Locally Accretive Mappings in Banach Spaces

Let X be a real Banach space for which the closed unit ballhas the fixed point property for nonexpansive self-mappings.Suppose that D is a bounded open subset of X, and T is a continuousmapping from the closure of D into X and locally accretive onD. Then T has a zero in D, provided that the following boundarycondition is fulfilled: there exists an element z in D so that||Tz|| < ||Tx|| for all x in the boundary of D.     

Invariant Curves by Vector Fields on Algebraic Varieties

If C is a reduced curve which is invariant by a one-dimensionalfoliation F of degree d_F on the projective space then it isshown that d_F–1+a is a bound for the quotient of the twocoefficients of the Hilbert–Samuel polynomial for C, wherea is an integer obtained from a concrete problem of imposingsingularities to projective hypersurfaces, and so a bound isobtained for the degree of C when it is a complete intersection.Concrete values of a can be derived for several interestingapplications. The results are presented in the form of intersection-theoreticalinequalities for one-dimensional foliations on arbitrary smoothalgebraic varieties.     

Parity of the Partition Function in Arithmetic Progressions, II

Let p(n) denote the ordinary partition function. Subbarao conjecturedthat in every arithmetic progression r (mod t) there are infinitelymany integers N = r (mod t) for which p(N) is even, and infinitelymany integers M = r (mod t) for which p(M) is odd. We provethe conjecture for every arithmetic progression whose modulusis a power of 2. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 11P83.     

A Peak Point Theorem for Uniform Algebras Generated by Smooth Functions on Two-Manifolds

We establish the peak point conjecture for uniform algebrasgenerated by smooth functions on two-manifolds: if A is a uniformalgebra generated by smooth functions on a compact smooth two-manifoldM, such that the maximal ideal space of A is M, and every pointof M is a peak point for A, then A = C(M). We also give an alternativeproof in the case when the algebra A is the uniform closureP(M) of the polynomials on a polynomially convex smooth two-manifoldM lying in a strictly pseudoconvex hypersurface in Cⁿ.     

Algebras with Collapsing Monomials

A semigroup S is called collapsing if there exists a positiveinteger n such that for every subset of n elements in S, atleast two distinct words of length n on these letters are equalin S. In particular, S is collapsing whenever it satisfies alaw. Let U(A) denote the group of units of a unitary associativealgebra A over a field k of characteristic zero. If A is generatedby its nilpotent elements, then the following conditions areequivalent: U(A) is collapsing; U(A) satisfies some semigrouplaw; U(A) satisfies the Engel condition; U(A) is nilpotent;A is nilpotent when considered as a Lie algebra.     

Norms on Free Topological Groups

A norm on a group G is a function N mapping G into the set ofnon-negative real numbers such that for each x and y in G, N(xy^–1) N(x)+N(y) and N(e) = 0, where e is the identity element ofG. It is shown here that if F(X) is the free topological groupon any completely regular Hausdorff space X and H is a subgroupof F(X) generated by a finite subset of X, then any norm onH can be extended to a continuous norm on F(X).     

Structural Projections on JBW*-Triples

A linear projection R on a Jordan*-triple A is said to be structuralprovided that, for all elements a, b and c in A, the equality{Rab Rc} = R{a Rbc} holds. A subtriple B of A is said to becomplemented if A = B + Ker(B), where Ker(B) = {aA: {B a B}= 0}. It is shown that a subtriple of a JBW*-triple is complementedif and only if it is the range of a structural projection. A weak* closed subspace B of the dual E* of a Banach space Eis said to be an N*-ideal if every weak* continuous linear functionalon B has a norm preserving extension to a weak* continuous linearfunctional on E* and the set of elements in E which attain theirnorm on the unit ball in B is a subspace of E. It is shown thata subtriple of a JBW*-triple A is complemented if and only ifit is an N*-ideal, from which it follows that complemented subtriplesof A are weak* closed, and structural projections on A are weak*continuous and norm non-increasing. It is also shown that everyN*-ideal in A possesses a triple product with respect to whichit is a JBW*-triple which is isomorphic to a complemented subtripleof A.     

Weil Representations of Symplectic Groups Over Rings

We are interested in Weil representations of Sp(2n, R), whereR is the ring Z/p^lZ, p is an odd prime and l is a positive integer,or, more generally, R = O/p^l, where O is the ring of integersof a local field, p is the maximal ideal of O and O/p has oddcharacteristic. One reason for this interest is that a continuousfinite-dimensional complex representation of Sp(2n, O) has tofactor through a representation of Sp(2n, O/p^l) for some l.     

