The extended gamma class and applications

The gamma class Γ _α (g) consists of positive and measurable functions that satisfy f(x+yg(x))/f(x)→exp(αy). In most cases, the auxiliary function g is Beurling varying, i.e. g(x)/x→0 and g∈Γ₀(g). Taking h=logf, we find that h∈EΓ _α (g,1), where EΓ _α (g,a) is the class of ultimately positive and measurable functions that satisfy (f(x+yg(x))?f(x))/a(x)→αy. In this paper, we discuss local uniform convergence for functions in the classes Γ _α (g) and EΓ _α (g,a). From this we obtain several representation theorems. We also prove some higher order relations for functions in the classes Γ _α (g) and EΓ _α (g,a). Some applications conclude the paper.     

Blow-up and global solutions for a class of nonlinear parabolic equations with different kinds of boundary conditions

By constructing different auxiliary functions and using Hopf’s maximum principle, the sufficient conditions for the blow-up and global solutions are presented for nonlinear parabolic equation u_t = ∇(a(u)b(x)c(t)∇u) + f(x, u, q, t) with different kinds of boundary conditions. The upper bounds of the “blow-up time” and the “upper estimates” of global solutions are provided. Finally, some examples are presented as the application of the obtained results.     

On functions convex in the direction of the real axis with a fixed second coefficient

In the paper we consider the class Γ of analytic and univalent functions f in the unit disk Δ, normalized by f(0) = f′(0) − 1 = 0, having real coefficients and such that f(Δ) is convex in the direction of the real axis. We are especially interested in some subclasses of Γ. The most important of them is Γ(c) consisting of those functions which have the second coefficients of the Taylor expansion fixed and equal to c. We obtain the Koebe set for this class as well as for the classes Γ⁺(c) and Γ⁻(c) of functions which are in some sense convex in the direction of positive and negative axes respectively.     

Fractal oscillations of self-adjoint and damped linear differential equations of second-order

For a prescribed real number s ∈ [1, 2), we give some sufficient conditions on the coefficients p(x) and q(x) such that every solution y = y(x), y ∈ C²((0, T]) of the linear differential equation (p(x)y′)′ + q(x)y = 0 on (0, T], is bounded and fractal oscillatory near x = 0 with the fractal dimension equal to s. This means that y oscillates near x = 0 and the fractal (box-counting) dimension of the graph Γ(y) of y is equal to s as well as the s dimensional upper Minkowski content (generalized length) of Γ(y) is finite and strictly positive. It verifies that y admits similar kind of the fractal geometric asymptotic behaviour near x = 0 like the chirp function y_ch(x) = a(x)S(φ(x)), which often occurs in the time-frequency analysis and its various applications. Furthermore, this kind of oscillations is established for the Bessel, chirp and other types of damped linear differential equations given in the form y″ + (μ/x)y′ + g(x)y = 0, x ∈ (0, T]. In order to prove the main results, we state a new criterion for fractal oscillations near x = 0 of real continuous functions which essentially improves related one presented in [1].     

On the rates of convergence of BBH-Kantorovich operators and their Bézier variant

In the present paper we consider the Bézier variant of BBH-Kantorovich operators J_n,αf for functions f measurable and locally bounded on the interval [0, ∞) with α ? 1. By using the Chanturiya modulus of variation we estimate the rate of pointwise convergence of J_n,αf(x) at those x > 0 at which the one-sided limits f(x+), f(x−) exist. The very recent result of Chen and Zeng (2009) [L. Chen, X.M. Zeng, Rate of convergence of a new type Kantorovich variant of Bleimann-Butzer-Hahn Operators, J. Inequal. Appl. 2009 (2009) 10. Article ID 852897] is extended to more general classes of functions.     

Meromorphic Functions That Share Fixed-Points

In this paper, we prove the following result: Let f(z) and g(z) be two nonconstant meromorphic(entire) functions, n ≥ 11(n ≥ 6) a positive integer. If fⁿ(z)f′(z) and gⁿ(z)g′(z) have the same fixed-points, then either f(z) = c₁e^cz2, g(z) = c₂e^− cz2, where c₁, c₂, and c are three constants satisfying 4(c₁c₂)^n + 1c² = −1, or f(z) ≡ tg(z) for a constant t such that t^n + 1 = 1.     

