On the global offensive alliance number of a graph

An offensive alliance in a graph Γ=(V,E) is a set of vertices S⊂V where for each vertex v in its boundary the majority of vertices in v’s closed neighborhood are in S. In the case of strong offensive alliance, strict majority is required. An alliance S is called global if it affects every vertex in V?S, that is, S is a dominating set of Γ. The global offensive alliance numberγ_o(Γ) is the minimum cardinality of a global offensive alliance in Γ. An offensive alliance is connected if its induced subgraph is connected. The global-connected offensive alliance number, γ_co(Γ), is the minimum cardinality of a global-connected offensive alliance in Γ.In this paper we obtain several tight bounds on γ_o(Γ) and γ_co(Γ) in terms of several parameters of Γ. The case of strong alliances is studied by analogy.     

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 Liouville type theorem for polyharmonic elliptic systems

In this paper, we consider the polyharmonic system m(−Δ)U=Vq,m(−Δ)V=Up in RN, for m>1, N>2m, with p?1, q?1, but not both equal to 1, where m(−Δ) is the polyharmonic operator. Set α=2m(q+1)/(pq−1), β=2m(p+1)/(pq−1), for α,β∈[(N−2)/2,N−2m), we prove the nonexistence of positive solutions.     

Internal Lifshits tails for random magnetic Schrödinger operators

This paper is devoted to the study of Lifshits tails for weak random magnetic perturbations of periodic Schrödinger operators acting on L²(Rd) of the form Hλ,w=(−i∇−λ_∑γ∈ZdwγA²(⋅−γ))+V, where V is a Zd-periodic potential, λ is positive coupling constants, (wγ)_γ∈Zd are i.i.d and bounded random variables and is the single site vector magnetic potential. We prove that, for λ small, at an open band edge, a true Lifshits tail for the random magnetic Schrödinger operator occurs if a certain set of conditions on H₀=−Δ+V and on A holds.     

Nodal solutions for singularly perturbed equations with critical exponential growth

The existence and concentration behavior of nodal solutions are established for the equation −?²Δu+V(z)u=f(u) in Ω, where Ω is a domain in R², not necessarily bounded, V is a positive Hölder continuous function and f∈C¹ is an odd function having critical exponential growth.     

On functions convex in the direction of the real axis with a fixed second coefficient

In the paper we consider the class Γ of analytic and univalent functions f in the unit disk Δ, normalized by f(0) = f′(0) − 1 = 0, having real coefficients and such that f(Δ) is convex in the direction of the real axis. We are especially interested in some subclasses of Γ. The most important of them is Γ(c) consisting of those functions which have the second coefficients of the Taylor expansion fixed and equal to c. We obtain the Koebe set for this class as well as for the classes Γ⁺(c) and Γ⁻(c) of functions which are in some sense convex in the direction of positive and negative axes respectively.     

Heat kernel bounds and desingularizing weights

We study the parabolic operator ∂_t−Δ_x+V(t,x), in d?1, with a potential V=V+−V−,V±?0 assumed to be from a parabolic Kato class, and obtain two-sided Gaussian bounds on the associated heat kernel. The constraints on the Kato norms of V⁺ and V⁻ are completely asymmetric, as they should be. Further improvements to our heat kernel bounds are obtained in the case of time-independent potentials.If V has singularities of the type ±c|x|⁻² with a suitably small constant c, we obtain new lower and (sharp) upper weighted heat kernel bounds. The rate of growth of the weights depends (explicitly) on the constant c. The standard bounds and methods (estimates in L^p-spaces without desingularizing weights) fail for singular potentials.     

Critical heat kernel estimates for Schrödinger operators via Hardy-Sobolev inequalities

We obtain Sobolev inequalities for the Shcrödinger operator −Δ−V, where V has critical behaviour V(x)=((N−2)/2)²|x|⁻² near the origin. We apply these inequalities to obtain point-wise estimates on the associated heat kernel, improving upon earlier results.     

Two-body threshold spectral analysis, the critical case

We study in dimension d?2 low-energy spectral and scattering asymptotics for two-body d-dimensional Schrödinger operators with a radially symmetric potential falling off like −γr−2, γ>0. We consider angular momentum sectors, labelled by l=0,1,…, for which γ>²(l+d/2−1). In each such sector the reduced Schrödinger operator has infinitely many negative eigenvalues accumulating at zero. We show that the resolvent has a non-trivial oscillatory behaviour as the spectral parameter approaches zero in cones bounded away from the negative half-axis, and we derive an asymptotic formula for the phase shift.     