Projective Limits of Finite-Dimensional Lie Groups

For a topological group G we define N to be the set of all normalsubgroups modulo which G is a finite-dimensional Lie group.Call G a pro-Lie group if, firstly, G is complete, secondly,N is a filter basis, and thirdly, every identity neighborhoodof G contains some member of N. It is easy to see that everypro-Lie group G is a projective limit of the projective systemof all quotients of G modulo subgroups from N. The converseimplication emerges as a difficult proposition, but it is shownhere that any projective limit of finite-dimensional Lie groupsis a pro-Lie group. It is also shown that a closed subgroupof a pro-Lie group is a pro-Lie group, and that for any closednormal subgroup N of a pro-Lie group G, for any one parametersubgroup Y : R G/N there is a one parameter subgroup X : R G such that X(t) N = Y(t) for any real number t. The categoryof all pro-Lie groups and continuous group homomorphisms betweenthem is closed under the formation of all limits in the categoryof topological groups and the Lie algebra functor on the categoryof pro-Lie groups preserves all limits and quotients. 2000 MathematicsSubject Classification 22E65, 22D05, 22E20, 22A05, 54B35.     

Increased Accuracy Cubic Spline Solutions to Two-Point Boundary Value Problems

The relation between finite difference approximation and cubicspline solutions of a two-point boundary value problem for thedifferential equation y' +f(x)y^'+g(x)y = r(x) has been consideredin a previous paper. The present paper extends the analysisto the integral equation formulation of the problem. It is shownthat an improvement in accuracy (local truncation error O(h⁶)rather than O(h⁴)) now results from a cubic spline approximationand that for the particular case f(x) 0 the resulting recurrencerelations have a form and accuracy similar to the well-knownNumerov formula. For this case also a formula with local truncationerror O(h⁸) is derived.     

Splendid Derived Equivalences for Blocks of Finite Groups

A central issue in finite group modular representation theoryis the relationship between the p-local structure and the p-modularrepresentation theory of a given finite group. In [5], Brouéposes some startling conjectures. For example, he conjecturesthat if e is a p-block of a finite group G with abelian defectgroup D and if f is the Brauer correspondent block of e of thenormalizer, N_G(D), of D then e and f have equivalent derivedcategories over a complete discrete valuation ring with residuefield of characteristic p. Some evidence for this conjecturehas been obtained using an important Morita analog for derivedcategories of Rickard [11]. This result states that the existenceof a tilting complex is a necessary and sufficient conditionfor the equivalence of two derived categories. In [5], Brouéalso defines an equivalence on the character level between p-blockse and f of finite groups G and H that he calls a ‘perfectisometry’ and he demonstrates that it is a consequenceof a derived category equivalence between e and f. In [5], Brouéalso poses a corresponding perfect isometry conjecture betweena p-block e of a finite group G with an abelian defect groupD and its Brauer correspondent p-block f of N_G(D) and presentsseveral examples of this phenomena. Subsequent research hasprovided much more evidence for this character-level conjecture. In many known examples of a perfect isometry between p-blockse, f of finite groups G, H there are also perfect isometriesbetween p-blocks of p-local subgroups corresponding to e andf and these isometries are compatible in a precise sense. In[5], Broué calls such a family of compatible perfectisometries an ‘isotypy’. In [11], Rickard addresses the analogous question of defininga p-locally compatible family of derived equivalences. In thisimportant paper, he defines a ‘splendid tilting complex’for p-blocks e and f of finite groups G and H with a commonp-subgroup P. Then he demonstrates that if X is such a splendidtilting complex, if P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G and H and ifG and H have the same ‘p-local structure’, thenp-local splendid tilting complexes are obtained from X via theBrauer functor and ‘lifting’. Consequently, in thissituation, we obtain an isotypy when e and f are the principalblocks of G and H. Linckelmann [9] and Puig [10] have also obtained important resultsin this area. In this paper, we refine the methods and program of [11] toobtain variants of some of the results of [11] that have widerapplicability. Indeed, suppose that the blocks e and f of Gand H have a common defect group D. Suppose also that X is asplendid tilting complex for e and f and that the p-local structureof (say) H with respect to D is contained in that of G, thenthe Brauer functor, lifting and ‘cutting’ by blockindempotents applied to X yield local block tilting complexesand consequently an isotypy on the character level. Since thep-local structure containment hypothesis is satisfied, for example,when H is a subgroup of G (as is the case in Broué'sconjectures) our results extend the applicability of these ideasand methods.     

The complexity of the equivalence problem for nonsolvable groups

The equivalence problem for a group G is the problem of decidingwhich equations hold in G. It is known that for finite nilpotentgroups and certain other solvable groups, the equivalence problemhas polynomial-time complexity. We prove that the equivalenceproblem for a finite nonsolvable group G is co-NP-complete byreducing the k-coloring problem for graphs to the equivalenceproblem, where k is the cardinality of G.     

