Liouville theorem for harmonic maps with potential

Let M, N be complete manifolds, u:M→N be a harmonic map with potential H, namely, a critical point of the functional , where e(u) is the energy density of u. We will give a Liouville theorem for u with a class of potentials H's. Received: Received: 10 July 1997     

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.     

Biharmonic extensions on trees without positive potentials

Let T be a tree rooted at e endowed with a nearest-neighbor transition probability that yields a recurrent random walk. We show that there exists a function K biharmonic off e whose Laplacian has potential theoretic importance and, in addition, has the following property: Any function f on T which is biharmonic outside a finite set has a representation, unique up to addition of a harmonic function, of the form f=βK+B+L, where β a constant, B is a biharmonic function on T, and L is a function, subject to certain normalization conditions, whose Laplacian is constant on all sectors sufficiently far from the root. We obtain a characterization of the functions biharmonic outside a finite set whose Laplacian has 0 flux similar to one that holds for a function biharmonic outside a compact set in Rn for n=2,3, and 4 proved by Bajunaid and Anandam. Moreover, we extend the definition of flux and, under certain restrictions on the tree, we characterize the functions biharmonic outside a finite set that have finite flux in this extended sense.     

Harmonic morphisms on heaven spaces

We prove that any (real or complex) analytic horizontally conformalsubmersion from a three-dimensional conformal manifold (M³,c_M) to a two-dimensional conformal manifold (N², c_N) can be,locally, ‘extended’ to a unique harmonic morphismfrom the (eaven)-space (H⁴, g) of (M³, c_N) to (N², c_N). Moreover,any positive harmonic morphism with two-dimensional fibres from(H⁴, g) is obtained in this way.     

Trees as Brelot spaces

A Brelot space is a connected, locally compact, noncompact Hausdorff space together with the choice of a sheaf of functions on this space which are called harmonic. We prove that by considering functions on a tree to be functions on the edges as well as on the vertices (instead of just on the vertices), a tree becomes a Brelot space. This leads to many results on the potential theory of trees. By restricting the functions just to the vertices, we obtain several new results on the potential theory of trees considered in the usual sense. We study trees whose nearest-neighbor transition probabilities are defined by both transient and recurrent random walks. Besides the usual case of harmonic functions on trees (the kernel of the Laplace operator), we also consider as “harmonic” the eigenfunctions of the Laplacian relative to a positive eigenvalue showing that these also yield a Brelot structure and creating new classes of functions for the study of potential theory on trees.     

Observability of Nonlinear Systems

We consider the observability of systems of the form = Ax +Nx, y = Fx, where A is a linear operator and N and F are nonlinear.We show that if the system is linearized about an equilibriumpoint x_e and the linearized system is continuously initiallyobservable, then the nonlinear system is continuously initiallyobservable in some neighbourhood of x_e. We then look at conditionsunder which solutions of the nonlinear system can be extendedfor all time and consider the problem of stabilizing the systemby feedback controls such that the solutions are eventuallyin the observability neighbourhood of x_e. Finally, we applythese ideas to two systems: a wave equation and a diffusionequation with nonlinear perturbations and nonlinear observations.     

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).     

Analytic signals and harmonic measures

We prove that a sufficient and necessary condition for HeiΘ(s)=−ieiΘ(s), where H is Hilbert transformation, Θ is a continuous and strictly increasing function with |Θ(R)|=2π, is that dΘ(s) is a harmonic measure on the line. The counterpart result for the periodic case is also established. The study is motivated by, and has significant impact to time-frequency analysis, especially to aspects of analytic signals inducing instantaneous amplitude and frequency. As a by-product we introduce the theory of Hardy-space-preserving weighted trigonometric series and Fourier transformations induced by harmonic measures in the respective contexts.     

Harmonic Analogues of G. R. Maclane's Universal Functions

Let E denote the space of all entire functions, equipped withthe topology of local uniform convergence (the compact-opentopology). MacLane [15] constructed an entire function f whosesequence of derivatives (f, f', f', ...) is dense in E; hisconstruction is succinctly presented in a much later note byBlair and Rubel [2], who unwittingly rederived it (see also[3]). We shall call such a function f a universal entire function.In this note we show that analogous universal functions existin the space H_N of functions harmonic on R^N, where N2. We alsostudy the permissible growth rates of universal functions inH_N and show that the set of all such functions is very large. For purposes of comparison, we first review relevant facts aboutuniversal entire functions. The function constructed by MacLaneis of exponential type 1. Duyos Ruiz [7] observed that a universalentire function cannot be of exponential type less than 1. G.Herzog [11] refined MacLane's growth estimate by proving theexistence of a universal entire function f such that |f(z)|=O(re^r)as |z|=r. Finally, Grosse–Erdmann [10] proved the followingsharp result.     

