On the oscillation of Hill's equations under periodic forcing

We use the Floquet theory of the Hill's equation to prove the conjecture that all solutions of the second order forced linear differential equation y^″+c(sint)y=cost, are oscillatory on [0,∞) for all c≠0.     

A new fourth-order cubic spline method for second-order nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems

Bickley [5] had suggested the use of cubic splines for the solution of general linear two-point boundary-value problems. It is well known since then that this method gives only order h² uniformly convergent approximations. But cubic spline interpolation itself is a fourth-order process. We present a new fourth-order cubic spline method for second-order nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems: y″ = f(x, y, y′), a < x < b, α₀y(a) − α₀y′(a) = A, β₀y(b) + β₁y′(b) = B. We generate the solution at the nodal points by a fourth-order method and then use ‘conditions of continuity’ to obtain smoothed approximations for the second derivatives of the solution needed for the construction of the cubic spline solution. We show that our method provides order h⁴ uniformly convergent approximations over [a, b]. The fourth order of the presented method is demonstrated computationally by two examples.     

Dirichlet problem for semilinear hyperbolic equation. Multidimensional case

We discuss the solvability of the Dirichlet problem for the semilinear equation of the vibrating string xtt(t,y)−Δx(t,y)+f(t,y,x(t,y))=0 in higher dimensions with sides length being irrational numbers and superlinear nonlinearity. To this effect we derive a new dual variational method.     

Note on forced oscillation of nth-order sublinear differential equations

In the case of oscillatory potentials, we establish an oscillation theorem for the forced sublinear differential equation x(n)+q(t)λ|x|sgnx=e(t), t∈[t₀,∞). No restriction is imposed on the forcing term e(t) to be the nth derivative of an oscillatory function. In particular, we show that all solutions of the equation x^″+tαsintλ|x|sgnx=mtβcost, t?0, 0<λ<1 are oscillatory for all m≠0 if β>(α+2)/(1−λ). This provides an analogue of a result of Nasr [Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 126 (1998) 123] for the forced superlinear equation and answers a question raised in an earlier paper [J.S.W. Wong, SIAM J. Math. Anal. 19 (1988) 673].     

A variational approach to dislocation problems for periodic Schrödinger operators

As a simple model for lattice defects like grain boundaries in solid state physics we consider potentials which are obtained from a periodic potential V=V(x,y) on R² with period lattice Z² by setting Wt(x,y)=V(x+t,y) for x<0 and Wt(x,y)=V(x,y) for x?0, for t∈[0,1]. For Lipschitz-continuous V it is shown that the Schrödinger operators Ht=−Δ+Wt have spectrum (surface states) in the spectral gaps of H₀, for suitable t∈(0,1). We also discuss the density of these surface states as compared to the density of the bulk. Our approach is variational and it is first applied to the well-known dislocation problem (Korotyaev (2000, 2005) [15] and [16]) on the real line. We then proceed to the dislocation problem for an infinite strip and for the plane. In Appendix A, we discuss regularity properties of the eigenvalue branches in the one-dimensional dislocation problem for suitable classes of potentials.     

Duality for a Class of Multiobjective Control Problems

In this paper, a class of multiobjective control problems is considered, where the objective and constraint functions involved are f(t, x(t), ?(t), y(t), z(t)) with x(t) ∈ Rⁿ, y(t) ∈ Rⁿ, and z(t) ∈ R^m, where x(t) and z(t) are the control variables and y(t) is the state variable. Under the assumption of invexity and its generalization, duality theorems are proved through a parametric approach to related properly efficient solutions of the primal and dual problems.     

Solvability and stability of a semilinear wave equation with nonlinear boundary conditions

We discuss solvability for the semilinear equation of the vibrating string x_tt(t,y)−Δx(t,y)+f(t,y,x(t,y))=0 in a bounded domain, and certain type of nonlinearity on the boundary. To this effect we derive a new dual variational method. Next we discuss stability of solutions with respect to initial conditions.     

