Weak convergence of censored and reflected stable processes

It is shown that if a sequence of open n$n$-sets _Dk$D_k$ increases to an open n$n$-set D$D$ then reflected stable processes in _Dk$D_k$ converge weakly to the reflected stable process in D$D$ for every starting point x$x$ in D$D$. The same result holds for censored α$\alpha$-stable processes for every x$x$ in D$D$ if D$D$ and _Dk$D_k$ satisfy the uniform Hardy inequality. Using the method in the proof of the above results, we also prove the weak convergence of reflected Brownian motions in unbounded domains.     

Disjoint cycles with different length in 4-arc-dominated digraphs

A d$d$-arc-dominated digraph is a digraph D$D$ of minimum out-degree d$d$ such that for every arc (x,y)$(x,y)$ of D$D$, there exists a vertex u$u$ of D$D$ of out-degree d$d$ such that (u,x)$(u,x)$ and (u,y)$(u,y)$ are arcs of D$D$. Henning and Yeo [Vertex disjoint cycles of different length in digraphs, SIAM J. Discrete Math. 26 (2012) 687–694] conjectured that a digraph with minimum out-degree at least four contains two vertex-disjoint cycles of different length. In this paper, we verify this conjecture for 4-arc-dominated digraphs.     

A note on distance-regular graphs with a small number of vertices compared to the valency

In this note we study distance-regular graphs with a small number of vertices compared to the valency. We show that for a given α>2$\alpha >2$, there are finitely many distance-regular graphs Γ$\Gamma$ with valency k$k$, diameter D≥3$D\ge 3$ and v$v$ vertices satisfying v≤αk$v\le \alpha k$ unless (D=3$D=3$ and Γ$\Gamma$ is imprimitive) or (D=4$D=4$ and Γ$\Gamma$ is antipodal and bipartite). We also show, as a consequence of this result, that there are finitely many distance-regular graphs with valency k≥3$k\ge 3$, diameter D≥3$D\ge 3$ and _c2≥εk$c_2\ge \epsilon k$ for a given 0<ε<1$0<\epsilon <1$ unless (D=3$D=3$ and Γ$\Gamma$ is imprimitive) or (D=4$D=4$ and Γ$\Gamma$ is antipodal and bipartite).     

Frobenius groups and retract rationality

Let k$k$ be any field, G$G$ be a finite group acting on the rational function field k(_xg:g∈G)$k(x_g:g\in G)$ by h⋅_xg=_xhg$h\cdot x_g=x_{hg}$ for any h,g∈G$h,g\in G$. Define k(G)=k(_xg:g∈G)^G$k\left(G\right)=k{(x_g:g\in G)}^G$. Noether’s problem asks whether k(G)$k\left(G\right)$ is rational (= purely transcendental) over k$k$. A weaker notion, retract rationality introduced by Saltman, is also very useful for the study of Noether’s problem. We prove that, if G$G$ is a Frobenius group with abelian Frobenius kernel, then k(G)$k\left(G\right)$ is retract k$k$-rational for any field k$k$ satisfying some mild conditions. As an application, we show that, for any algebraic number field k$k$, for any Frobenius group G$G$ with Frobenius complement isomorphic to S_L2(_F5)$S{L}_2\left({\mathbb{F}}_5\right)$, there is a Galois extension field K$K$ over k$k$ whose Galois group is isomorphic to G$G$, i.e. the inverse Galois problem is valid for the pair (G,k)$(G,k)$. The same result is true for any non-solvable Frobenius group if k(_ζ8)$k\left({\zeta }_8\right)$ is a cyclic extension of k$k$.     

Blow-up and propagation of disturbances for fast diffusion equations

This paper is concerned with the Cauchy problem for the fast diffusion equation _ut−Δu^m=αu^_p1$u_t-\Delta u^m=\alpha u^{p_1}$ in R^N${\mathbb{R}}^N$ (N≥1$N\ge 1$), where m∈(0,1)$m\in (0,1)$, _p1>1$p_1>1$ and α>0$\alpha >0$. The initial condition _u0$u_0$ is assumed to be continuous, nonnegative and bounded. Using a technique of subsolutions, we set up sufficient conditions on the initial value _u0$u_0$ so that u(t,x)$u(t,x)$ blows up in finite time, and we show how to get estimates on the profile of u(t,x)$u(t,x)$ for small enough values of t>0$t>0$.     

Oscillation of harmonic functions for subordinate Brownian motion and its applications

In this paper, we establish an oscillation estimate of nonnegative harmonic functions for a pure-jump subordinate Brownian motion. The infinitesimal generator of such subordinate Brownian motion is an integro-differential operator. As an application, we give a probabilistic proof of the following form of relative Fatou theorem for such subordinate Brownian motion X$X$ in a bounded κ$\kappa$-fat open set; if u$u$ is a positive harmonic function with respect to X$X$ in a bounded κ$\kappa$-fat open set D$D$ and h$h$ is a positive harmonic function in D$D$ vanishing on D^c$D^c$, then the non-tangential limit of u/h$u/h$ exists almost everywhere with respect to the Martin-representing measure of h$h$.     

