Traveling waves for a reaction–diffusion–advection predator–prey model

In this paper we study a reaction–diffusion–advection predator–prey model in a river. The existence of predator-invasion traveling wave solutions and prey-spread traveling wave solutions in the upstream and downstream directions is established and the corresponding minimal wave speeds are obtained. While some crucial improvements in theoretical methods have been established, the proofs of the existence and nonexistence of such traveling waves are based on Schauder’s fixed-point theorem, LaSalle’s invariance principle and Laplace transform. Based on theoretical results, we investigate the effect of the hydrological and biological factors on minimal wave speeds and hence on the spread of the prey and the invasion of the predator in the river. The linear determinacy of the predator–prey Lotka–Volterra system is compared with nonlinear determinacy of the competitive Lotka–Volterra system to investigate the mechanics of linear and nonlinear determinacy.     

On the Stability of the O(N)-Invariant and the Cubic-Invariant Three-Dimensional N-Component Renormalization-Group Fixed Points in the Hierarchical Approximation

We compute renormalization-group fixed points and their spectrum in an ultralocal approximation. We study a case of two competing nontrivial fixed points for a three-dimensional real N-component field: the O(N)-invariant fixed point vs. the cubic-invariant fixed point. We compute the critical value N _c of the cubic ⁴-perturbation at the O(N)-fixed point. The O(N)-fixed point is stable under a cubic ⁴-perturbation below N _c; above N _c it is unstable. The Critical value comes out as 2.219435<N _c<2.219436 in the ultralocal approximation. We also compute the critical value of N at the cubic invariant fixed point. Within the accuracy of our computations, the two values coincide.     

Energy as a Fifth Dimension

A recent analysis of the experimental data on some physical phenomena ruled by the four fundamental interactions (electromagnetic, weak, strong and gravitational) seems to show the possibility of describing such interactions in terms of a deformation of the usual Minkowski spacetime, with a metric whose coefficients do depend on the energy of the process considered. In this paper, we show that such results can be accounted for in terms of a Kaluza-Klein-like scheme, based on a five-dimensional Riemannian space in which energy plays the role of the fifth dimension. The corresponding five-dimensional Einstein equations in vacuum are solved in some cases of physical relevance and it is shown that all the phenomenological metrics describing the four fundamental forces are recovered as special cases of the classes of solutions found. Possible developments of the formalism are also briefly outlined.     

Higher-order streamfunction-vorticity formulation of 2D steady-state Navier-Stokes equations

Based on regular boundary element method and a kind of linearity invariance under homotopy, a kind of numerical scheme of 2D steady-state Navier-Stokes equation in streamfunction-vorticity formulation is described. The flow inside a square cavity is used to illustrate this numerical scheme.     

Affine-Invariant Distances, Envelopes and Symmetry Sets

Affine invariant symmetry sets of planar curves are introduced and studied in this paper. Two different approaches are investigated. The first one is based on affine invariant distances, and defines the symmetry set as the closure of the locus of points on (at least) two affine normals and affine-equidistant from the corresponding points on the curve. The second approach is based on affine bitangent conics. In this case the symmetry set is defined as the closure of the locus of centers of conics with (at least) 3-point contact with the curve at two or more distinct points on the curve. This is equivalent to conic and curve having, at those points, the same affine tangent, or the same Euclidean tangent and curvature. Although the two analogous definitions for the classical Euclidean symmetry set are equivalent, this is not the case for the affine group. We present a number of properties of both affine symmetry sets, showing their similarities with and differences from the Euclidean case. We conclude the paper with a discussion of possible extensions to higher dimensions and other transformation groups, as well as to invariant Voronoi diagrams.     

Stochastic approximation and the final value theorem

The aim here is to show how to obtain many of the well-known limit results (i.e., central limit theorem, law of the iterated logarithm, invariance principle) of stochastic approximation (SA) by a shorter argument and under weaker conditions. The idea is to introduce an artificial sequence, related to the SA scheme, and which clearly obeys the limit law. This sequence is subtracted from the SA scheme and then simple deterministic limit theory is used to show the remainder is negligible. As a consequence of this approach proofs are shorter and the meaning of conditions becomes clearer. Because the difference equations are not summed up it is simple to state results for general a_n, c_n sequences.     

The Brownian loop soup

We define a natural conformally invariant measure on unrooted Brownian loops in the plane and study some of its properties. We relate this measure to a measure on loops rooted at a boundary point of a domain and show how this relation gives a way to chronologically add Brownian loops to simple curves in the plane.Cornell University; Research supported in part by the National Science FoundationUniversité Paris-Sud and IUFMathematics Subject Classification (2000):60J65, 81T40     

Units in some families of algebraic number fields

Multi-dimensional continued fractions associated with are introduced and applied to find systems of fundamental units in some families of totally real fields and fields with signature (2,1).

     

On Crossing Event Formulas in Critical Two-Dimensional Percolation

Several formulas for crossing functions arising in the continuum limit of critical two-dimensional percolation models are studied. These include Watts's formula for the horizontal-vertical crossing probability and Cardy's new formula for the expected number of crossing clusters. It is shown that for lattices where conformal invariance holds, they simplify when the spatial domain is taken to be the interior of an equilateral triangle. The two crossing functions can be expressed in terms of an equianharmonic elliptic function with a triangular rotational symmetry. This suggests that rigorous proofs of Watts's formula and Cardy's new formula will be easiest to construct if the underlying lattice is triangular. The simplification in a triangular domain of Schramm's bulk Cardy's formula is also studied.