Integrable Lotka-Volterra systems

Infinite- and finite-dimensional lattices of Lotka-Volterra type are derived that possess Lax representations and have large families of first integrals. The obtained systems are Hamiltonian and contain perturbations of Volterra lattice. Examples of Liouville-integrable 4-dimensional Hamiltonian Lotka-Volterra systems are presented. Several 5-dimensional Lotka- Volterra systems are found that have Lax representations and are Liouville-integrable on constant levels of Casimir functions.      

Generalized steiner triple systems with group size five

Generalized Steiner triple systems, GS(2, 3, n, g) are used to construct maximum constant weight codes over an alphabet of size g+1 with distance 3 and weight 3 in which each codeword has length n. The existence of GS(2, 3, n, g) has been solved for g=2, 3, 4, 9. In this paper, by introducing a special kind of holey generalized Steiner triple systems (denoted by HGS(2, 3, (n, u), g)), singular indirect product (SIP) construction for GDDs is used to construct generalized Steiner systems. The numerical necessary conditions for the existence of a GS(2, 3, n, g) are shown to be sufficient for g=5.     

二值命题逻辑中有限理论带误差结论集的结构

二值命题逻辑系统中理论Г的带误差结论集是近似推理研究的基本对象,对其结构进行分析是近似推理研究中需要解决的问题。通过公式是有限理论Г的带误差结论的充要条件,利用集合划分方法,对有限理论Г的带误差结论集分别基于真度相等关系和逻辑等价关系进行分类,得到了基于两类等价关系的包含等价类个数和代表元表示形式的分类定理,进一步体现了二值命题逻辑系统近似推理研究中理论Г的带误差结论集的特征。     

On stability of discrete-time switched systems

This article deals with stability of discrete-time switched systems. Given a family of nonlinear systems and the admissible switches among the systems in the family, we first propose a class of switching signals under which the resulting switched system is globally asymptotically stable. We allow unstable systems in the family and our stability condition depends solely on asymptotic behaviour of the switching signals. We then discuss algorithmic construction of the above class of switching signals, and show that in the presence of exogenous inputs and outputs, a switching signal so constructed also ensures input/output-to-state stability for discrete-time switched nonlinear systems. We finally show that our class of switching signals that ensures global asymptotic stability also extends to the continuous-time setting with minor modifications under standard assumptions. We employ multiple Lyapunov-like functions and graph theoretic tools as the main apparatuses for our analysis.     

Transient flows in queueing systems via closure approximations

We present a method for obtaining approximations to the distribution of flow times of customers in arbitrary queueing systems. We first propose approximations for uni-variate and multi-variate distributions of non-negative random variables. Then using a closure approximation, we show that the distribution of flow time can be calculated recursively. Computational results for the single server, multi-server and tandem queues are encouraging, with less than 5%average error in the mean flow time in most cases. The average error in the variance of flow times is found to be less than 10% for the more regular distributions.     

Right closure of martingale sequences in the sense of theA-integral

In this paper new sufficient (necessary and sufficient for martingales of special form) conditions for the martingale closure from the right in the sense of theA-integral are given. These results follow from the theorem about passing to the limit under theA-integral. The theorem is established using the criterion for transposing iterated limits with respect to the base. It is shown that the sufficient conditions thus obtained are stronger than those previously known. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol.68, No. 1, pp. 98–104, July, 2000.     

Computations via Newtonian and relativistic kinematic systems

We are developing a rigorous methodology to analyse experimental computation, by which we mean the idea of computing a set or function by experimenting with some physical equipment. Here we consider experimental computation by kinematic systems under both Newtonian and relativistic kinematics. An experimental procedure, expressed in a language similar to imperative programming languages, is applied to equipment, having the form of a bagatelle, and is interpreted using the two theories. We prove that for any set A of natural numbers there exists a two-dimensional kinematic system B_A with a single particle P whose observable behaviour decides n∈A for all n∈N. The procedure can operate under (a) Newtonian mechanics or (b) relativistic mechanics. The proofs show how any information (coded by some A) can be embedded in the structure of a simple kinematic system and retrieved by simple observations of its behaviour. We reflect on the methodology, which seeks a formal theory for performing abstract experiments with physical restrictions on the construction of systems. We conclude with some open problems.     

