Moduli spaces of quadratic complexes and their singular surfaces

We construct the coarse moduli space of quadratic line complexes with a fixed Segre symbol σ as well as the moduli space of the corresponding singular surfaces. We show that the map associating to a quadratic line complex its singular surface induces a morphism . Finally we deduce that the varieties of cosingular quadratic line complexes are almost always curves.      

Non-free isometric immersions of Riemannian manifolds

Let (V, g) be a Riemannian manifold and let be the isometric immersion operator which, to a map , associates the induced metric on V, where denotes the Euclidean scalar product in . By Nash–Gromov implicit function theorem is infinitesimally invertible over the space of free maps. In this paper we study non-free isometric immersions . We show that the operator (where denotes the space of C ^∞- smooth quadratic forms on ) is infinitesimally invertible over a non-empty open subset of and therefore is an open map in the respective fine topologies.      

Homogeneous factorisations of Johnson graphs

For a graph Γ, subgroups , and an edge partition of Γ, the pair is a (G, M)-homogeneous factorisation if M is vertex-transitive on Γ and fixes setwise each part of , while G permutes the parts of transitively. A classification is given of all homogeneous factorisations of finite Johnson graphs. There are three infinite families and nine sporadic examples. This paper forms part of an ARC Discovery grant of the last two authors. The second author holds an Australian Research Council Australian Research Fellowship.     

Dichotomy Results for Fixed-Point Existence Problems for Boolean Dynamical Systems

A complete classification of the computational complexity of the fixed-point existence problem for Boolean dynamical systems, i.e., finite discrete dynamical systems over the domain {0, 1}, is presented. For function classes and graph classes , an ()-system is a Boolean dynamical system such that all local transition functions lie in and the underlying graph lies in . Let be a class of Boolean functions which is closed under composition and let be a class of graphs which is closed under taking minors. The following dichotomy theorems are shown: (1) If contains the self-dual functions and contains the planar graphs, then the fixed-point existence problem for ()-systems with local transition function given by truth-tables is NP-complete; otherwise, it is decidable in polynomial time. (2) If contains the self-dual functions and contains the graphs having vertex covers of size one, then the fixed-point existence problem for ()-systems with local transition function given by formulas or circuits is NP-complete; otherwise, it is decidable in polynomial time.      

On the number of moduli of plane sextics with six cusps

Let be the variety of irreducible sextics with six cusps as singularities. Let be one of irreducible components of . Denoting by the space of moduli of smooth curves of genus 4, we consider the rational map sending the general point [Γ] of Σ, corresponding to a plane curve , to the point of parametrizing the normalization curve of Γ. The number of moduli of Σ is, by definition the dimension of Π(Σ). We know that , where ρ(2, 4, 6) is the Brill–Noether number of linear series of dimension 2 and degree 6 on a curve of genus 4. We prove that both irreducible components of have number of moduli equal to seven.      

<Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis>-Principles for curves and knots of constant curvature

We prove that curves of constant curvature satisfy, in the sense of Gromov, the relative -dense h-principle in the space of immersed curves in Euclidean space R ^{n ≥ 3}. In particular, in the isotopy class of any given knot f there exists a knot f͂ of constant curvature which is -close to f. More importantly, we show that if f is , then the curvature of f͂ may be set equal to any constant c which is not smaller than the maximum curvature of f. We may also require that f͂ be tangent to f along any finite set of prescribed points, and coincide with f over any compact set with an open neighborhood where f has constant curvature c. The proof involves some basic convexity theory, and a sharp estimate for the position of the average value of a parameterized curve within its convex hull. The author’s research was supported in part by NSF CAREER award DMS-0332333.     

Generalized hexagons and Singer geometries

In this paper, we consider a set of lines of with the properties that (1) every plane contains 0, 1 or q + 1 elements of , (2) every solid contains no more than q ² + q + 1 and no less than q + 1 elements of , and (3) every point of is on q + 1 members of , and we show that, whenever (4) q ≠ 2 (respectively, q = 2) and the lines of through some point are contained in a solid (respectively, a plane), then is necessarily the set of lines of a regularly embedded split Cayley generalized hexagon in , with q even. We present examples of such sets not satisfying (4) based on a Singer cycle in , for all q.      

Examples of rank 3 product action transitive decompositions

A transitive decomposition is a pair where Γ is a graph and is a partition of the arc set of Γ such that there is a subgroup of automorphisms of Γ which leaves invariant and transitively permutes the parts in . In an earlier paper we gave a characterisation of G-transitive decompositions where Γ is the graph product K _m × K _m and G is a rank 3 group of product action type. This characterisation showed that every such decomposition arose from a 2-transitive decomposition of K _m via one of two general constructions. Here we use results of Sibley to give an explicit classification of those which arise from 2-transitive edge-decompositions of K _m .      

Normal generation and Clifford index on algebraic curves

For a smooth curve C it is known that a very ample line bundle on C is normally generated if Cliff() < Cliff(C) and there exist extremal line bundles (:non-normally generated very ample line bundle with Cliff() = Cliff(C)) with . However it has been unknown whether there exists an extremal line bundle with . In this paper, we prove that for any positive integers (g, c) with g = 2c + 5 and (mod 2) there exists a smooth curve of genus g and Clifford index c carrying an extremal line bundle with . In fact, a smooth quadric hypersurface section C of a general projective K3 surface always has an extremal line bundle with . More generally, if C has a line bundle computing the Clifford index c of C with , then C has such an extremal line bundle . For all authors, this work was supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by Korea Government (MOEHRD, Basic Reasearch Promotion Fund)(KRF-2005-070-C00005).     

