those such that every open covering has a Lebesgue number, while the latter are those such that every continuous function defined on them is uniformly continuous. The main results we obtain are the following: the statement “every compact space is Lebesgue” is equivalent to ; the statements “every perfect Lebesgue space is compact” and “every perfect Atsuji space is compact” are equivalent to ; the statement “every Lebesgue space is Atsuji” is provable in ; the statement “every Atsuji space is Lebesgue” is provable in . We also prove that the statement “the distance from a closed set is a continuous function” is equivalent to . Received: February 2, 1996     

A complexity measure for families of binary sequences

In earlier papers finite pseudorandom binary sequences were studied, quantitative measures of pseudorandomness of them were introduced and studied, and large families of “good” pseudorandom sequences were constructed. In certain applications (cryptography) it is not enough to know that a family of “good” pseudorandom binary sequences is large, it is a more important property if it has a “rich”, “complex” structure. Correspondingly, the notion of “f-complexity” of a family of binary sequences is introduced. It is shown that the family of “good” pseudorandom binary sequences constructed earlier is also of high f-complexity. Finally, the cardinality of the smallest family achieving a prescibed f-complexity and multiplicity is estimated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the interaction of δ-shocks and contact vacuum states

We study the pressureless gas equations, with piecewise constant initial data. In the immediate solution, δ-shocks and contact vacuum states arise and even meet (interact) eventually. A solution beyond the “interaction” is constructed. It shows that the δ-shock will continue with the velocity it attained instantaneously before the time of interaction, and similarly, the contact vacuum state will move past the δ-shock with a velocity value prior to the interaction. We call this the “no-effect-from-interaction” solution. We prove that this solution satisfies a family of convex entropies (in the Lax’s sense). Next, we construct an infinitely large family of weak solutions to the “interaction”. Suppose further that any of these solutions satisfy a convex entropy, it is necessary and suffcient that these solutions reduce to only the “no-effect-from-interaction” solution. In [1], Bouchut constructed another entropy satisfying solution. As with other previous papers, it is obvious that it will not be sufficient that a “correct” solution satisfies a convex entropy, in a non-strictly hyperbolic conservation laws system.     

The Concavity Assumption on Felicities and Asymptotic Dynamics in the RSS Model

An analysis of the RSS model in mathematical economics involves the study of an infinite-horizon variational problem in discrete time. Under the assumption that the felicity function is upper semicontinuous and “supported” at the value of the maximally-sustainable level of a production good, we report a generalization of results on the equivalence, existence and asymptotic convergence of optimal trajectories in this model. We consider two parametric specifications, and under the second, identify a “symmetry” condition on the zeroes of a “discrepancy function” underlying the objective function that proves to be necessary and sufficient for the asymptotic convergence of good programs. With a concave objective function, as is standard in the antecedent literature, we show that the symmetry condition reduces to an equivalent “non-interiority” condition.     

Cogito ergo mundus talis est

This paper deals with one of the basic philosophical questions in modern cosmology: can the so-called “Anthropic Principle”, considered as an alternative to the classical teleology of creation, be an adequate explanation of the evidence that our universe is “fine-tuned” for the emergence of life and consciousness. The main problem with this principle is not its presumed teleology, as it is sometimes wrongly supposed, but quite the contrary: its intention to avoid teleological explanations by including the existence of many universes (“multiverse”) into extended cosmological models. After having compared logical and cosmological many-worlds concepts, this paper reaches the conclusion that the ontological reality of the “multiverse” is an even more problematic presupposition than some properly revised version of teleological causality. This in itself does not imply the classical theistic explanation of creation, since it also yields a pantheistic explanation of the emergence of life and consciousness in our universe.     

Expressing and Describing Experiences. A Case of Showing Versus Saying

Experiences are interpreted as conscious mental occurrences that are of phenomenal character. There is already a kind of (weak) intentionality involved with this phenomenal interpretation. A stricter conception of experiences distinguishes between purely phenomenal experiences and intentional experiences in a narrow sense. Wittgenstein’s account of psychological (experiential) verbs is taken over: Usually, expressing mental states verbally is not describing them. According to this, “I believe” can be seen as an expression of one’s own belief, but not as an expression of a belief about one’s belief. Hence, the utterance “I believe it is raining” shows that I believe that it is raining, although it is not said by these words that I believe that it is raining. Thinking thoughts such as “I believe it is raining, but it is not raining” (a variant of Moore’s paradox) is an absurdity between what is already said by silently uttering “It is not raining” and what is shown by silently uttering “I believe it is raining.” The paper agrees with a main result of Wittgenstein’s considerations of Moore’s paradox, namely the view that logical structure, deducibility, and consistency cannot be reduced solely to propositions—besides a logic of propositions, there is, for example, a logic of assertions and of imperatives, respectively.     

Linear forms and quadratic uniformity for functions on ℤ<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis></Subscript>

A very useful fact in additive combinatorics is that analytic expressions that can be used to count the number of structures of various kinds in subsets of Abelian groups are robust under quasirandom perturbations, and moreover that quasirandomness can often be measured by means of certain easily described norms, known as uniformity norms. However, determining which uniformity norms work for which structures turns out to be a surprisingly hard question. In [GW10a] and [GW10b], [GW10c], we gave a complete answer to this question for groups of the form G = F _p ⁿ , provided p is not too small. In ℤ _N , substantial extra difficulties arise, of which the most important is that an “inverse theorem” even for the uniformity norm || ·||_U³{\left\| \cdot \right\|_{{U^3}}} requires a more sophisticated “local” formulation. When N is prime, ℤ _N is not rich in subgroups, so one must use regular Bohr neighbourhoods instead. In this paper, we prove the first non-trivial case of the main conjecture from [GW10a]. Moreover, we obtain a doubly exponential bound.     

Two Characterizations of Optimality in Dynamic Programming

It holds in great generality that a plan is optimal for a dynamic programming problem, if and only if it is “thrifty” and “equalizing.” An alternative characterization of an optimal plan, that applies in many economic models, is that the plan must satisfy an appropriate Euler equation and a transversality condition. Here we explore the connections between these two characterizations.     

Game theoretical optimization inspired by information theory

Inspired by previous work on information theoretical optimization problems, the basics of an axiomatic theory of certain special two-person zero-sum games is developed. One of the players, “Observer”, is imagined to have a “mind”, the other, “Nature”, not. These ideas lead to un-symmetric modeling as the two players are treated quite differently. Basic concavity- and convexity results as well as a general minimax theorem are derived from the axioms.     

Dynamic programming—neural network real-time traffic adaptive signal control algorithm

In this paper, an “intelligent” isolated intersection control system was developed. The developed “intelligent” system makes “real time” decisions as to whether to extend (and how much) current green time. The model developed is based on the combination of the dynamic programming and neural networks. Many tests show that the outcome (the extension of the green time) of the proposed neural network is nearly equal to the best solution. Practically negligible CPU times were achieved, and were thus absolutely acceptable for the “real time” application of the developed algorithm.