On The Profinite Topology on a Free Group

If F is a free abstract group, its profinite topology is thecoarsest topology making F into a topological group, such thatevery group homomorphism from F into a finite group is continuous.It was shown by M. Hall Jr that every finitely generated subgroupof F is closed in that topology. Let H₁, H₂, ..., H_n be finitelygenerated subgroups of F. J.-E. Pin and C. Reutenauer have conjecturedthat the product H₁ H₂ ... H_n is a closed set in the profinitetopology of F; also, they have shown that this conjecture impliesa conjecture of J. Rhodes on finite semigroups. In this paperwe give a positive answer to the conjecture of Pin and Reutenauer.Our method is based on the theory of profinite groups actingon graphs.     

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 Structure of Minimal Left Ideals in the Largest Compactification of a Locally Compact Group

This paper is centred around a single question: can a minimalleft ideal L in G^LUC, the largest semi-group compactificationof a locally compact group G, be itself algebraically a group?Our answer is no (unless G is compact). In deriving this conclusion,we obtain for nearly all groups the stronger result that nomaximal subgroup in L can be closed. A feature of our work isthat completely different techniques are required for the connectedand totally disconnected cases. For the former, we can relyon the extensive structure theory of connected, non-compact,locally compact groups to derive the solution from the commutativecase, using some reduction lemmas. The latter directly involvestopological dynamics; we construct a compact space and an actionof G on it which has pathological properties. We obtain otherresults as tools towards our main goal or as consequences ofour methods. Thus we find an extension to earlier work on therelationship between minimal left ideals in G^LUC and H^LUC whenH is a closed subgroup of G with G/H compact. We show that thedistal compactification of G is finite if and only if the almostperiodic compactification of G is finite. Finally, we use ourmethods to show that there is no finite subset of G^LUC invariantunder the right action of G when G is an almost connected groupor an IN-group.     

Small Deviations of Riemann-Liouville Processes In lq Spaces With Respect To Fractal Measures

We investigate Riemann–Liouville processes R_H, with H> 0, and fractional Brownian motions B_H, for 0 < H <1, and study their small deviation properties in the spacesL_q([0, 1], µ). Of special interest here are thin (fractal)measures µ, that is, those that are singular with respectto the Lebesgue measure. We describe the behavior of small deviationprobabilities by numerical quantities of µ, called mixedentropy numbers, characterizing size and regularity of the underlyingmeasure. For the particularly interesting case of self-similarmeasures, the asymptotic behavior of the mixed entropy is evaluatedexplicitly. We also provide two-sided estimates for this quantityin the case of random measures generated by subordinators. While the upper asymptotic bound for the small deviation probabilityis proved by purely probabilistic methods, the lower bound isverified by analytic tools concerning entropy and Kolmogorovnumbers of Riemann–Liouville operators. 2000 MathematicsSubject Classification 60G15 (primary), 47B06, 47G10, 28A80(secondary).     

Stable Jacobson Radicals and Semiprime Smash Products

We prove that if H is a finite-dimensional semisimple Hopf algebraacting on a PI-algebra R of characteristic 0, and R is eitheraffine or algebraic over k, then the Jacobson radical of R isH-stable. Under the same hypotheses, we show that the smashproduct algebra R#H is semiprimitive provided that R is H-semiprime.More generally we show that the ‘finite’ Jacobsonradical is H-stable, and that R#H is semiprimitive providedthat R is H-semiprimitive and all irreducible representationsof R are finite-dimensional. We also consider R#H when R isan FCR-algebra. Finally, we prove a general relationship betweenstability of the radical and semiprimeness of R#H; in particularif for a given H, any action of H stabilizes the Jacobson radical,then also any action of H stabilizes the prime radical. 2000Mathematics Subject Classification 16W30, 16N20, 16R99, 16S40.     

A Conjecture on the Hall Topology for the Free Group

The Hall topology for the free group is the coarsest topologysuch that every group morphism from the free group onto a finitediscrete group is continuous. It was shoen by M.Hall Jr thatevery finitely generated subgroup of the free group is closedfor this topology. We conjecture that if H₁, H₂,...,H_n are finitelygenerated subgroups of the free group, then the product H₁ H₂...H_n is closed. We discuss some consequences of this conjecture.First, it would give a nice and simple algorithm to computethe closure of a given rational subset of the free group. Next,it implies a similar conjecture for the free monoid, which inturn is equivalent to a deep conjecture on finite semigroupsfor the solution of which J. Rhodes has offered $100. We hopethat our new conjecture will shed some light on Rhodes' conjecture.     