Parametric inference for discretely observed multidimensional diffusions with small diffusion coefficient

We consider a multidimensional diffusion X$X$ with drift coefficient b(α,_Xt)$b(\alpha ,X_t)$ and diffusion coefficient ?σ(β,_Xt)$?\sigma (\beta ,X_t)$. The diffusion sample path is discretely observed at times _tk=kΔ$t_k=k\Delta$ for k=1…n$k=1\dots n$ on a fixed interval [0,T]$[0,T]$. We study minimum contrast estimators derived from the Gaussian process approximating X$X$ for small ?$?$. We obtain consistent and asymptotically normal estimators of α$\alpha$ for fixed Δ$\Delta$ and ?→0$?\to 0$ and of (α,β)$(\alpha ,\beta )$ for Δ→0$\Delta \to 0$ and ?→0$?\to 0$ without any condition linking ?$?$ and Δ$\Delta$. We compare the estimators obtained with various methods and for various magnitudes of Δ$\Delta$ and ?$?$ based on simulation studies. Finally, we investigate the interest of using such methods in an epidemiological framework.     

Counting minimal semi-Sturmian words

A finite Sturmian   word w$w$ is a balanced word over the binary alphabet {a,b}$\{a,b\}$, that is, for all subwords u$u$ and v$v$ of w$w$ of equal length, |_|u|a−_|v|a|≤1$|{\left|u\right|}_a-{\left|v\right|}_a|\le 1$, where _|u|a${\left|u\right|}_a$ and _|v|a${\left|v\right|}_a$ denote the number of occurrences of the letter a$a$ in u$u$ and v$v$, respectively. There are several other characterizations, some leading to efficient algorithms for testing whether a finite word is Sturmian. These algorithms find important applications in areas such as pattern recognition, image processing, and computer graphics. Recently, Blanchet-Sadri and Lensmire considered finite semi-Sturmian words of minimal length and provided an algorithm for generating all of them using techniques from graph theory. In this paper, we exploit their approach in order to count the number of minimal semi-Sturmian words. We also present some other results that come from applying this graph theoretical framework to subword complexity.     

The scaling limit of Poisson-driven order statistics with applications in geometric probability

Let _ηt${\eta }_t$ be a Poisson point process of intensity t≥1$t\ge 1$ on some state space Y$\mathbb{Y}$ and let f$f$ be a non-negative symmetric function on Y^k${\mathbb{Y}}^k$ for some k≥1$k\ge 1$. Applying f$f$ to all k$k$-tuples of distinct points of _ηt${\eta }_t$ generates a point process _ξt${\xi }_t$ on the positive real half-axis. The scaling limit of _ξt${\xi }_t$ as t$t$ tends to infinity is shown to be a Poisson point process with explicitly known intensity measure. From this, a limit theorem for the m$m$-th smallest point of _ξt${\xi }_t$ is concluded. This is strengthened by providing a rate of convergence. The technical background includes Wiener–Itô chaos decompositions and the Malliavin calculus of variations on the Poisson space as well as the Chen–Stein method for Poisson approximation. The general result is accompanied by a number of examples from geometric probability and stochastic geometry, such as k$k$-flats, random polytopes, random geometric graphs and random simplices. They are obtained by combining the general limit theorem with tools from convex and integral geometry.     

Characterizations of hypersurfaces of a Danielewski type

Let k$k$ be a field of characteristic zero and R$R$ a factorial affine k$k$-domain. Let B$B$ be an affineR$R$-domain. In terms of locally nilpotent derivations, we give criteria for B$B$ to be R$R$-isomorphic to the residue ring of a polynomial ring R[_X1,_X2,Y]$R[X_1,X_2,Y]$ over R$R$ by the ideal (_X1X2−φ(Y))$(X_1{X}_2-\phi \left(Y\right))$ for φ(Y)∈R[Y]?R$\phi \left(Y\right)\in R\left[Y\right]?R$.     

Iterative approximation of solutions of nonlinear equations of Hammerstein type

Suppose X$X$ is a real q$q$-uniformly smooth Banach space and F,K:X→X$F,K:X\to X$ are Lipschitz ?$?$-strongly accretive maps with D(K)=F(X)=X$D\left(K\right)=F\left(X\right)=X$. Let u^∗$u^{\ast }$ denote the unique solution of the Hammerstein equation u+KFu=0$u+KFu=0$. An iteration process recently introduced by Chidume and Zegeye is shown to converge strongly to u^∗$u^{\ast }$. No invertibility assumption is imposed on K$K$ and the operators K$K$ and F$F$ need not be defined on compact subsets of X$X$. Furthermore, our new technique of proof is of independent interest. Finally, some interesting open questions are included.     

[1, 2]-sets in graphs

A subset S⊆V$S\subseteq V$ in a graph G=(V,E)$G=(V,E)$ is a [j,k]$[j,k]$-set if, for every vertex v∈V?S$v\in V?S$, j≤|N(v)∩S|≤k$j\le |N\left(v\right)\cap S|\le k$ for non-negative integers j$j$ and k$k$, that is, every vertex v∈V?S$v\in V?S$ is adjacent to at least j$j$ but not more than k$k$ vertices in S$S$. In this paper, we focus on small j$j$ and k$k$, and relate the concept of [j,k]$[j,k]$-sets to a host of other concepts in domination theory, including perfect domination, efficient domination, nearly perfect sets, 2-packings, and k$k$-dependent sets. We also determine bounds on the cardinality of minimum [1, 2]-sets, and investigate extremal graphs achieving these bounds. This study has implications for restrained domination as well. Using a result for [1, 3]-sets, we show that, for any grid graph G$G$, the restrained domination number is equal to the domination number of G$G$.