On first-fit coloring of ladder-free posets

Bosek and Krawczyk exhibited an on-line algorithm for partitioning an on-line poset of width w$w$ into w^14lgw$w^{14lgw}$ chains. They also observed that the problem of on-line chain partitioning of general posets of width w$w$ could be reduced to First-Fit chain partitioning of 2w²+1$2w^2+1$-ladder-free posets of width w$w$, where an m$m$-ladder is the transitive closure of the union of two incomparable chains _x1≤?≤_xm$x_1\le ?\le x_m$, _y1≤?≤_ym$y_1\le ?\le y_m$ and the set of comparabilities {_x1≤_y1,…,_xm≤_ym}$\{x_1\le y_1,\dots ,x_m\le y_m\}$. Here, we provide a subexponential upper bound (in terms of w$w$ with m$m$ fixed) for the performance of First-Fit chain partitioning on m$m$-ladder-free posets, as well as an exact quadratic bound when m=2$m=2$, and an upper bound linear in m$m$ when w=2$w=2$. Using the Bosek–Krawczyk observation, this yields an on-line chain partitioning algorithm with a somewhat improved performance bound. More importantly, the algorithm and the proof of its performance bound are much simpler.     

Asymptotic average shadowing property on compact metric spaces

We prove that if for a continuous map f$f$ on a compact metric space X$X$, the chain recurrent set, R(f)$R\left(f\right)$ has more than one chain component, then f$f$ does not satisfy the asymptotic average shadowing property. We also show that if a continuous map f$f$ on a compact metric space X$X$ has the asymptotic average shadowing property and if A$A$ is an attractor for f$f$, then A$A$ is the single attractor for f$f$ and we have A=R(f)$A=R\left(f\right)$. We also study diffeomorphisms with asymptotic average shadowing property and prove that if M$M$ is a compact manifold which is not finite with dimM=2$dimM=2$, then the C¹$C^1$ interior of the set of all C¹$C^1$ diffeomorphisms with the asymptotic average shadowing property is characterized by the set of Ω$\Omega$-stable diffeomorphisms.     

On words that are concise in residually finite groups

A group-word w$w$ is called concise if whenever the set of w$w$-values in a group G$G$ is finite it always follows that the verbal subgroup w(G)$w\left(G\right)$ is finite. More generally, a word w$w$ is said to be concise in a class of groups X$X$ if whenever the set of w$w$-values is finite for a group G∈X$G\in X$, it always follows that w(G)$w\left(G\right)$ is finite. P. Hall asked whether every word is concise. Due to Ivanov the answer to this problem is known to be negative. Dan Segal asked whether every word is concise in the class of residually finite groups. In this direction we prove that if w$w$ is a multilinear commutator and q$q$ is a prime-power, then the word w^q$w^q$ is indeed concise in the class of residually finite groups. Further, we show that in the case where w=_γk$w={\gamma }_k$ the word w^q$w^q$ is boundedly concise in the class of residually finite groups. It remains unknown whether the word w^q$w^q$ is actually concise in the class of all groups.     

Feedback vertex set on graphs of low clique-width

The Feedback Vertex Set problem asks whether a graph contains q$q$ vertices meeting all its cycles. This is not a local property, in the sense that we cannot check if q$q$ vertices meet all cycles by looking only at their neighbors. Dynamic programming algorithms for problems based on non-local properties are usually more complicated. In this paper, given a graph G$G$ of clique-width cw$cw$ and a cw$cw$-expression of G$G$, we solve the Minimum Feedback Vertex Set problem in time O(n²2^O(cwlogcw))$O\left(n^2{2}^{O(cwlogcw)}\right)$. Our algorithm applies dynamic programming on a so-called k$k$-module decomposition of a graph, as defined by Rao (2008) [29], which is easily derivable from ak$k$-expression of the graph. The related notion of module-width of a graph is tightly linked to both clique-width and NLC-width, and in this paper we give an alternative equivalent characterization of module-width.     

