An improved lower bound for a bi-criteria scheduling problem

For the bi-criteria scheduling problem of minimizing the sum of completion times and the sum of weighted completion times, min-sum of weighted completion times, we prove that there exists no constant β>1 such that (1+1/γ,β)-approximate schedules can be found for any γ>0. This result confirms a recently published conjecture.     

Generalized stability of the Cauchy and the Jensen functional equations on spheres

We study a generalized stability problem for Cauchy and Jensen functional equations satisfied for all pairs of vectors x,y from a linear space such that γ(x)=γ(y) or γ(x+y)=γ(x−y) with a given function γ.     

Generalized Jordan algebras

We study commutative algebras which are generalizations of Jordan algebras. The associator is defined as usual by (x, y, z) = (x y)z − x(y z). The Jordan identity is (x², y, x) = 0. In the three generalizations given below, t, β, and γare scalars. ((x x)y)x + t((x x)x)y = 0, ((x x)x)(y x) − (((x x)x)y)x = 0, β((x x)y)x + γ((x x)x)y − (β + γ)((y x)x)x = 0. We show that with the exception of a few values of the parameters, the first implies both the second and the third. The first is equivalent to the combination of ((x x)x)x = 0 and the third. We give examples to show that our results are in some reasonable sense, the best possible.     

Multiple positive solutions to a singular boundary value problem for a superlinear Emden-Fowler equation

A multiplicity result for the singular ordinary differential equation y^″+λx⁻²yσ=0, posed in the interval (0,1), with the boundary conditions y(0)=0 and y(1)=γ, where σ>1, λ>0 and γ?0 are real parameters, is presented. Using a logarithmic transformation and an integral equation method, we show that there exists Σ^?∈(0,σ/2] such that a solution to the above problem is possible if and only if λγσ−1?Σ^?. For 0<λγσ−1<Σ^?, there are multiple positive solutions, while if γ=(λ⁻¹Σ^?)^1/(σ−1) the problem has a unique positive solution which is monotonic increasing. The asymptotic behavior of y(x) as x→⁰⁺ is also given, which allows us to establish the absence of positive solution to the singular Dirichlet elliptic problem −Δu=d⁻²(x)uσ in Ω, where Ω⊂RN, N?2, is a smooth bounded domain and d(x)=dist(x,∂Ω).     

A nonoscillation theorem for superlinear Emden-Fowler equations with near-critical coefficients

We are interested in the oscillatory behavior of solutions of the Emden-Fowler equation y^″+a(x)|y|^γ−1y=0, γ>1, where a(x) is a positive continuous function on (0,∞). In the special case when the coefficient a(x) is a power of x, i.e. a(x)=xα for some constant α, the value α^∗=−(γ+3)/2 plays a critical role: The equation has both oscillatory and nonoscillatory solutions if α>α^∗, while all solutions are nonoscillatory if α<α^∗. When a(x) is close to the critical exponent, one of the known results is that if a(x)=x−(γ+3)/2log−σ(x), where σ>0, then all solutions are nonoscillatory. In this paper, this result is further extended to include a class of coefficients in which the above condition with log(x) can be replaced by loglog(x), or logloglog(x) and so on.     

A nonlinear evolution system with two subdifferentials and monotone differential games

It is shown that the first order multivalued equation for V = V(t, x, y, z) involving the sum of two subdifferentials composed with the partials of V (V_t +f(t, x, y, z) · ▽_xV + β(V_y) + γ(V_z) + h(t, x, y, z) ? 0 a.e.) has a Lipschitz solution. This solution is shown to be the value of a differential game in which the players are restricted to choosing monotone nondecreasing functions of time. Accordingly, the multivalued equation is interpreted as the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi equation of the game.     

Monotone method for singular BVP in the presence of upper and lower solutions

In this paper we examine existence of monotone approximations of solutions of singular boundary value problem -(p(x)y^′(x))^′=q(x)f(x,y,py^′) for 0<x?b and lim_x→0⁺p(x)y^′(x)=0,α₁y(b)+β₁p(b)y^′(b)=γ₁. Under quite general conditions on f(x,y,py^′) we show that solution of the singular two point boundary value problem is unique. Here is allowed to have integrable singularity at x=0 and we do not assume .     

Asymptotic estimates of sums involving the Moebius function

Let p(n) denote the smallest prime factor of an integer n>1 and let p(1)=∞. We study the asymptotic behavior of the sum M(x,y)=Σ_{1≤n≤x,p(n)>y}μ(n) and use this to estimate the size of A(x)=max_|f|≤1|Σ_2≤n<xμ(n)f(p(n))|, where μ(n) is the Moebius function. Applications of bounds for A(x), M(x,y) and similar quantities are discussed.     

A nonlinear three-point boundary value problem

We consider the differential equation ?(py′)′ + qy + λay + μby + f(x, y, y′) = 0, x? (α, γ) subject to the boundary conditions cos(α₁) y(α) ? sin(α₁) y′(α) = 0cos(β₁) y(β) ? sin(β₁) y′(β) = 0 β? (α, γ)cos(γ₁) y(γ) ? sin(γ₁) y′(γ) = 0. The functions p, g, a, b, and f are well-behaved functions of x; f is smooth and of “higher order” in y and y′; the scalars λ and μ are eigenparameters. With mild restrictions on a and b it is known that the linearized problem, f ≡ 0, has eigensolutions, ($\text{λ}{}^1\text{, μ}{}^1\text{, ψ}{}^1$). In this paper we use an Implicit Function Theorem argument to establish the existence of a local branch of solutions, bifurcating from ($\text{λ}{}^1\text{, μ}{}^1\text{, 0}$), to the above nonlinear two-parameter eigenvalue problem.     

Integers with dense divisors

Let 1=d₁(n)<d₂(n)<?<d_τ(n)=n be the sequence of all positive divisors of the integer n in increasing order. We say that the divisors of n are y-dense iff max_1?i<τ(n)d_i+1(n)/d_i(n)?y. Let D(x,y,z) be the number of positive integers not exceeding x whose divisors are y-dense and whose prime divisors are bigger than z, and let , and . We show that is equivalent, in a large region, to a function d(u,v) which satisfies a difference-differential equation. Using that equation we find that d(u,v)?(1−u/v)/(u+1) for v?3+ε. Finally, we show that d(u,v)=e^−γd(u)+O(1/v), where γ is Euler's constant and d(u)∼x⁻¹D(x,y,1), for fixed u. This leads to a new estimate for d(u).