The “Essential Tension” at Work in Qualitative Analysis: A Case Study of the Opposite Points of View of Poincaré and Enriques on the Relationships between Analysis and Geometry

An analysis of the different philosophic and scientific visions of Henri Poincaré and Federigo Enriques relative to qualitative analysis provides us with a complex and interesting image of the “essential tension” between “tradition” and “innovation” within the history of science. In accordance with his scientific paradigm, Poincaré viewed qualitative analysis as a means for preserving the nucleus of the classical reductionist program, even though it meant “bending the rules” somewhat. To Enriques's mind, qualitative analysis represented the affirmation of a synthetic, geometrical vision that would supplant the analytical/quantitative conception characteristic of 19th-century mathematics and mathematical physics. Here, we examine the two different answers given at the turn of the century to the question of the relationship between geometry and analysis and between mathematics, on the one hand, and mechanics and physics, on the other.Copyright 1998 Academic Press.Un'analisi delle diverse posizioni filosofiche e scientifiche di Henri Poincaré e Federigo Enriques nei riguardi dell'analisi qualitativa fornisce un'immagine complessa e interessante della “tensione essenziale” tra “tradizione” e “innovazione” nell'ambito della storia della scienza. In linea con il proprio paradigma scientifico, Poincaré vedeva nell'analisi qualitativa un mezzo per preservare il nucleo del programma riduzionista calssico, anche se cio comportava una lieve “distorsione delle regole”. Nella mente di Enriques, l'analisi qualitativa rappresentava l'affermazione di un punto di vista sintetico e geometrico che avrebbe soppiantato la concezione analitico-quantitativa caratteristica della matematica e della fisica matematica del 19° secolo. Il nostro scopo principale è di esaminare due diverse risposte date a cavallo del secolo alla questione dei rapporti tra geometria e analisi e tra matematica da un lato e meccanica e fisica dall'altro.Copyright 1998 Academic Press.AMS subject classification: 01A55     

Butyltins in california river and lake marina waters

Butyltins were analyzed in waters from California river and lake marinas and were detected at the part per trillion (ppt) level in most locations. The tributyltin:dibutyltin (TBT/DBT) ratios in the fresh waters were similar to those in their saline counterparts indicating like rates of degradation in the two salinity regimes.     

Linearizability of d-webs, d ≥ 4, on two-dimensional manifolds

We find d − 2 relative differential invariants for a d-web, d ≥ 4, on a two-dimensional manifold and prove that their vanishing is necessary and sufficient for a d-web to be linearizable. If one writes the above invariants in terms of web functions f(x, y) and g ₄(x, y),..., g _d (x, y), then necessary and sufficient conditions for the linearizabilty of a d-web are two PDEs of the fourth order with respect to f and g ₄, and d − 4 PDEs of the second order with respect to f and g ₄,..., g _d . For d = 4, this result confirms Blaschke’s conjecture on the nature of conditions for the linearizabilty of a 4-web. We also give the Mathematica codes for testing 4- and d-webs (d > 4) for linearizability and examples of their usage.     

On the fast reduction of a quasiseparable matrix to Hessenberg and tridiagonal forms

In this paper we design a fast new algorithm for reducing an N × N quasiseparable matrix to upper Hessenberg form via a sequence of N − 2 unitary transformations. The new reduction is especially useful when it is followed by the QR algorithm to obtain a complete set of eigenvalues of the original matrix. In particular, it is shown that in a number of cases some recently devised fast adaptations of the QR method for quasiseparable matrices can benefit from using the proposed reduction as a preprocessing step, yielding lower cost and a simplification of implementation.     

Melting of heterogeneous vortex matter: The vortex ‘nanoliquid’

Disorder and porosity are parameters that strongly influence the physical behavior of materials, including their mechanical, electrical, magnetic and optical properties. Vortices in superconductors can provide important insight into the effects of disorder because their size is comparable to characteristic sizes of nanofabricated structures. Here we present experimental evidence for a novel form of vortex matter that consists of inter-connected nanodroplets of vortex liquid caged in the pores of a solid vortex structure, like a liquid permeated into a nanoporous solid skeleton. Our nanoporous skeleton is formed by vortices pinned by correlated disorder created by high-energy heavy ion irradiation. By sweeping the applied magnetic field, the number of vortices in the nanodroplets is varied continuously from a few to several hundred. Upon cooling, the caged nanodroplets freeze into ordered nanocrystals through either a first-order or a continuous transition, whereas at high temperatures a uniform liquid phase is formed upon delocalization-induced melting of the solid skeleton. This new vortex nanoliquid displays unique properties and symmetries that are distinct from both solid and liquid phases.     

Self-dual Maxwell field on a null cone

As an introduction to the use of self-dual variables on a null cone, the Hamiltonian for the Maxwell field is set up on a null cone in Minkowski space. In this treatment, the vector potential (the connection) and the self-dual components of the Maxwell field are treated as independent configuration space variables. Because the initial surface is a null cone, additional primary and secondary constraints arise. These constraints can be grouped into first class and second class. The elimination of the second class constraints together with the reality conditions on the vector potential, reduce the independent phase space variables to two. In its final form the Hamiltonian can be expressed in terms of the product of the self-dual Maxwell field and its complex conjugate.