Solitary waves in a tapered prestressed fluid-filled elastic tube

In the present work, treating the arteries as a tapered, thin walled, long and circularly conical prestressed elastic tube and using the longwave approximation, we have studied the propagation of weakly nonlinear waves in such a fluid-filled elastic tube by employing the reductive perturbation method. By considering the blood as an incompressible inviscid fluid the evolution equation is obtained as the Korteweg-de Vries equation with a variable coefficient. It is shown that this type of equations admit a solitary wave type of solution with variable wave speed. It is observed that, the wave speed increases with distance for positive tapering while it decreases for negative tapering.     

Location of an undesirable facility on a network: A bargaining approach

We examine a model where, on a line network, individuals collectively choose the location of an undesirable public facility through bargaining with the unanimity rule. We show the existence of a stationary subgame perfect equilibrium and the characterization of stationary subgame perfect equilibria when the discount factor is sufficiently large. Furthermore, we show that as the discount factor tends to 1, the equilibrium location can converge to a location that is least desirable according to both the Benthamite and Rawlsian criteria.     

Multiple solutions for a class of elliptic equations with jumping nonlinearities

We consider a semilinear elliptic Dirichlet problem with jumping nonlinearity and, using variational methods, we show that the number of solutions tends to infinity as the number of jumped eigenvalues tends to infinity. In order to prove this fact, for every positive integer k we prove that, when a parameter is large enough, there exists a solution which presents k interior peaks. We also describe the asymptotic behaviour and the profile of this solution as the parameter tends to infinity.     

On a variational problem for an elastic membrane supporting a heavy ball

An elastic membrane or a soap film is investigated that is bounded by a planar curve and supports a heavy ball. The ball is allowed to move on the surface, and its position, together with the shape of the membrane will furnish a minimum to the potenial energy. This leads to an obstacle problem for Dirichlet's integral or the area functional where only the shape of the obstacle but not its position in space is given.     

Symmetry breaking in a bounded symmetry domain

In this article, we prove that there are three positive solutions of a semilinear elliptic equation in a bounded symmetric domain _t for large t>0 in which one is axially symmetric and the other two are nonaxially symmetric. Main tools are the Palais-Smale theory.     

Brownian motion on a homogeneous random fractal

Summary We introduce a simple random fractal based on the Sierpinski gasket and construct a Brownian motion upon the fractal. The properties of the process on the Sierpinski gasket are modified by the random environment. A sample path construction of the process via time truncation is used, which is a direct construction of the process on the fractal from the associated Dirichlet forms. We obtain estimates on the resolvent and transition density for the process and hence a value for the spectral dimension which satisfiesd _s=2d _f/d_w. A branching process in a random environment can be used to deduce some of the sample path properties of the process.     

Entire solutions for a semilinear fourth order elliptic problem with exponential nonlinearity

We investigate entire radial solutions of the semilinear biharmonic equation Δ²u=λexp(u) in Rn, n?5, λ>0 being a parameter. We show that singular radial solutions of the corresponding Dirichlet problem in the unit ball cannot be extended as solutions of the equation to the whole of Rn. In particular, they cannot be expanded as power series in the natural variable s=log|x|. Next, we prove the existence of infinitely many entire regular radial solutions. They all diverge to −∞ as |x|→∞ and we specify their asymptotic behaviour. As in the case with power-type nonlinearities [F. Gazzola, H.-Ch. Grunau, Radial entire solutions for supercritical biharmonic equations, Math. Ann. 334 (2006) 905-936], the entire singular solution x?−4log|x| plays the role of a separatrix in the bifurcation picture. Finally, a technique for the computer assisted study of a broad class of equations is developed. It is applied to obtain a computer assisted proof of the underlying dynamical behaviour for the bifurcation diagram of a corresponding autonomous system of ODEs, in the case n=5.     

Multiplicity of solutions for a class of fourth elliptic equations

We show that there exist at least three nontrivial solutions for a class of fourth elliptic equations under Navier boundary conditions by linking approaches.     

The gauge theorem for a class of additive functionals of zero energy

Summary In earlier works, the gauge theorem was proved for additive functionals of Brownian motion of the form ₀ ^t q(B _s )ds, whereq is a function in the Kato class. Subsequently, the theorem was extended to additive functionals with Revuz measures in the Kato class. We prove that the gauge theorem holds for a large class of additive functionals of zero energy which are, in general, of unbounded variation. These additive functionals may not be semi-martingales, but correspond to a collection of distributions that belong to the Kato class in a suitable sense. Our gauge theorem generalizes the earlier versions of the gauge theorem.Research supported in part by NSA grant MDA-92-H-30324     

Confidence ellipsoids based on a general family of shrinkage estimators for a linear model with non-spherical disturbances

This paper considers a general family of Stein rule estimators for the coefficient vector of a linear regression model with nonspherical disturbances, and derives estimators for the Mean Squared Error (MSE) matrix, and risk under quadratic loss for this family of estimators. The confidence ellipsoids for the coefficient vector based on this family of estimators are proposed, and the performance of the confidence ellipsoids under the criterion of coverage probability and expected volumes is investigated. The results of a numerical simulation are presented to illustrate the theoretical findings, which could be applicable in the area of economic growth modeling.     