Conflict-directed A and its role in model-based embedded systems

Artificial Intelligence has traditionally used constraint satisfaction and logic to frame a wide range of problems, including planning, diagnosis, cognitive robotics and embedded systems control. However, many decision making problems are now being re-framed as optimization problems, involving a search over a discrete space for the best solution that satisfies a set of constraints. The best methods for finding optimal solutions, such as A^*, explore the space of solutions one state at a time. This paper introduces conflict-directed A^*, a method for solving optimal constraint satisfaction problems. Conflict-directed A^* searches the state space in best first order, but accelerates the search process by eliminating subspaces around each state that are inconsistent. This elimination process builds upon the concepts of conflict and kernel diagnosis used in model-based diagnosis [J. de Kleer, B.C. Williams, Diagnosing multiple faults, Artif. Intell. 32(1) (1987) 97-130; J. de Kleer, A. Mackworth, R. Reiter, Characterizing diagnoses and systems, Artif. Intell. 56 (1992) 197-222] and in dependency-directed search [R. Stallman, G.J. Sussman, Forward reasoning and dependency-directed backtracking in a system for computer-aided circuit analysis, Artif. Intell. 9 (1977) 135-196; J. Gaschnig, Performance measurement and analysis of certain search algorithms, Technical Report CMU-CS-79-124, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1979; J. de Kleer, B.C. Williams, Back to backtracking: controlling the ATMS, in: Proceedings of AAAI-86, 1986, pp. 910-917; M. Ginsberg, Dynamic backtracking, J. Artif. Intell. Res. 1 (1993) 25-46]. Conflict-directed A^* is a fundamental tool for building model-based embedded systems, and has been used to solve a range of problems, including fault isolation [J. de Kleer, B.C. Williams, Diagnosing multiple faults, Artif. Intell. 32(1) (1987) 97-130], diagnosis [J. de Kleer, B.C. Williams, Diagnosis with behavioral modes, in: Proceedings of IJCAI-89, 1989, pp. 1324-1330], mode estimation and repair [B.C. Williams, P. Nayak, A model-based approach to reactive self-configuring systems, in: Proceedings of AAAI-96, 1996, pp. 971-978], model-compilation [B.C. Williams, P. Nayak, A reactive planner for a model-based executive, in: Proceedings of IJCAI-97, 1997] and model-based programming [M. Ingham, R. Ragno, B.C. Williams, A reactive model-based programming language for robotic space explorers, in: Proceedings of ISAIRAS-01, 2001].     

Fault identification in nonlinear hybrid systems

The problem of fault identification in hybrid systems is investigated. It is assumed that the hybrid systems under consideration consist of a finite automaton, the set of nonlinear differential equations, and so-called mode activator that coordinates the action of these two parts. To solve the fault identification problem, sliding mode observers are used. The suggested approach for constructing sliding mode observers is based on the reduced order model of the original system. This allows to reduce complexity of sliding mode observers and relax the limitations imposed on the original system. Examples illustrate details of the solution.     

Optimal server scheduling in nonpreemptive finite-population queueing systems

We consider a finite-population queueing system with heterogeneous classes of customers and a single server. For the case of nonpreemptive service, we fully characterize the structure of the server's optimal service policy that minimizes the total average customer waiting costs. We show that the optimal service policy may never serve some classes of customers. For those classes that are served, we show that the optimal service policy is a simple static priority policy. We also derive sufficient conditions that determine the optimal priority sequence.     

Generalized fractional‐order Jacobi functions for solving a nonlinear systems of fractional partial differential equations numerically

In this paper, a collocation spectral numerical algorithm is presented for solving nonlinear systems of fractional partial differential equations subject to different types of conditions. A proposed error analysis investigates the convergence of the mentioned algorithm. Some numerical examples confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the method.     