Multiple positive solutions of nonhomogeneous elliptic systems with strongly indefinite structure and critical Sobolev exponents

In this paper, we study the existence of multiple positive solutions to some Hamiltonian elliptic systems −Δv=λu+u^p+εf(x), −Δu=μv+v^q+δg(x) in Ω;u,v>0 in Ω; u=v=0 on ∂Ω, where Ω is a bounded domain in R^N (N?3); 0?f, g∈L∞(Ω); 1/(p+1)+1/(q+1)=(N−2)/N, p,q>1; λ,μ>0. Using sub- and supersolution method and based on an adaptation of the dual variational approach, we prove the existence of at least two nontrivial positive solutions for all λ,μ∈(0,λ₁) and ε,δ∈(0,δ₀), where λ₁ is the first eigenvalue of the Laplace operator −Δ with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions and δ₀ is a positive number.     

Generalized Gaussian quadrature rules over two-dimensional regions with linear sides

This paper presents a generalized Gaussian quadrature method for numerical integration over triangular, parallelogram and quadrilateral elements with linear sides. In order to derive the quadrature rule, a general transformation of the regions, R₁ = {(x, y)∣a ? x ? b, g(x) ? y ? h(x)} and R₂ = {(x, y)∣a ? y ? b, g(y) ? x ? h(y)}, where g(x), h(x), g(y) and h(y) are linear functions, is given from (x, y) space to a square in (ξ, η) space, S: {(ξ, η)∣0 ? ξ ? 1, 0 ? η ? 1}. Generlized Gaussian quadrature nodes and weights introduced by Ma et.al. in 1997 are used in the product formula presented in this paper to evaluate the integral over S, as it is proved to give more accurate results than the classical Gauss Legendre nodes and weights. The method can be used to integrate a wide class of functions including smooth functions and functions with end-point singularities, over any two-dimensional region, bounded by linear sides. The performance of the method is illustrated for different functions over different two-dimensional regions with numerical examples.     

A non-separable solution of the diffusion equation based on the Galerkin’s method using cubic splines

The two dimensional diffusion equation of the form is considered in this paper. We try a bi-cubic spline function of the form as its solution. The initial coefficients C_i,j(0) are computed simply by applying a collocation method; C_i,j = f(x_i, y_j) where f(x, y) = u(x, y, 0) is the given initial condition. Then the coefficients C_i,j(t) are computed by X(t) = e^tQX(0) where X(t) = (C_0,1, C_0,1, C_0,2, … , C_0,N, C_1,0, … , C_N,N) is a one dimensional array and the square matrix Q is derived from applying the Galerkin’s method to the diffusion equation. Note that this expression provides a solution that is not necessarily separable in space coordinates x, y. The results of sample calculations for a few example problems along with the calculation results of approximation errors for a problem with known analytical solution are included.     

On the Ni(x) integral function and its application to the Airy’s non-homogeneous equation

In this article, we discuss a recently introduced function, Ni(x), to which we will refer as the Nield-Kuznetsov function. This function is attractive in the solution of inhomogeneous Airy’s equation. We derive and document some elementary properties of this function and outline its application to Airy’s equation subject to initial conditions. We introduce another function, Ki(x), that arises in connection with Ni(x) when solving Airy’s equation with a variable forcing function. In Appendix A, we derive a number of properties of both Ni(x) and Ki(x), their integral representation, ascending and asymptotic series representations. We develop iterative formulae for computing all derivatives of these functions, and formulae for computing the values of the derivatives at x = 0. An interesting finding is the type of differential equations Ni(x) satisfies. In particular, it poses itself as a solution to Langer’s comparison equation.     

Prospective teachers’ reactions to Right-or-Wrong tasks: The case of derivatives of absolute value functions

This paper illustrates the role of a Thinking-about-Derivatives task in identifying learners’ derivative conceptions and for promoting their critical thinking about derivatives of absolute value functions. The task included three parts: Define the derivative of a function f(x) at x = x_0,Solve-if-Possible the derivative of f(x) = |x| at x = 2 and at x = 0, and evaluate the correctness of suggested solutions in a Right-or-Wrong part. Three prospective teachers, Noa, Anat and Daniel were individually interviewed when solving the task. We found that while the participants correctly solved the Define part, they exhibited some erroneous images in the Solve-if-Possible part, and their work on the Right-or-Wrong part contributed to their critical thinking about functions and derivatives. All three participants expressed their appreciation of their work on the Right-or-Wrong part of the task.     