Resonant hydraulic sloshing in a tank of variable depth

The forced resonant oscillations of a fluid in a tank of variable depth are considered within the hydraulic approximation. It is shown that for certain bottom topographies a continuous periodic output dominated by the first normal mode is possible. This contrasts with the case of a tank of constant depth, where hydraulic jumps are a feature of the motion. The amplitude and frequency of the output are connected by a cubic equation. The fluid response can act like that of a hard or soft spring, depending on the bottom topography. There is also a critical bottom topography that yields a higher order response amplitude.     

Effect of a protection zone in the diffusive Leslie predator-prey model

In this paper, we consider the diffusive Leslie predator-prey model with large intrinsic predator growth rate, and investigate the change of behavior of the model when a simple protection zone Ω₀ for the prey is introduced. As in earlier work [Y. Du, J. Shi, A diffusive predator-prey model with a protection zone, J. Differential Equations 229 (2006) 63-91; Y. Du, X. Liang, A diffusive competition model with a protection zone, J. Differential Equations 244 (2008) 61-86] we show the existence of a critical patch size of the protection zone, determined by the first Dirichlet eigenvalue of the Laplacian over Ω₀ and the intrinsic growth rate of the prey, so that there is fundamental change of the dynamical behavior of the model only when Ω₀ is above the critical patch size. However, our research here reveals significant difference of the model's behavior from the predator-prey model studied in [Y. Du, J. Shi, A diffusive predator-prey model with a protection zone, J. Differential Equations 229 (2006) 63-91] with the same kind of protection zone. We show that the asymptotic profile of the population distribution of the Leslie model is governed by a standard boundary blow-up problem, and classical or degenerate logistic equations.     

Multiple positive and sign-changing solutions for a singular Schrödinger equation with critical growth

Variational methods are used to prove the existence of multiple positive and sign-changing solutions for a Schrödinger equation with singular potential having prescribed finitely many singular points. Some exact local behavior for positive solutions obtained here are also given. The interesting aspects are two. One is that one singular point of the potential V(x)$V(x)$ and one positive solution can produce one sign-changing solution of the problem. The other is that each sign-changing solution changes its sign exactly once.     

Existence and non-existence of solutions for a class of Monge-Ampère equations

We study the boundary value problems for Monge-Ampère equations: detD²u=e−u in Ω⊂Rn, n?1, u_|∂Ω=0. First we prove that any solution on the ball is radially symmetric by the argument of moving plane. Then we show there exists a critical radius such that if the radius of a ball is smaller than this critical value there exists a solution, and vice versa. Using the comparison between domains we can prove that this phenomenon occurs for every domain. Finally we consider an equivalent problem with a parameter detD²u=e−tu in Ω, u_|∂Ω=0, t?0. By using Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction method we get the local structure of the solutions near a degenerate point; by Leray-Schauder degree theory, a priori estimate and bifurcation theory we get the global structure.     

Harnack inequality on configuration spaces: The coupling approach and a unified treatment

In this paper, we establish the dimension-free Harnack inequality on configuration spaces by using the coupling argument. Furthermore, a unified treatment is also used to prove the equivalence between the Harnack inequality on configuration space and that on the corresponding base space under a very mild condition.     

Rayleigh-type isoperimetric inequality with a homogeneous magnetic field

We prove that the two dimensional free magnetic Schrödinger operator, with a fixed constant magnetic field and Dirichlet boundary conditions on a planar domain with a given area, attains its smallest possible eigenvalue if the domain is a disk. We also give some rough bounds on the lowest magnetic eigenvalue of the disk.This article was processed by the author using the style filepljour1m from Springer-Verlag.     

Exit times for a class of piecewise exponential Markov processes with two-sided jumps

We consider first passage times for piecewise exponential Markov processes that may be viewed as Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes driven by compound Poisson processes. We allow for two-sided jumps and as a main result we derive the joint Laplace transform of the first passage time of a lower level and the resulting undershoot when passage happens as a consequence of a downward (negative) jump. The Laplace transform is determined using complex contour integrals and we illustrate how the choice of contours depends in a crucial manner on the particular form of the negative jump part, which is allowed to belong to a dense class of probabilities. We give extensions of the main result to two-sided exit problems where the negative jumps are as before but now it is also required that the positive jumps have a distribution of the same type. Further, extensions are given for the case where the driving Lévy process is the sum of a compound Poisson process and an independent Brownian motion. Examples are used to illustrate the theoretical results and include the numerical evaluation of some concrete exit probabilities. Also, some of the examples show that for specific values of the model parameters it is possible to obtain closed form expressions for the Laplace transform, as is the case when residue calculus may be used for evaluating the relevant contour integrals.     

On a map between two K3 surfaces associated to a net of quadrics

We study the geometry of the birational map between an intersection of a net of quadrics in that contains a line and the double sextic branched along the discriminant of the net. We show that the branch locus of a smooth double sextic S ₆ is discriminant of a net of quadrics in such that S ₆ is isomorphic to the intersection of this net iff a certain configuration of rational curves on S₆ is weakly even. Received: 14 September 2005 Suported by the DFG Schwerpunktprogramm ‘Global methods in complex geometry’. The first named author is partially supported by the KBN Grant No. 1 P03A 008 28. The second named author is partially supported by the KBN Grant No. 2 P03A 016 25.     

On a notion of unilateral slope for the Mumford-Shah functional

In this paper we introduce a notion of unilateral slope for the Mumford-Shah functional, and provide an explicit formula in the case of smooth cracks. We show that the slope is not lower semicontinuous and study the corresponding relaxed functional.