Evolution to a steady state for a rarefied gas flowing from a tank into a vacuum through a plane channel

A kinetic equation (S-model) is used to solve the nonstationary problem of a monatomic rarefied gas flowing from a tank of infinite capacity into a vacuum through a long plane channel. Initially, the gas is at rest and is separated from the vacuum by a barrier. The temperature of the channel walls is kept constant. The flow is found to evolve to a steady state. The time required for reaching a steady state is examined depending on the channel length and the degree of gas rarefaction. The kinetic equation is solved numerically by applying a conservative explicit finite-difference scheme that is firstorder accurate in time and second-order accurate in space. An approximate law is proposed for the asymptotic behavior of the solution at long times when the evolution to a steady state becomes a diffusion process.     

On a mapping of a projective space into a sphere

We obtain an exact estimate for the minimum multiplicity of a continuous finite-to-one mapping of a projective space into a sphere for all dimensions. For finite-to-one mappings of a projective space into a Euclidean space, we obtain an exact estimate for this multiplicity for n = 2, 3. For n ≥ 4, we prove that this estimate does not exceed 4. Several open questions are formulated.     

Motion of a container as a nonholonomous system in a curved section of a horizontal pipeline

The problem of the motion of a container in a curved section of a horizontal pipeline is solved using second-order Lagrange equations in the presence of nonholonous couplings. The special case of the motion of a container in a circular curve is examined.Translated from Matematicheskie Metody i Fiziko-Mekhanicheskie Polya, No. 25, pp. 90–95, 1987.     

Torsional Oscillations of a Punch on a Layer Bonded to a Half-Space Containing a Cylindrical Cavity

A previously published algorithm [9] is implemented in application to the Reissner–Sagoci problem for a layer bonded to a half-space containing a cylindrical cavity. The influence of the mechanical and geometrical parameters of the layer and the half-space on the amplitude-frequency response curves of the punch oscillations is analyzed. Practical applications of the results are proposed for ensuring the seismic isolation of buildings on the investigated foundation in the presence of dynamic torsional excitations.     

Asymptotics of a solution of a nonlinear system of diffusion of a magnetic field into a substance

We study the asymptotic behavior at large time of a solution to a system of nonlinear integro-differential equations which arises in mathematical modeling of diffusion of a magnetic field into a substance. We establish the corresponding stabilization rate.     

The rolling of a wheel with a pneumatic tyre on a planet

A model of a pneumatic tyre as a system with an infinite number of degrees of freedom is proposed, when its surface is represented by the deformed surface of a torus. Using a number of hypotheses a functional of the potential energy of the deformations of the tyre is obtained as a function of the deformations of its tread. A complete system of equations of motion is obtained, assuming that the wheel rolls without slipping in the area of contact of the tread with the plane, with respect to the previously unknown part of the tread. In two special cases of the rolling of a wheel with breakaway and on a banking, all the characteristics of the motion (the contact area, the tyre deformation, and the forces and moments applied to the disc of the wheel) are obtained.     

Locating a robber on a graph

Consider the following game of a cop locating a robber on a connected graph. At each turn, the cop chooses a vertex of the graph to probe and receives the distance from the probe to the robber. If she can uniquely locate the robber after this probe, then she wins. Otherwise the robber may either stay put or move to any vertex adjacent to his location other than the probe vertex. The cop’s goal is to minimize the number of probes required to locate the robber, while the robber’s goal is to avoid being located. This is a synthesis of the cop and robber game with the metric dimension problem. We analyse this game for several classes of graphs, including cycles and trees.     

Symmetry-based solution of a model for a combination of a risky investment and a riskless investment

Benth and Karlsen [F.E. Benth, K.H. Karlsen, A note on Merton's portfolio selection problem for the Schwartz mean-reversion model, Stoch. Anal. Appl. 23 (2005) 687-704] treated a problem of the optimisation of the selection of a portfolio based upon the Schwartz mean-reversion model. The resulting Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in 1+2 dimensions is quite nonlinear. The solution obtained by Benth and Karlsen was very ingenious. We provide a solution of the problem based on the application of the Lie theory of continuous groups to the partial differential equation and its associated boundary and terminal conditions.     

Extending a matroid by a cocircuit

Our main result describes how to extend a matroid so that its ground set is a modular hyperplane of the larger matroid. This result yields a new way to view Dowling lattices and new results about line-closed geometries. We complement these topics by showing that line-closure gives simple geometric proofs of the (mostly known) basic results about Dowling lattices. We pursue the topic of line-closure further by showing how to construct some line-closed geometries that are not supersolvable.     

Investigation of a nonlinear difference equation in a Banach space in a neighborhood of a quasiperiodic solution

We investigate the behavior of a diserete dynamical system in a neighborhood of a quasiperiodic trajeetory for the case of an infinite-dimensional Banach space We find conditions sufficient for the system considered to reduce, in such a neighborhood, to a system with quasiperiodic coefficients. Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 49, No. 12, pp. 1661–1676, December, 1997.     