Quasilinearization and curvature of Aleksandrov spaces

We present a new distance characterization of Aleksandrov spaces of non-positive curvature. By introducing a quasilinearization for abstract metric spaces we draw an analogy between characterization of Aleksandrov spaces and inner product spaces; the quasi-inner product is defined by means of the quadrilateral cosine—a metric substitute for the angular measure between two directions at different points. Our main result states that a geodesically connected metric space is an Aleksandrov domain (also known as a CAT(0) space) if and only if the quadrilateral cosine does not exceed one for every two pairs of distinct points in . We also observe that a geodesically connected metric space is an domain if and only if, for every quadruple of points in , the quadrilateral inequality (known as Euler’s inequality in ) holds. As a corollary of our main result we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a semimetric space to be an domain. Our results provide a complete solution to the Curvature Problem posed by Gromov in the context of metric spaces of non-positive curvature.      

Minimal non-$${\mathcal {F}}$$ -groups

Let be a saturated formation. We describe minimal non- -, minimal non- -, and minimal non-metabelian groups. Dedicated to L. A. Shemetkov on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.     

The Dirichlet problem for constant mean curvature surfaces in Heisenberg space

We study constant mean curvature graphs in the Riemannian three- dimensional Heisenberg spaces . Each such is the total space of a Riemannian submersion onto the Euclidean plane with geodesic fibers the orbits of a Killing field. We prove the existence and uniqueness of CMC graphs in with respect to the Riemannian submersion over certain domains taking on prescribed boundary values. L. J. Alías was partially supported by MEC/FEDER project MTM2004-04934-C04-02 and Fundación Séneca project 00625/PI/04, Spain.     

$${\mathcal{C}}_{0}$$ ( X)-algebras,stability and strongly self-absorbing $${\mathcal{C}}^{*}$$ -algebras

We study permanence properties of the classes of stable and so-called -stable -algebras, respectively. More precisely, we show that a (X)-algebra A is stable if all its fibres are, provided that the underlying compact metrizable space X has finite covering dimension or that the Cuntz semigroup of A is almost unperforated (a condition which is automatically satisfied for -algebras absorbing the Jiang–Su algebra tensorially). Furthermore, we prove that if is a K ₁-injective strongly self-absorbing -algebra, then A absorbs tensorially if and only if all its fibres do, again provided that X is finite-dimensional. This latter statement generalizes results of Blanchard and Kirchberg. We also show that the condition on the dimension of X cannot be dropped. Along the way, we obtain a useful characterization of when a -algebra with weakly unperforated Cuntz semigroup is stable, which allows us to show that stability passes to extensions of -absorbing -algebras. Research supported by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (through the SFB 478), by the EU-Network Quantum Spaces - Noncommutative Geometry (Contract No. HPRN-CT-2002-00280), and by the Center for Advanced Studies in Mathematics at Ben-Gurion University     

On the Intertwining of \partial{\mathcal{D}}-Isometries

Let be a strictly pseudoconvex bounded domain in with C ² boundary . If a subnormal m-tuple T of Hilbert space operators has the spectral measure of its minimal normal extension N supported on , then T is referred to as a -isometry. Using some non-trivial approximation theorems in the theory of several complex variables, we establish a commutant lifting theorem for those -isometries whose (joint) Taylor spectra are contained in a special superdomain Ω of . Further, we provide a function-theoretic characterization of those subnormal tuples whose Taylor spectra are contained in Ω and that are quasisimilar to a certain (fixed) -isometry T (of which the multiplication tuple on the Hardy space of the unit ball in is a rather special example). Submitted: September 9, 2007. Revised: October 10, 2007. Accepted: October 24, 2007.     

Uniform central limit theorems for kernel density estimators

Let be the classical kernel density estimator based on a kernel K and n independent random vectors X _i each distributed according to an absolutely continuous law on . It is shown that the processes , , converge in law in the Banach space , for many interesting classes of functions or sets, some -Donsker, some just -pregaussian. The conditions allow for the classical bandwidths h _n that simultaneously ensure optimal rates of convergence of the kernel density estimator in mean integrated squared error, thus showing that, subject to some natural conditions, kernel density estimators are ‘plug-in’ estimators in the sense of Bickel and Ritov (Ann Statist 31:1033–1053, 2003). Some new results on the uniform central limit theorem for smoothed empirical processes, needed in the proofs, are also included.      

The intersection map of subgroups and certain classes of finite groups

The goals of this paper are twofold. One is to look at the behavior of the collections of permutable subgroups and S-permutable subgroups under the intersection map into a fixed subgroup of a group. The other is to locally analyze the intersection map in connection with -, -, and -groups. In particular, we generalize Theorem 1 of Bauman [Arch. Math. (Basel) 25:337–340, 1974] to - and -groups.      

The Poisson boundary of lamplighter random walks on trees

Let be the homogeneous tree with degree q + 1 ≥ 3 and a finitely generated group whose Cayley graph is . The associated lamplighter group is the wreath product , where is a finite group. For a large class of random walks on this group, we prove almost sure convergence to a natural geometric boundary. If the probability law governing the random walk has finite first moment, then the probability space formed by this geometric boundary together with the limit distribution of the random walk is proved to be maximal, that is, the Poisson boundary. We also prove that the Dirichlet problem at infinity is solvable for continuous functions on the active part of the boundary, if the lamplighter “operates at bounded range”. Supported by ESF program RDSES and by Austrian Science Fund (FWF) P15577.     

Ample vector bundles with zero loci having a bielliptic curve section of low degree

Let be an ample vector bundle of rank r ≥ 2 on a smooth complex projective variety X of dimension n such that there exists a global section of whose zero locus Z is a smooth subvariety of dimension n − r ≥ 3 of X. Let H be an ample line bundle on X such that its restriction H _Z to Z is very ample. Triplets are classified under the assumption that (Z,H _Z ) has a smooth bielliptic curve section of genus ≥ 3 with .