Spaces of Harmonic Functions

It is important and interesting to study harmonic functionson a Riemannian manifold. In an earlier work of Li and Tam [21]it was demonstrated that the dimensions of various spaces ofbounded and positive harmonic functions are closely relatedto the number of ends of a manifold. For the linear space consistingof all harmonic functions of polynomial growth of degree atmost d on a complete Riemannian manifold Mⁿ of dimension n,denoted by H_d(Mⁿ), it was proved by Li and Tam [20] that thedimension of the space H₁(M) always satisfies dimH₁(M) dimH₁(Rⁿ)when M has non-negative Ricci curvature. They went on to askas a refinement of a conjecture of Yau [32] whether in generaldim H_d(Mⁿ) dimH_d(Rⁿ)for all d. Colding and Minicozzi made animportant contribution to this question in a sequence of papers[5–11] by showing among other things that dimH_d(M) isfinite when M has non-negative Ricci curvature. On the otherhand, in a very remarkable paper [16], Li produced an elegantand powerful argument to prove the following. Recall that Msatisfies a weak volume growth condition if, for some constantA and , (1.1) for all x M and r R, where V_x(r) is the volume of the geodesicball B_x(r) in M; M has mean value property if there exists aconstant B such that, for any non-negative subharmonic functionf on M, (1.2) for all p M and r > 0.     

Linear Independence of Hecke Operators in the Homology of X0(N)

In Merel's recent proof [7] of the uniform boundedness conjecturefor the torsion of elliptic curves over number fields, a keystep is to show that for sufficiently large primes N, the Heckeoperators T₁, T₂, ..., T_D are linearly independent in theiractions on the cycle e from 0 to i in H₁(X₀(N) (C), Q). In particular,he shows independence when max(D⁸, 400D⁴) < N/(log N)⁴. Inthis paper we use analytic techniques to show that one can chooseD considerably larger than this, provided that N is large.     

Triangle group representations and constructions of regular maps

A regular map of type {m,n} is a 2-cell embedding of a graphin an orientable surface, with the property that for any twodirected edges e and e' there exists an orientation-preservingautomorphism of the embedding that takes e onto e', and in whichthe face length and the vertex valence are m and n, respectively.Such maps are known to be in a one-to-one correspondence withtorsion-free normal subgroups of the triangle groups T(2,m,n).We first show that some of the known existence results aboutregular maps follow from residual finiteness of triangle groups.With the help of representations of triangle groups in speciallinear groups over algebraic extensions of Z we then constructivelydescribe homomorphisms from T(2,m,n)=y,z|y^m=zⁿ=(yz)²=1 intofinite groups of order at most c^r where c=c(m,n), such thatno non-identity word of length at most r in x,y is mapped ontothe identity. As an application, for any hyperbolic pair {m,n}and any r we construct a finite regular map of type {m,n} ofsize at most C^r, such that every non-contractible closed curveon the supporting surface of the map intersects the embeddedgraph in more than r points. We also show that this result isthe best possible up to determining C=C(m,n). For r>m thegraphs of the above regular maps are arc-transitive, of valencen, and of girth m; moreover, if each prime divisor of m is largerthan 2n then these graphs are non-Cayley. 2000 Mathematics SubjectClassification: 05C10, 05C25, 20F99, 20H25.     

Cohen-Macaulay Local Rings of Embedding Dimension e + d - 3

In this paper we determine the possible Hilbert functions ofa Cohen–Macaulay local ring of dimension d and multiplicitye, in the case where the embedding dimension v satisfies v =e + d – 3 and the Cohen–Macaulay type is less thanor equal to e – 3. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification:primary 13D40; secondary 13P99.     

Brick partitions of graphs

For each rational number q=b/c where b≥c are positive integers, we define a q-brick of G to be a maximal subgraph H of G such that cH has b edge-disjoint spanning trees, and a q-superbrick of G to be a maximal subgraph H of G such that cH−e has b edge-disjoint spanning trees for all edges e of cH, where cH denotes the graph obtained from H by replacing each edge by c parallel edges. We show that the vertex sets of the q-bricks of G partition the vertex set of G, and that the vertex sets of the q-superbricks of G form a refinement of this partition. The special cases when q=1 are the partitions given by the connected components and the 2-edge-connected components of G, respectively. We obtain structural results on these partitions and describe their relationship to the principal partitions of a matroid.