Dynamics of a rod undergoing a longitudinal impact by a body

A longitudinal elastic impact caused by a body on a thin rod is considered. The results of theoretical, finite element, and experimental approaches to solving the problem are compared. The theoretical approach takes into account both the propagation of longitudinal waves in the rod and the local deformations described in the Hertz model. This approach leads to a differential equation with a delayed argument. The three-dimensional dynamic problem is considered in terms of the finite element approach in which the wave propagation and local deformation are automatically taken into account. A benchmark test of these two approaches showed a complete qualitative and satisfactory quantitative agreement of the results concerning the contact force and the impact time. In the experiments, only the impact time was determined. The comparison of the measured impact time with the theoretical and finite element method’s results was satisfactory. Owing to the fact that the tested rod was relatively short, the approximate model with two degrees of freedom was also developed to calculate the force and the impact time. The problem of excitation of transverse oscillation after the rebound of the impactor off the rod is solved. For the parametric resonance, the motion has a character of beats at which the energy of longitudinal oscillation is transferred into the energy of transverse oscillation and vice versa. The estimate for the maximum possible amplitude of transverse oscillation is obtained.     

On a cycle through a specified linear forest of a graph

Results on the existence of a cycle containing a given linear forest are proved.     

Extending a function on a graph

Let G be a graph with vertex set V, and let h be a function mapping a subset U of V into the real numbers R. If ? is a function from V to R, we define δ (?) to be the sum of ∥?(b)? ?(a)∥ over all edges {a, b} of G. A best extension of h is such a function ? with ?(x) = h(x) for X ∈ U and minimum δ (?). We show that such a best extension exists and derive an algorithm for obtaining such an extension. We also show that if instead we minimise the sum of (?(b)??(a))², there is generally a unique best extension, obtainable by solving a system of linear equations.     

On a convective flow of a binary mixture in a vertical layer

Under study is an invariant solution of the equations of thermal diffusive convection which describes a stationary process of a binary mixture flow in a vertical layer under the action of the pressure gradient and the buoyancy force that depends nonlinearly on temperature and concentration. Some general properties of this solution are established and an existence theorem is proved. Analysis of the numerical solution of the problem is carried out in the cases of a power-law and exponential dependence of the buoyancy force on its argument.     

Travelling Waves in a Nonlocal Reaction-Diffusion Equation as a Model for a Population Structured by a Space Variable and a Phenotypic Trait

We consider a nonlocal reaction-diffusion equation as a model for a population structured by a space variable and a phenotypic trait. To sustain the possibility of invasion in the case where an underlying principal eigenvalue is negative, we investigate the existence of travelling wave solutions. We identify a minimal speed c* > 0, and prove the existence of waves when c ≥ c* and the nonexistence when 0 ≤ c < c*.     

Choosing a leader on a complex network

In many real life applications a group of people interact through a communication network, mathematically modelled as a connected graph linking each element of the group. These participants may have diverse objectives and play very different roles depending on their knowledge and privileges. We focus on a particular scenario, in which a certain node is absolutely essential for completing the intended task. Moreover, if a technical failure results in disconnection of a participant to this leader node, this participant can no longer take part in the group's performance.     

Construction of a Formula from a Syntactic Graph of a Sentence

The paper considers the construction of formulas describing relations between entities from a Russian sentence. We describe rules which help constructing such formulas from a syntax graph.     

Excitation of a tube wave in a borehole by a slow wave propagating in a fluid layer

Conversion of a slow wave propagating in a fluid layer inside an elastic medium into a tube wave propagating in a borehole that intersects this layer is considered. It is shown that the total field of the latter wave consists of three summands of different physical nature. Seismograms of the slow and tube waves are presented. Bibliography: 5 titles. Translated fromZapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 230, 1995, pp. 115–124. Translated by P. V. Krauklis.     

Shadowing in a neighborhood of a separatrix

We consider a model example of a diffeomorphism of a two-dimensional manifold with two hyperbolic fixed points joined by a separatrix. We show that, in a tubular neighborhood of the separatrix, every pseudotrajectory satisfying an additional error smallness condition is shadowed by an exact trajectory.     

An Asymptotic Expansion of a Solution of a Nonlinear Equation for a Steady Flow of a Stratified Fluid

We consider the problem of the two-dimensional motion of a nonviscous incompressible fluid in the field of gravity. To calculate the flow field, we use the method of the asymptotic expansion of the solution with respect to a small parameter. The constructed algorithm allows one to obtain a picture of the flow functions for the exact (nonlinear) problem of a perturbed flow of a stratified fluid. The main limitations of the algorithm are the absence of backflow zones (rotors) and a large typical horizontal size of the solution as compared with the depth of the flow. We give results of the calculations.