On Artin's Conjecture, I: Systems of Diagonal Forms

As a special case of a well-known conjecture of Artin, it isexpected that a system of R additive forms of degree k, say [formula] with integer coefficients a_ij, has a non-trivial solution inQ_p for all primes p whenever [formula] Here we adopt the convention that a solution of (1) is non-trivialif not all the x_i are 0. To date, this has been verified onlywhen R=1, by Davenport and Lewis [4], and for odd k when R=2,by Davenport and Lewis [7]. For larger values of R, and in particularwhen k is even, more severe conditions on N are required toassure the existence of p-adic solutions of (1) for all primesp. In another important contribution, Davenport and Lewis [6]showed that the conditions [formula] are sufficient. There have been a number of refinements of theseresults. Schmidt [13] obtained N>>R²k³ log k, and Low,Pitman and Wolff [10] improved the work of Davenport and Lewisby showing the weaker constraints [formula] to be sufficient for p-adic solubility of (1). A noticeable feature of these results is that for even k, onealways encounters a factor k³ log k, in spite of the expectedk² in (2). In this paper we show that one can reach the expectedorder of magnitude k². 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification11D72, 11D79.     

Quasi-Permutation Representations of p-Groups of Class 2

If G is a finite linear group of degree n, that is, a finitegroup of automorphisms of an n-dimensional complex vector space(or, equivalently, a finite group of non-singular matrices oforder n with complex coefficients), we shall say that G is aquasi-permutation group if the trace of every element of G isa non-negative rational integer. The reason for this terminologyis that, if G is a permutation group of degree n, its elements,considered as acting on the elements of a basis of an n-dimensionalcomplex vector space V, induce automorphisms of V forming agroup isomorphic to G. The trace of the automorphism correspondingto an element x of G is equal to the number of letters leftfixed by x, and so is a non-negative integer. Thus, a permutationgroup of degree n has a representation as a quasi-permutationgroup of degree n. See [8].     

Local Rigidity of Infinite-Dimensional Teichmuller Spaces

This paper presents a rigidity theorem for infinite-dimensionalBergman spaces of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces, which statesthat the Bergman space A¹(M), for such a Riemann surface M,is isomorphic to the Banach space of summable sequence, l¹.This implies that whenever M and N are Riemann surfaces thatare not analytically finite, and in particular are not necessarilyhomeomorphic, then A¹(M) is isomorphic to A¹(N). It is knownfrom V. Markovic that if there is a linear isometry betweenA¹(M) and A¹(N), for two Riemann surfaces M and N of non-exceptionaltype, then this isometry is induced by a conformal mapping betweenM and N. As a corollary to this rigidity theorem presented here,taking the Banach duals of A¹(M) and l¹ shows that the spaceof holomorphic quadratic differentials on M, Q(M), is isomorphicto the Banach space of bounded sequences, l. As a consequenceof this theorem and the Bers embedding, the Teichmüllerspaces of such Riemann surfaces are locally bi-Lipschitz equivalent.     

Rigidity of Continuous Coboundaries

We consider the functional equation F_oT–F=f, where T isa measure-preserving transformation and f is a continuous function.We show that if there is an L function F which satisfies thisequation, then F is constrained to satisfy a number of regularityconditions, and, in particular, if T is a one-sided Bernoullishift, then we show that there is a continuous function F satisfyingthis equation. We show that this is not the case for the two-sidedshift. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 28D05, 58F11.     

A Version of the Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt Theorem

In this note I shall prove that if L is a finite-dimensionalLie algebra over a field F of characteristic zero which is generatedas an algebra by a set of elements {e₁, e₂,...,e_k}, then theuniversal enveloping algebra U(L) of L is linearly generatedby monomials spanned by the elements {e_i} of an a priori boundedwidth. As an application, a criterion of Kostant for a leftideal of U(L) to be of finite codimension is proved by purelyalgebraic means.     

On the Connectedness of Self-Affine Tiles

Let T be a self-affine tile in Rⁿ defined by an integral expandingmatrix A and a digit set D. The paper gives a necessary andsufficient condition for the connectedness of T. The conditioncan be checked algebraically via the characteristic polynomialof A. Through the use of this, it is shown that in R², for anyintegral expanding matrix A, there exists a digit set D suchthat the corresponding tile T is connected. This answers a questionof Bandt and Gelbrich. Some partial results for the higher-dimensionalcases are also given.     

Crossed Product Orders Over Valuation Rings II: Tamely Ramified Crossed Product Algebras

Let V be a commutative valuation domain of arbitrary Krull-dimension,with quotient field F, let K be a finite Galois extension ofF with group G, and let S be the integral closure of V in K.Suppose that one has a 2-cocycle on G that takes values in thegroup of units of S. Then one can form the crossed product ofG over S, S*G, which is a V-order in the central simple F-algebraK*G. If S*G is assumed to be a Dubrovin valuation ring of K*G,then the main result of this paper is that, given a suitabledefinition of tameness for central simple algebras, K*G is tamelyramified and defectless over F if and only if K is tamely ramifiedand defectless over F. The residue structure of S*G is alsoconsidered in the paper, as well as its behaviour upon passageto Henselization. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 16H05,16S35.