A convection/reaction/switching system

We consider a spatially distributed hybrid system consisting of a convection/reaction system in which the reaction switches discontinuously in time between modes, independently at each spatial point on reaching “switching thresholds”. The model involves a novel formulation for evolution of the free boundary between the modal regions.     

Two differential equation systems for equality-constrained optimization

This paper presents two differential systems, involving first and second order derivatives of problem functions, respectively, for solving equality-constrained optimization problems. Local minimizers to the optimization problems are proved to be asymptotically stable equilibrium points of the two differential systems. First, the Euler discrete schemes with constant stepsizes for the two differential systems are presented and their convergence theorems are demonstrated. Second, we construct algorithms in which directions are computed by these two systems and the stepsizes are generated by Armijo line search to solve the original equality-constrained optimization problem. The constructed algorithms and the Runge–Kutta method are employed to solve the Euler discrete schemes and the differential equation systems, respectively. We prove that the discrete scheme based on the differential equation system with the second order information has the locally quadratic convergence rate under the local Lipschitz condition. The numerical results given here show that Runge–Kutta method has better stability and higher precision and the numerical method based on the differential equation system with the second information is faster than the other one.     

Existence of a solution for two phase flow in porous media: The case that the porosity depends on the pressure

In this paper we prove the existence of a solution of a coupled system involving a two phase incompressible flow in the ground and the mechanical deformation of the porous medium where the porosity is a function of the global pressure. The model is strongly coupled and involves a nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation. In order to show the existence of a weak solution, we consider a sequence of related uniformly parabolic problems and apply the Schauder fixed point theorem to show that they possess a classical solution. We then prove the relative compactness of sequences of solutions by means of the Fréchet-Kolmogorov theorem; this yields the convergence of a subsequence to a weak solution of the parabolic system.     

On Linear-Time Algorithms for the Continuous Quadratic Knapsack Problem

We give a linear time algorithm for the continuous quadratic knapsack problem which is simpler than existing methods and competitive in practice. Encouraging computational results are presented for large-scale problems. The author thanks the Associate Editor and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments.     

New variants of the generalized level method for minimization of convex nondifferentiable functions taking infinite values

New variants of the generalized level method for minimization of convex Lipschitz functions on a compact set with a nonempty interior are proposed. These variants include the well-known generalized and classical level methods. For the new variants, an estimate of the convergence rate is found, including the variants in which the auxiliary problems are solved approximately.     

Solution bundle for a class of impulsive differential inclusions on Banach spaces

In this paper a class of impulsive differential inclusions is investigated. The existence of solution bundle is proved. And we also construct a nonlinear semigroup of operators on cb(E) (closed-bounded subset of E) to describe the set of attainable states.     

Nonlinear control of systems with multiple equilibria and unknown sinusoidal disturbance

In this paper, nonlinear systems having multiple equilibrium points and low order dynamics are investigated. Roll motions of ships are studied by means of modern nonlinear techniques to exemplify the behavior of such nonlinear systems in the case when they are under the influence of external sinusoidal disturbances with unknown amplitudes. The main objective is to analyze the performance of this system at different operating conditions, including those giving rise to chaos, and to design a controller with an overparameterized structure to stabilize the system at the origin. A nonlinear recursive backstepping controller is proposed and the transient performance is investigated. Lyapunov-based techniques are used to force systematic following of a reference model while introducing a nonlinear parameter estimator to guarantee adaptivity. Robustness problems as well as ways to tune the controller parameters are examined. Simulation results are submitted for the uncontrolled and controlled cases, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed controller. Finally, a discussion and conclusions are given with possible future extensions.     

On linear and nonlinear Rossby waves in an ocean

This paper deals with recent developments of linear and nonlinear Rossby waves in an ocean. Included are also linear Poincaré, Rossby, and Kelvin waves in an ocean. The dispersion diagrams for Poincaré, Kelvin and Rossby waves are presented. Special attention is given to the nonlinear Rossby waves on a β-plane ocean. Based on the perturbation analysis, it is shown that the nonlinear evolution equation for the wave amplitude satisfies a modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The solution of this equation represents solitary waves in a dispersive medium. In other words, the envelope of the amplitude of the waves has a soliton structure and these envelope solitons propagate with the group velocity of the Rossby waves. Finally, a nonlinear analytical model is presented for long Rossby waves in a meridional channel with weak shear. A new nonlinear wave equation for the amplitude of large Rossby waves is derived in a region where fluid flows over the recirculation core. It is shown that the governing amplitude equations for the inner and outer zones are both KdV type, where weak nonlinearity is balanced by weak dispersion. In the inner zone, the nonlinear amplitude equation has a new term proportional to the 3/2 power of the difference between the wave amplitude and the critical amplitude, and this term occurs to account for a nonlinearity due to the flow over the vortex core. The solution of the amplitude equations with the linear shear flow represents the solitary waves. The present study deals with the lowest mode (n=1) analysis. An extension of the higher modes (n?2) of this work will be made in a subsequent paper.     

Patterns in parabolic problems with nonlinear boundary conditions

We obtain existence of asymptotically stable nonconstant equilibrium solutions for semilinear parabolic equations with nonlinear boundary conditions on small domains connected by thin channels. We prove the convergence of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator in such domains. This information is used to show that the asymptotic dynamics of the heat equation in this domain is equivalent to the asymptotic dynamics of a system of two ordinary differential equations diffusively (weakly) coupled. The main tools employed are the invariant manifold theory and a uniform trace theorem.