A new off-step high order approximation for the solution of three-space dimensional nonlinear wave equations

In this paper, we propose a new high accuracy numerical method of O(k² + k²h² + h⁴) based on off-step discretization for the solution of 3-space dimensional non-linear wave equation of the form u_tt = A(x,y,z,t)u_xx + B(x,y,z,t)u_yy + C(x,y,z,t)u_zz + g(x,y,z,t,u,u_x,u_y,u_z,u_t), 0 < x,y,z < 1,t > 0 subject to given appropriate initial and Dirichlet boundary conditions, where k > 0 and h > 0 are mesh sizes in time and space directions respectively. We use only seven evaluations of the function g as compared to nine evaluations of the same function discussed in  and . We describe the derivation procedure in details of the algorithm. The proposed numerical algorithm is directly applicable to wave equation in polar coordinates and we do not require any fictitious points to discretize the differential equation. The proposed method when applied to a telegraphic equation is also shown to be unconditionally stable. Comparative numerical results are provided to justify the usefulness of the proposed method.     

Boundedness in Nonlinear Asymmetric Oscillations

In this paper, the boundedness of all solutions of the nonlinear equation (?_p(x′))′+(p-1)[α?_p(x⁺)−β?_p(x⁻)]+f(x)+g(x)=e(t) is discussed, where e(t)∈C⁷ is 2π_p-periodic, f,g are bounded C⁶ functions, ?_p(u)=∣u∣^p−2u, p?2,α,β are positive constants, x⁺=max{x,0},x⁻=max{−x,0}.     

Boundedness of solutions for asymmetric Duffing equations

In this paper, we are concerned with the boundedness of all the solutions and the existence of quasiperiodic solutions for some Duffing equations , where e(t) is of period 1, and g : R → R possesses the characters: g(x) is superlinear when x ? d₀, d₀ is a positive constant and g(x) is semilinear when x ? 0.     

An inverse problem for computing a leading coefficient in the Sturm-Liouville operator by using the boundary data

We consider an inverse problem for identifying a leading coefficient α(x) in −(α(x)y′(x))′ + q(x)y(x) = H(x), which is known as an inverse coefficient problem for the Sturm-Liouville operator. We transform y(x) to u(x, t) =  (1 + t)y(x) and derive a parabolic type PDE in a fictitious time domain of t. Then we develop a Lie-group adaptive method (LGAM) to find the coefficient function α(x). When α(x) is a continuous function of x, we can identify it very well, by giving boundary data of y, y′ and α. The efficiency of LGAM is confirmed by comparing the numerical results with exact solutions. Although the data used in the identification are limited, we can provide a rather accurate solution of α(x).     

Transcendence of the log gamma function and some discrete periods

We study transcendental values of the logarithm of the gamma function. For instance, we show that for any rational number x with 0<x<1, the number logΓ(x)+logΓ(1−x) is transcendental with at most one possible exception. Assuming Schanuel's conjecture, this possible exception can be ruled out. Further, we derive a variety of results on the Γ-function as well as the transcendence of certain series of the form , where P(x) and Q(x) are polynomials with algebraic coefficients.     

Oscillations of the system of linear nonautonomous difference equations

We consider the linear nonautonomous system of difference equations x_n+1−x_n+P(n)x_n−k=0, n=0,1,2,… , where k∈Z, P(n)∈R^rxr. We obtain sufficient conditions for the system to be oscillatory. The conditions based on the eigenvalues of the matrix coefficients of the system.     

A note on the partition dimension of Cartesian product graphs

Let G = (V, E) be a connected graph. The distance between two vertices u, v ∈ V, denoted by d(u, v), is the length of a shortest u − v path in G. The distance between a vertex v ∈ V and a subset P ⊂ V is defined as , and it is denoted by d(v, P). An ordered partition {P₁, P₂, … , P_t} of vertices of a graph G, is a resolving partition of G, if all the distance vectors (d(v, P₁), d(v, P₂), … , d(v, P_t)) are different. The partition dimension of G, denoted by pd(G), is the minimum number of sets in any resolving partition of G. In this article we study the partition dimension of Cartesian product graphs. More precisely, we show that for all pairs of connected graphs G, H, pd(G × H) ? pd(G) + pd(H) and pd(G × H) ? pd(G) + dim(H), where dim(H) denotes the metric dimension of H. Consequently, we show that pd(G × H) ? dim(G) + dim(H) + 1.