Computation and stability of limit cycles in hybrid systems

In this note, a practical way to compute limit cycles in context of hybrid systems is investigated. As in many hybrid applications the steady state is depicted by a limit cycle, control design and stability analysis of such hybrid systems require the knowledge of this periodic motion. Analytical expression of this cycle is generally an impossible task due to the complexity of the dynamic. A fast algorithm is proposed and used to determine these cycles in the case where the switching sequence is known.     

Local expansion concepts for detecting transport barriers in dynamical systems

In the last two decades, the mathematical analysis of material transport has received considerable interest in many scientific fields such as ocean dynamics and astrodynamics. In this contribution we focus on the numerical detection and approximation of transport barriers in dynamical systems. Starting from a set-oriented approximation of the dynamics we combine discrete concepts from graph theory with established geometric ideas from dynamical systems theory. We derive the global transport barriers by computing the local expansion properties of the system. For the demonstration of our results we consider two different systems. First we explore a simple flow map inspired by the dynamics of the global ocean. The second example is the planar circular restricted three body problem with Sun and Jupiter as primaries, which allows us to analyze particle transport in the solar system.     

Temperature prediction at critical points in district heating systems

Current methodologies for the optimal operation of district heating systems use model predictive control. Accurate forecasting of the water temperature at critical points is crucial for meeting constraints related to consumers while minimizing the production costs for the heat supplier. A new forecasting methodology based on conditional finite impulse response (cFIR) models is introduced, for which model coefficients are replaced by coefficient functions of the water flux at the supply point and of the time of day, allowing for nonlinear variations of the time delays. Appropriate estimation methods for both are described. Results are given for the test case of the Roskilde district heating system over a period of more than 6 years. The advantages of the proposed forecasting methodology in terms of a higher forecast accuracy, its use for simulation purposes, or alternatively for better understanding transfer functions of district heating systems, are clearly shown.     

Generalized Hopf bifurcation emerged from a corner in general planar piecewise smooth systems

We investigate a generalized Hopf bifurcation emerged from a corner located at the origin which is the intersection of n$n$ discontinuity boundaries in planar piecewise smooth dynamical systems with the Jacobian matrix of each smooth subsystem having either two different nonzero real eigenvalues or a pair of complex conjugate eigenvalues. We obtain a novel result that the generalized Hopf bifurcation can occur even when the Jacobian matrix of each smooth subsystem has two different nonzero real eigenvalues. According to the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrices and the number of smooth subsystems, we provide a general method and prove some generalized Hopf bifurcation theorems by studying the associated Poincaré map.     

Dissipativity in impulsive systems via Lyapunov functions

This paper deals with impulsive dissipative semidynamical systems. We present sufficient conditions to obtain dissipativity for autonomous and non‐autonomous systems by using Lyapunov functions. Also, some converse‐type results are presented.     

Generalized mixtures in reliability modelling: Applications to the construction of bathtub shaped hazard models and the study of systems

In this paper, we obtain and discuss some general properties of hazard rate (HR) functions constructed via generalized mixtures of two members. These results are applied to determine the shape of generalized mixtures of an increasing hazard rate (IHR) model and an exponential model. In addition, we note that these kind of generalized mixtures can be used to construct bathtub‐shaped HR models. As examples, we study in detail two cases: when the IHR model chosen is a linear HR function and when the IHR model is the extended exponential‐geometric distribution. Finally, we apply the results and show the utility of generalized mixtures in determining the shape of the HR function of different systems, such as mixed systems or consecutive k‐out‐of‐n systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability and boundedness of nonlinear impulsive systems in terms of two measures via perturbing Lyapunov functions

This paper develops the concepts of stability, practical stability and boundedness in terms of two measures for nonlinear impulsive differential systems using the method of perturbing Lyapunov functions. The notion of perturbing Lyapunov functions enables us to discuss stability properties of solutions of nonlinear impulsive differential systems in terms of two measures under much weaker assumptions. The novel results offer a way to unify a variety of stability results found in the relative literature.