Fréchet-Urysohn for finite sets, II

We continue our study [G. Gruenhage, P.J. Szeptycki, Fréchet Urysohn for finite sets, Topology Appl. 151 (2005) 238-259] of several variants of the property of the title. We answer a question from that paper by showing that a space defined in a natural way from a certain Hausdorff gap is a Fréchet α₂ space which is not Fréchet-Urysohn for 2-point sets (FU₂), and answer a question of Hrušák by showing that under MAω₁, no such “gap space” is FU₂. We also introduce versions of the properties which are defined in terms of “selection principles”, give examples when possible showing that the properties are distinct, and discuss relationships of these properties to convergence in product spaces, to the αi-spaces of A.V. Arhangel'skii, and to topological games.     

Embedding processes in combinatorial game theory

Berlekamp asked the question “What is the habitat of ∗2?” (See Guy, 1996 [6].) It is possible to generalize the question and ask “For a game G, what is the largest n such that ∗n is a position of G?” This leads to the concept of the nim dimension. In Santos and Silva (2008) [8] a fractal process was proposed for analyzing the previous questions. For the same purpose, in Santos and Silva (2008) [9], an algebraic process was proposed. In this paper we implement a third idea related to embedding processes. With Alan Parr’s traffic lights, we exemplify the idea of estimating the “difficulty” of the game and proving that its nim dimension is infinite.     

On perimeters of sections of convex polytopes

In his book “Geometric Tomography” Richard Gardner asks the following question. Let P and Q be origin-symmetric convex bodies in R³ whose sections by any plane through the origin have equal perimeters. Is it true that P=Q? We show that the answer is “Yes” in the class of origin-symmetric convex polytopes. The problem is treated in the general case of Rn.     

Bit by bit, the discoverers decided what it was they had discovered

Conclusion  Is it possible to answer the questionWhat is the “birthday” of elliptic functions? Yes, but far from uniquely. But does the overabundance of possible answers occasioned by the inherent n?ivety of the question mean that such lines of inquiry are pointless for the historian? Can questions regarding the temporal origins of mathematical areas and the research to which they lead ever be useful or instructive?     

Generalization of Ulam stability problem for Euler-Lagrange quadratic mappings

In 1968 S.M. Ulam proposed the problem: “When is it true that by changing a little the hypotheses of a theorem one can still assert that the thesis of the theorem remains true or approximately true?” In 1978 P.M. Gruber proposed the Ulam type problem: “Suppose a mathematical object satisfies a certain property approximately. Is it then possible to approximate this object by objects, satisfying the property exactly?” In this paper we solve the generalized Ulam stability problem for non-linear Euler-Lagrange quadratic mappings satisfying approximately a mean equation and an Euler-Lagrange type functional equations in quasi-Banach spaces and p-Banach spaces.     

One of Berkeley’s arguments on compensating errors in the calculus

This paper addresses three questions related to George Berkeley’s theory of compensating errors in the calculus published in 1734. The first is how did Berkeley conceive of Leibnizian differentials? The second and most central question concerns Berkeley’s procedure which consisted in identifying two quantities as errors and proving that they are equal. The question is how was this possible? The answer is that this was not possible, because in his calculations Berkeley misguided himself by employing a result equivalent to what he wished to prove. In 1797 Lazare Carnot published the expression “a compensation of errors” in an attempt to explain why the calculus functions. The third question is: did Carnot by this expression mean the same as Berkeley?     

Coverings over Tori and topological approach to Klein’s resolvent problem

This paper answers the question: what coverings over a topological torus can be induced from a covering over a space of dimension k? The answer to this question is then applied in algebro-geometric context to present obstructions to transforming an algebraic equation depending on several parameters to an equation depending on fewer parameters by means of a rational transformation.     