Iterative approximation of solutions of nonlinear equations of Hammerstein type

Suppose X$X$ is a real q$q$-uniformly smooth Banach space and F,K:X→X$F,K:X\to X$ are Lipschitz ?$?$-strongly accretive maps with D(K)=F(X)=X$D\left(K\right)=F\left(X\right)=X$. Let u^∗$u^{\ast }$ denote the unique solution of the Hammerstein equation u+KFu=0$u+KFu=0$. An iteration process recently introduced by Chidume and Zegeye is shown to converge strongly to u^∗$u^{\ast }$. No invertibility assumption is imposed on K$K$ and the operators K$K$ and F$F$ need not be defined on compact subsets of X$X$. Furthermore, our new technique of proof is of independent interest. Finally, some interesting open questions are included.     

Unbounded order convergence in dual spaces

A net (_xα)$(x_{\alpha })$ in a vector lattice X   is said to be unbounded order convergent (or uo-convergent, for short) to x∈X$x\in X$ if the net (|_xα−x|∧y)$(|x_{\alpha }-x|\wedge y)$ converges to 0 in order for all y∈_X+$y\in X_{+}$. In this paper, we study unbounded order convergence in dual spaces of Banach lattices. Let X   be a Banach lattice. We prove that every norm bounded uo-convergent net in X^?$X^{?}$ is w^?$w^{?}$-convergent iff X   has order continuous norm, and that every w^?$w^{?}$-convergent net in X^?$X^{?}$ is uo-convergent iff X is atomic with order continuous norm. We also characterize among σ  -order complete Banach lattices the spaces in whose dual space every simultaneously uo- and w^?$w^{?}$-convergent sequence converges weakly/in norm.     

Two remarks on frequent hypercyclicity

We show that if T:X→X$T:X\to X$ is a continuous linear operator on an F$F$-space X≠{0}$X\ne \left\{0\right\}$, then the set of frequently hypercyclic vectors of T$T$ is of first category in X$X$, and this answers a question of A. Bonilla and K.-G. Grosse-Erdmann. We also show that if T:X→X$T:X\to X$ is a bounded linear operator on a Banach space X≠{0}$X\ne \left\{0\right\}$ and if T$T$ is frequently hypercyclic (or, more generally, syndetically transitive), then the T^∗$T^{\ast }$-orbit of every non-zero element of X^∗$X^{\ast }$ is bounded away from 0, and in particular T^∗$T^{\ast }$ is not hypercyclic.     

Embedding cycles of given length in oriented graphs

Kelly, Kühn and Osthus conjectured that for any ?≥4$?\ge 4$ and the smallest number k≥3$k\ge 3$ that does not divide ?$?$, any large enough oriented graph G$G$ with δ⁺(G),δ⁻(G)≥⌊|V(G)|/k⌋+1${\delta }^{+}\left(G\right),{\delta }^{-}\left(G\right)\ge \lfloor \left|V\left(G\right)\right|/k\rfloor +1$ contains a directed cycle of length ?$?$. We prove this conjecture asymptotically for the case when ?$?$ is large enough compared to k$k$ and k≥7$k\ge 7$. The case when k≤6$k\le 6$ was already settled asymptotically by Kelly, Kühn and Osthus.     

Cone isomorphisms and almost surjective operators

Let E$E$ be a Banach lattice and F$F$ a Banach space. A bounded linear operator T:E→F$T:E\to F$ is an isomorphism on the positive cone of E$E$ if and only if T^∗$T^{\ast }$ is almost surjective. A dual version of this theorem holds also. A bounded linear operator T:F→E$T:F\to E$ is almost surjective if and only if T^∗$T^{\ast }$ is an isomorphism on the positive cone of F^∗$F^{\ast }$.     

Weak convergence of the Stratonovich integral with respect to a class of Gaussian processes

For a Gaussian process X$X$ and smooth function f$f$, we consider a Stratonovich integral of f(X)$f\left(X\right)$, defined as the weak limit, if it exists, of a sequence of Riemann sums. We give covariance conditions on X$X$ such that the sequence converges in law. This gives a change-of-variable formula in law with a correction term which is an Itô integral of f^?$f^{?}$ with respect to a Gaussian martingale independent of X$X$. The proof uses Malliavin calculus and a central limit theorem from Nourdin and Nualart (2010) [8]. This formula was known for fBm with H=1/6$H=1/6$ Nourdin et al. (2010) [9]. We extend this to a larger class of Gaussian processes.     