Periodic solutions to one-dimensional wave equation with x-dependent coefficients

In this paper, we study the nonlinear one-dimensional periodic wave equation with x-dependent coefficients u(x)ytt−(ux(x)yx)+g(x,t,y)=f(x,t) on (0,π)×R under the boundary conditions a₁y(0,t)+b₁yx(0,t)=0, a₂y(π,t)+b₂yx(π,t)=0 ( for i=1,2) and the periodic conditions y(x,t+T)=y(x,t), yt(x,t+T)=yt(x,t). Such a model arises from the forced vibrations of a nonhomogeneous string and the propagation of seismic waves in nonisotropic media. A main concept is the notion “weak solution” to be given in Section 2. For T is the rational multiple of π, we prove some important properties of the weak solution operator. Based on these properties, the existence and regularity of weak solutions are obtained.     

A new off-step high order approximation for the solution of three-space dimensional nonlinear wave equations

In this paper, we propose a new high accuracy numerical method of O(k² + k²h² + h⁴) based on off-step discretization for the solution of 3-space dimensional non-linear wave equation of the form u_tt = A(x,y,z,t)u_xx + B(x,y,z,t)u_yy + C(x,y,z,t)u_zz + g(x,y,z,t,u,u_x,u_y,u_z,u_t), 0 < x,y,z < 1,t > 0 subject to given appropriate initial and Dirichlet boundary conditions, where k > 0 and h > 0 are mesh sizes in time and space directions respectively. We use only seven evaluations of the function g as compared to nine evaluations of the same function discussed in  and . We describe the derivation procedure in details of the algorithm. The proposed numerical algorithm is directly applicable to wave equation in polar coordinates and we do not require any fictitious points to discretize the differential equation. The proposed method when applied to a telegraphic equation is also shown to be unconditionally stable. Comparative numerical results are provided to justify the usefulness of the proposed method.     

Perturbed nonlinear differential equations

The existence of a solution defined for all t and possessing a type of boundedness property is established for the perturbed nonlinear system y = f(t, y) + F(t, y). The unperturbed system x = f(t, x) has a dichotomy in which some solutions exists and are well-behaved as t increases to ∞ and some solution exists and are well-behaved as t decreases to ? ∞. A similar study is made for a perturbed nonlinear differential equation defined on a half line, say, R⁺, and the existence of a family of solutions with special boundedness properties is established. Finally, the ideas are applied to the study of integral manifolds. Examples are given.     

Characterizations of generalized quadrangles by generalized homologies

Let S = (P, B, I) be a generalized quadrangle of order (s, t). For x, y P, x y, let (x, y) be the group of all collineations of S fixing x and y linewise. If z {x, y}, then the set of all points incident with the line xz (resp. yz) is denoted by (resp. ). The generalized quadrangle S = (P, B, I) is said to be (x, y)-transitive, x y, if (x, y) is transitive on each set and . If S = (P, B, I) is a generalized quadrangle of order (s, t), s > 1 and t > 1, which is (x, y)-transitive for all x, y P with x y, then it is proved that we have one of the following: (i) S W(s), (ii) S Q(4, s), (iii) S H(4, s), (iv) S Q(5, s), (v) s = t² and all points are regular.     

Computer Algebra and Bifurcations

In this paper we will present the family of Newton algorithms. From the computer algebra point of view, the most basic of them is well known for the local analysis of plane algebraic curves f(x,y)=0 and consists in expanding y as Puiseux series in the variable x. A similar algorithm has been developped for multi-variate algebraic equations and for linear differential equations, using the same basic tools: a “regular” case, associated with a “simple” class of solutions, and a “simple” method of calculus of these solutions; a Newton polygon; changes of variable of type ramification; changes of unknown function of two types y=ct ^μ+? or y=exp?(c/t ^μ)?. Our purpose is first to define a “regular” case for nonlinear implicit differential equations f(t,y,y′)=0. We will then apply the result to an explicit differential equation with a parameter y′=f(y,α) in order to make a link between the expansions of the solutions obtained by our local analysis and the classical theory of bifurcations.     

Simultaneous quasidiagonalization of complex matrices

Let

be the complex algebra generated by a pair of n × n Hermitian matrices A, B. A recent result of Watters states that A, B are simultaneously unitarily quasidiagonalizable [i.e., A and B are simultaneously unitarily similar to direct sums C₁⊕…⊕C_t,D₁⊕…⊕D_t for some t, where C_i, D_i are k_i × k_i and k_i?2(1?i?t)] if and only if [p(A, B), A]² and [p(A, B), B]² belong to the center of

for all polynomials p(x, y) in the noncommuting variables x, y. In this paper, we obtain a finite set of conditions which works. In particular we show that if A, B are positive semidefinite, then A, B are simultaneously quasidiagonalizable if (and only if) [A, B]², [A², B]² and [A, B²]² commute with A, B.     