Quadratic systems with a rational first integral of degree three: a complete classification in the coefficient space ℝ12

A quadratic polynomial differential systemcan be identified with a single point of ?¹² through its coefficients. The phase portrait of the quadratic systems having a rational first integral of degree 3 have been studied using normal forms. Here using the algebraic invariant theory, we characterize all the non-degenerate quadratic polynomial differential systems in ?¹² having a rational first integral of degree 3. We show that there are only 31 different topological phase portraits in the Poincaré disc associated to this family of quadratic systems up to a reversal of the sense of their orbits, and we provide representatives of every class modulo an affine change of variables and a rescaling of the time variable. Moreover, each one of these 31 representatives is determined by a set of algebraic invariant conditions and we provide for it a first integral.     

The difficulty of “length × width”: Is a square the unit of measurement?

In individual interviews, 220 students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 9 were given one task, and 72 eighth graders were given three tasks to answer two questions: (a) Is a square the unit of measurement for an area for students in grades 4-8? and (b) Does a square have a space-covering characteristic for students in grade 8? The answers to both questions were No (except for eighth (and ninth) graders in advanced sections of mathematics). The difficulty of “length × width” is explained in light of Piaget's theory, and educational implications are discussed.     

Toroidal normal forms for bifurcations in retarded functional differential equations I: Multiple Hopf and transcritical/multiple Hopf interaction

For finite-dimensional bifurcation problems, it is well known that it is possible to compute normal forms which possess nice symmetry properties. Oftentimes, these symmetries may allow for a partial decoupling of the normal form into a so-called “radial” part and an “angular” part. Analysis of the radial part usually gives an enormous amount of valuable information about the bifurcation and its unfoldings. In this paper, we are interested in the case where such bifurcations occur in retarded functional differential equations, and we revisit the realizability and restrictions problem for the class of radial equations by nonlinear delay-differential equations. Our analysis allows us to recover and considerably generalize recent results by Faria and Magalhães [T. Faria, L.T. Magalhães, Restrictions on the possible flows of scalar retarded functional differential equations in neighborhoods of singularities, J. Dynam. Differential Equations 8 (1996) 35-70] and by Buono and Bélair [P.-L. Buono, J. Bélair, Restrictions and unfolding of double Hopf bifurcation in functional differential equations, J. Differential Equations 189 (2003) 234-266].     

On the Impossibility of Stabilization of Solutions of a System of Linear Deterministic Difference Equations by Perturbations of Its Coefficients by Stochastic Processes of “White-Noise” Type

We consider the problem of mean-square stabilization of solutions of a system of linear deterministic difference equations with discrete time by perturbations of its coefficients by a stochastic white-noise process. The answer is negative and is based on the analysis of the corresponding matrix algebraic Sylvester equation introduced earlier by the author in the theory of stability of stochastic systems. At the same time, we answer the same question for a vector matrix system of linear difference equations with continuous time and for a vector matrix system of differential equations.     

On a question of Zariski on Zariski surfaces

We give a new method to construct unirational surfaces which may be applied to the following question posed by Zariski in his studies on unirational surfaces. Is any Zariski surface with geometric genus zero rational? Our main result is a negative answer to this question in any characteristic case.     

Arithmetic partial differential equations, II

We continue the study of arithmetic partial differential equations initiated in [7] by classifying “arithmetic convection equations” on modular curves, and by describing their space of solutions. Certain of these solutions involve the Fourier expansions of the Eisenstein modular forms of weight 4 and 6, while others involve the Serre-Tate expansions (Mori, 1995 [13], Buium, 2003 [4]) of the same modular forms; in this sense, our arithmetic convection equations can be seen as “unifying” the two types of expansions. The theory can be generalized to one of “arithmetic heat equations” on modular curves, but we prove that they do not carry “arithmetic wave equations.” Finally, we prove an instability result for families of arithmetic heat equations converging to an arithmetic convection equation.     

On a problem for Wardʼs equation with a Mittag–Leffler potential

We solve a problem for a type of non-linear partial differential equation (“Ward?s equation”). This is an equation arising naturally in the study of Coulomb gases and random normal matrix ensembles [4]. In this paper, we consider a problem for Ward?s equation whose solutions are precisely the well-known Mittag–Leffler functions. Our solution to this problem generalizes certain results obtained in [4].     