Constructing cubature formulae of degree 5 with few points

This paper is devoted to construct a family of fifth degree cubature formulae for n$n$-cube with symmetric measure and n$n$-dimensional spherically symmetrical region. The formula forn$n$-cube contains at most n²+5n+3$n^2+5n+3$ points and for n$n$-dimensional spherically symmetrical region contains only n²+3n+3$n^2+3n+3$ points. Moreover, the numbers can be reduced to n²+3n+1$n^2+3n+1$ and n²+n+1$n^2+n+1$ if n=7$n=7$ respectively, the latter of which is minimal.     

Congruences for t-core partition functions

Let t?2$t?2$ be an integer and p?5$p?5$ be a prime. We prove a conjecture on congruences for 2^t$2^t$-core partition functions. We also find many new congruences for p  -core partition functions when 5?p?47$5?p?47$.     

On the length of an external branch in the Beta-coalescent

In this paper, we consider Beta(2−α,α)$(2-\alpha ,\alpha )$ (with 1<α<2$1<\alpha <2$) and related Λ$\Lambda$-coalescents. If T⁽ⁿ⁾$T^{\left(n\right)}$ denotes the length of a randomly chosen external branch of the n$n$-coalescent, we prove the convergence of n^α−1T⁽ⁿ⁾$n^{\alpha -1}{T}^{\left(n\right)}$ when n$n$ tends to ∞$\infty$, and give the limit. To this aim, we give asymptotics for the number σ⁽ⁿ⁾${\sigma }^{\left(n\right)}$ of collisions which occur in the n$n$-coalescent until the end of the chosen external branch, and for the block counting process associated with the n$n$-coalescent.     

Estimating the ground state energy of the Schrödinger equation for convex potentials

In 2011, the fundamental gap conjecture for Schrödinger operators was proven. This can be used to estimate the ground state energy of the time-independent Schrödinger equation with a convex potential and relative error ε$\epsilon$. Classical deterministic algorithms solving this problem have cost exponential in the number of its degrees of freedom d$d$. We show a quantum algorithm, that is based on a perturbation method, for estimating the ground state energy with relative error ε$\epsilon$. The cost of the algorithm is polynomial in d$d$ and ε⁻¹${\epsilon }^{-1}$, while the number of qubits is polynomial in d$d$ and logε⁻¹$log{\epsilon }^{-1}$. In addition, we present an algorithm for preparing a quantum state that overlaps within 1−δ,δ∈(0,1)$1-\delta ,\delta \in (0,1)$, with the ground state eigenvector of the discretized Hamiltonian. This algorithm also approximates the ground state with relative error ε$\epsilon$. The cost of the algorithm is polynomial in d$d$, ε⁻¹${\epsilon }^{-1}$ and δ⁻¹${\delta }^{-1}$, while the number of qubits is polynomial in d$d$, logε⁻¹$log{\epsilon }^{-1}$ and logδ⁻¹$log{\delta }^{-1}$.     

Parametric inference for discretely observed multidimensional diffusions with small diffusion coefficient

We consider a multidimensional diffusion X$X$ with drift coefficient b(α,_Xt)$b(\alpha ,X_t)$ and diffusion coefficient ?σ(β,_Xt)$?\sigma (\beta ,X_t)$. The diffusion sample path is discretely observed at times _tk=kΔ$t_k=k\Delta$ for k=1…n$k=1\dots n$ on a fixed interval [0,T]$[0,T]$. We study minimum contrast estimators derived from the Gaussian process approximating X$X$ for small ?$?$. We obtain consistent and asymptotically normal estimators of α$\alpha$ for fixed Δ$\Delta$ and ?→0$?\to 0$ and of (α,β)$(\alpha ,\beta )$ for Δ→0$\Delta \to 0$ and ?→0$?\to 0$ without any condition linking ?$?$ and Δ$\Delta$. We compare the estimators obtained with various methods and for various magnitudes of Δ$\Delta$ and ?$?$ based on simulation studies. Finally, we investigate the interest of using such methods in an epidemiological framework.     