A Turán-type inequality for the gamma function

We prove that the following Turán-type inequality holds for Euler's gamma function. For all odd integers n?1 and real numbers x>0 we have

α?Γ(n−1)(x)Γ(n+1)(x)−Γ(n)²(x),     

Extensions of the Scherk-Kemperman Theorem

Let Γ=(V,E) be a reflexive relation with a transitive automorphism group. Let F be a finite subset of V containing a fixed element v. We prove that the size of Γ(F) (the image of F) is at least

|F|+|Γ(v)|−|Γ⁻(v)∩F|.     

A Characterization of the Hamming Graphs and the Dual Polar Graphs by Completely Regular Subgraphs

In this paper we study a distance-regular graph Γ of diameter d ≥? 3 which satisfies the following two conditions: (a) For any integer i with 1 ≤? i ≤? d ? 1 and for any pair of vertices at distance i in Γ there exists a strongly closed subgraph of diameter i containing them; (b) There exists a strongly closed subgraph Δ which is completely regular in Γ. It is known that if Δ has diameter 1, then Γ is a regular near polygon. We prove that if a strongly closed subgraph Δ of diameter j with 2 ≤? j ≤? d ? 1 is completely regular of covering radius d ? j in Γ, then Γ is either a Hamming graph or a dual polar graph.     

Metric characterization of apartments in dual polar spaces

Let Π be a polar space of rank n and let Gk(Π), k∈{0,…,n−1} be the polar Grassmannian formed by k-dimensional singular subspaces of Π. The corresponding Grassmann graph will be denoted by Γk(Π). We consider the polar Grassmannian Gn−1(Π) formed by maximal singular subspaces of Π and show that the image of every isometric embedding of the n-dimensional hypercube graph Hn in Γn−1(Π) is an apartment of Gn−1(Π). This follows from a more general result concerning isometric embeddings of Hm, m?n in Γn−1(Π). As an application, we classify all isometric embeddings of Γn−1(Π) in Γn^′−1(Π^′), where Π^′ is a polar space of rank n^′?n.     

σ-Moderate solutions of Lu = uα and fine trace on the boundary

We investigate the class of all positive solutions of the equation Lu = u^α, 1 < α ≤ 2, in a smooth domain E ⊂ℝ^d. We define the fine trace tr(u) of a solution u as a pair (Γ, v), where Γ is a set of singular boundary points of u, and v is a certain σ-finite measure on the complement of Γ. We describe all possible traces and we construct the minimal solution with the given trace.     

On a theorem of Rhemtulla on polycyclic groups

Let H be a subgroup of the polycyclic-by-finite group G and denote the automorphism group of G by Γ. We prove that there exists an integer d such that in the poset {?_γ∈∑H^γ:∑ a subset of Γ} of all intersections of images H^γ of H under Γ, chains have length at most d. In particular the poset satisfies the minimal condition. This extends and improves a theorem of A.H. Rhemtulla. We also provide a very different proof of Rhemtulla’s theorem.     

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 subadditive property of the gamma function

Let Δ=min_x?0Γ(2x)/Γ(x) and . We prove that the function x?(Γ(x))^α is subadditive on (0,∞) if and only if α∗?α?0.     

On equality in an upper bound for the restrained and total domination numbers of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a restrained dominating set (RDS) if every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex in S and to a vertex in V?S. The restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ_r(G), is the minimum cardinality of an RDS of G. A set S⊆V is a total dominating set (TDS) if every vertex in V is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number of a graph G without isolated vertices, denoted by γ_t(G), is the minimum cardinality of a TDS of G.Let δ and Δ denote the minimum and maximum degrees, respectively, in G. If G is a graph of order n with δ?2, then it is shown that γ_r(G)?n-Δ, and we characterize the connected graphs with δ?2 achieving this bound that have no 3-cycle as well as those connected graphs with δ?2 that have neither a 3-cycle nor a 5-cycle. Cockayne et al. [Total domination in graphs, Networks 10 (1980) 211-219] showed that if G is a connected graph of order n?3 and Δ?n-2, then γ_t(G)?n-Δ. We further characterize the connected graphs G of order n?3 with Δ?n-2 that have no 3-cycle and achieve γ_t(G)=n-Δ.     

On Sequential Fixed-Size Confidence Regions for the Mean Vector

In order to construct a fixed-size confidence region for the mean vector of an unknown distribution functionF, a new purely sequential sampling strategy is proposed first. For this new procedure, under some regularity conditions onF, the coverage probability is shown (Theorem 2.1) to be at least (1−α)−Bα²d²+o(d²) asd→0, where (1−α) is the preassigned level of confidence,Bis an appropriate functional ofF, and 2dis the preassigned diameter of the proposed spherical confidence region for the mean vector ofF. An accelerated version of the stopping rule is also provided with the analogous second-order characteristics (Theorem 3.1). In the special case of ap-dimensional normal random variable, analogous purely sequential and accelerated sequential procedures as well as a three-stage procedure are briefly introduced together with their asymptotic second-order characteristics.