A note on “Some inequalities in inner product spaces related to the generalized triangle inequality” by S.S. Dragomir et al.

In this note, we present an affirmative answer to a question presented in the paper “Some inequalities in inner product spaces related to the generalized triangle inequality” by S.S. Dragomir et al. [Appl. Math. Comput. 217 (18) (2011) 7462-7468].     

Reducing belief simpliciter to degrees of belief

Is it possible to give an explicit definition of belief (simpliciter) in terms of subjective probability, such that believed propositions are guaranteed to have a sufficiently high probability, and yet it is neither the case that belief is stripped of any of its usual logical properties, nor is it the case that believed propositions are bound to have probability 1? We prove the answer is ‘yes’, and that given some plausible logical postulates on belief that involve a contextual “cautiousness” threshold, there is but one way of determining the extension of the concept of belief that does the job. The qualitative concept of belief is not to be eliminated from scientific or philosophical discourse, rather, by reducing qualitative belief to assignments of resiliently high degrees of belief and a “cautiousness” threshold, qualitative and quantitative belief turn out to be governed by one unified theory that offers the prospects of a huge range of applications. Within that theory, logic and probability theory are not opposed to each other but go hand in hand.     

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     

Analytical solutions to Fisher’s equation with time-variable coefficients

This paper provides analytical solutions to the generalized Fisher equation with a class of time varying diffusion coefficients. To accomplish this we use the Painlevé property for partial differential equations as defined by Weiss in 1983 in “The Painlevé property for partial-differential equations”. This was first done for the variable coefficient Fisher’s equation by Ö?ün and Kart in 2007; we build on this work, finding additional solutions with a weaker restriction on the trial solution. We also use the same technique to find solutions to Fisher’s equation with time-dependent coefficients for both diffusion and nonlinear terms. Lastly we compute specific solutions to illustrate their behaviors.     

A note on “Euclidean algorithms are Gaussian” by V. Baladi and B. Vallée

The paper “Euclidean algorithms are Gaussian” [V. Baladi, B. Vallée, Euclidean algorithm are Gaussian, J. Number Theory 110 (2005) 331-386], is devoted to the distributional analysis of three variants of Euclidean algorithms. The Central Limit Theorem and the Local Limit Theorem obtained there are the first ones in the context of the “dynamical analysis” method. The techniques developed have been applied in further various works (e.g. [V. Baladi, A. Hachemi, A local limit theorem with speed of convergence for Euclidean algorithms and Diophantine costs, Ann. Inst. H. Poincaré Probab. Statist. 44 (2008) 749-770; E. Cesaratto, J. Clément, B. Daireaux, L. Lhote, V. Maume, B. Vallée, Analysis of fast versions of the Euclid algorithm, in: Proceedings of Third Workshop on Analytic Algorithmics and Combinatorics, ANALCO'08, SIAM, 2008; E. Cesaratto, A. Plagne, B. Vallée, On the non-randomness of modular arithmetic progressions, in: Fourth Colloquium on Mathematics and Computer Science. Algorithms, Trees, Combinatorics and Probabilities, in: Discrete Math. Theor. Comput. Sci. Proc., vol. AG, 2006, pp. 271-288]). These theorems are proved first for an auxiliary probabilistic model, called “the smoothed model,” and after, the estimates are transferred to the “true” probabilistic model. In this note, we remark that “the smoothed model” described in [V. Baladi, B. Vallée, Euclidean algorithm are Gaussian, J. Number Theory 110 (2005) 331-386] is not adapted to this transfer and replaces it by an adapted one. However, the results remain unchanged.     

Arithmetic partial differential equations, I

We develop an arithmetic analogue of linear partial differential equations in two independent “space-time” variables. The spatial derivative is a Fermat quotient operator, while the time derivative is the usual derivation. This allows us to “flow” integers or, more generally, points on algebraic groups with coordinates in rings with arithmetic flavor. In particular, we show that elliptic curves carry certain canonical “arithmetic flows” that are arithmetic analogues of the convection, heat, and wave equations, respectively. The same is true for the additive and the multiplicative group.