Nonexistence of Isochronous Centers in Planar Polynomial Hamiltonian Systems of Degree Four

In this paper we study centers of planar polynomial Hamiltonian systems and we are interested in the isochronous ones. We prove that every center of a polynomial Hamiltonian system of degree four (that is, with its homogeneous part of degree four not identically zero) is nonisochronous. The proof uses the geometric properties of the period annulus and it requires the study of the Hamiltonian systems associated to a Hamiltonian function of the form H(x, y)=A(x)+B(x) y+C(x) y²+D(x) y³.     

Properties of the density for a three-dimensional stochastic wave equation

We consider a stochastic wave equation in space dimension three driven by a noise white in time and with an absolutely continuous correlation measure given by the product of a smooth function and a Riesz kernel. Let pt,x(y) be the density of the law of the solution u(t,x) of such an equation at points (t,x)∈]0,T]×R³. We prove that the mapping (t,x)?pt,x(y) owns the same regularity as the sample paths of the process {u(t,x),(t,x)∈]0,T]×R³} established in [R.C. Dalang, M. Sanz-Solé, Hölder-Sobolev regularity of the solution to the stochastic wave equation in dimension three, Mem. Amer. Math. Soc., in press]. The proof relies on Malliavin calculus and more explicitly, the integration by parts formula of [S. Watanabe, Lectures on Stochastic Differential Equations and Malliavin Calculus, Tata Inst. Fund. Res./Springer-Verlag, Bombay, 1984] and estimates derived from it.     

Affine-periodic solutions by averaging methods

This paper concerns the existence of affine-periodic solutions for perturbed affine-periodic systems.This kind of affine-periodic solutions has the form of x(t+T)≡Qx(t) with some nonsingular matrix Q,which may be quasi-periodic when Q is an orthogonal matrix. It can be even unbounded but x(t)/|x(t)| is quasi-periodic,like a helical line. for example x(t)=e~(at)(cos ωt, sin ωt), when Q is not an orthogonal matrix. The averaging method of higher order for finding affine-periodic solutions is given by topological degree.     

Equivalence of inverse Sturm-Liouville problems with boundary conditions rationally dependent on the eigenparameter

Three inverse problems for a Sturm-Liouville boundary value problem −y″+qy=λy, y(0)cosα=y′(0)sinα and y′(1)=f(λ)y(1) are considered for rational f. It is shown that the Weyl m-function uniquely determines α, f, and q, and is in turn uniquely determined by either two spectra from different values of α or by the Prüfer angle. For this it is necessary to produce direct results, of independent interest, on asymptotics and oscillation.     

A fourth-order finite difference method based on uniform mesh for singular two-point boundary-value problems

We present a new fourth-order finite difference method based on uniform mesh for the (weakly) singular two-point boundary value problem: (x^αy′)′ = f(x, y), 0 < x ⩽ 1, y(0) = A, y(1) = B, 0 < α < 1. Our method provides O(h⁴)-convergent approximations for all α ∈ (0, 1); for α = 0 it reduces to the well-known fourth-order method of Numerov for $\text{y″ = ƒ(x, y)}$.     

Heat Kernels for Isotropic-Like Markov Generators on Ultrametric Spaces: a Survey

Let (X, d) be a locally compact separable ultrametric space. Let D be the set of all locally constant functions having compact support. Given a measure m and a symmetric function J(x, y) we consider the linear operator L^Jf(x) = ∫(f(x) ? f(y)) J(x, y)dm(y) defined on the set D. When J(x, y) is isotropic and satisfies certain conditions, the operator (?L^J, D) acts in L²(X,m), is essentially self-adjoint and extends as a self-adjoint Markov generator, its Markov semigroup admits a continuous heat kernel p^J (t, x, y). When J(x, y) is not isotropic but uniformly in x, y is comparable to isotropic function J(x, y) as above the operator (?L^J, D) extends in L²(X,m) as a self-adjointMarkov generator, its Markov semigroup admits a continuous heat kernel p^J(t, x, y), and the function p^J(t, x, y) is uniformly comparable in t, x, y to the function p^J(t, x, y), the heat kernel related to the operator (?L^J,D).