A boundary blow-up elliptic problem with an inhomogeneous term

By a perturbation method and constructing comparison functions, we reveal how the inhomogeneous term h$h$ affects the exact asymptotic behaviour of solutions near the boundary to the problem △u=b(x)g(u)+λh(x)$△u=b\left(x\right)g\left(u\right)+\lambda h\left(x\right)$, u>0$u>0$ in Ω$\Omega$, u_|∂Ω=∞$u{|}_{\partial \Omega }=\infty$, where Ω$\Omega$ is a bounded domain with smooth boundary in R^N${\mathbb{R}}^N$, λ>0$\lambda >0$, g∈C¹[0,∞)$g\in C^1[0,\infty )$ is increasing on [0,∞)$[0,\infty )$, g(0)=0$g\left(0\right)=0$, g^′$g^{\prime }$ is regularly varying at infinity with positive index ρ$\rho$, the weight b$b$, which is non-trivial and non-negative in Ω$\Omega$, may be vanishing on the boundary, and the inhomogeneous term h$h$ is non-negative in Ω$\Omega$ and may be singular on the boundary.     

Approximation of solutions of Hammerstein equations with bounded strongly accretive nonlinear operators

Suppose X$X$ is a real q$q$-uniformly smooth Banach space and F,K:X→X$F,K:X\to X$ are bounded strongly accretive maps with D(K)=F(X)=X$D\left(K\right)=F\left(X\right)=X$. Let u^∗$u^{\ast }$ denote the unique solution of the Hammerstein equation u+KFu=0$u+KFu=0$. A new explicit coupled iteration process is shown to converge strongly to u^∗$u^{\ast }$. No invertibility assumption is imposed on K$K$ and the operators K$K$ and F$F$ need not be defined on compact subsets of X$X$. Furthermore, our new technique of proof is of independent interest. Finally, some interesting open questions are included.     

On probabilistic results for the discrepancy of a hybrid-Monte Carlo sequence

In many applications it has been observed that hybrid-Monte Carlo sequences perform better than Monte Carlo and quasi-Monte Carlo sequences, especially in difficult problems. For a mixed s$s$-dimensional sequence m$m$, whose elements are vectors obtained by concatenating d$d$-dimensional vectors from a low-discrepancy sequence q$q$ with (s−d)$(s-d)$-dimensional random vectors, probabilistic upper bounds for its star discrepancy have been provided. In a paper of G. Ökten, B. Tuffin and V. Burago [G. Ökten, B. Tuffin, V. Burago, J. Complexity 22 (2006), 435–458] it was shown that for arbitrary ε>0$\epsilon >0$ the difference of the star discrepancies of the first N$N$ points of m$m$ and q$q$ is bounded by ε$\epsilon$ with probability at least 1−2exp(−ε²N/2)$1-2exp(-{\epsilon }^{2}N/2)$ for N$N$ sufficiently large. The authors did not study how large N$N$ actually has to be and if and how this actually depends on the parameters s$s$ and ε$\epsilon$. In this note we derive a lower bound for N$N$, which significantly depends on s$s$ and ε$\epsilon$. Furthermore, we provide a probabilistic bound for the difference of the star discrepancies of the first N$N$ points of m$m$ and q$q$, which holds without any restrictions on N$N$. In this sense it improves on the bound of Ökten, Tuffin and Burago and is more helpful in practice, especially for small sample sizes N$N$. We compare this bound to other known bounds.     

Nonparametric estimation for stochastic differential equations with random effects

We consider N$N$ independent stochastic processes (_Xj(t),t∈[0,T])$(X_j\left(t\right),t\in [0,T])$, j=1,…,N$j=1,\dots ,N$, defined by a one-dimensional stochastic differential equation with coefficients depending on a random variable _?j${?}_j$ and study the nonparametric estimation of the density of the random effect _?j${?}_j$ in two kinds of mixed models. A multiplicative random effect and an additive random effect are successively considered. In each case, we build kernel and deconvolution estimators and study their L²$L^2$-risk. Asymptotic properties are evaluated as N$N$ tends to infinity for fixed T$T$ or for T=T(N)$T=T\left(N\right)$ tending to infinity with N$N$. For T(N)=N²$T\left(N\right)=N^2$, adaptive estimators are built. Estimators are implemented on simulated data for several examples.