Partitions of the set of natural numbers and their representation functions

For a given set A of nonnegative integers the representation functions R₂(A,n), R₃(A,n) are defined as the number of solutions of the equation n=a+a^′,a,a^′∈A with a<a^′, a?a^′, respectively. In this paper we give a simple proof to two results by Sándor.     

Partitions of natural numbers with the same representation functions

For a set A of nonnegative integers the representation functions R₂(A,n), R₃(A,n) are defined as the number of solutions of the equation n=a+a^′,a,a^′∈A with a<a^′, a?a^′, respectively. Let D(0)=0 and let D(a) denote the number of ones in the binary representation of a. Let A₀ be the set of all nonnegative integers a with even D(a) and A₁ be the set of all nonnegative integers a with odd D(a). In this paper we show that (a) if R₂(A,n)=R₂(N?A,n) for all n?2N−1, then R₂(A,n)=R₂(N?A,n)?1 for all n?12N²−10N−2 except for A=A₀ or A=A₁; (b) if R₃(A,n)=R₃(N?A,n) for all n?2N−1, then R₃(A,n)=R₃(N?A,n)?1 for all n?12N²+2N. Several problems are posed in this paper.     

On normal families and differential polynomials for meromorphic functions

We consider the normality criterion for a families F meromorphic in the unit disc Δ, and show that if there exist functions a(z) holomorphic in Δ, a(z)≠1, for each z∈Δ, such that there not only exists a positive number ε₀ such that |an(a(z)−1)−1|?ε₀ for arbitrary sequence of integers an(n∈N) and for any z∈Δ, but also exists a positive number B>0 such that for every f(z)∈F, B|f^′(z)|?|f(z)| whenever f(z)f^″(z)−a(z)(f^′2(z))=0 in Δ. Then is normal in Δ.     

Spectral radius and infinity norm of matrices

Let Mn(R) be the linear space of all n×n matrices over the real field R. For any A∈Mn(R), let ρ(A) and ‖A_‖∞ denote the spectral radius and the infinity norm of A, respectively. By introducing a class of transformations φa on Mn(R), we show that, for any A∈Mn(R), ρ(A)<‖A_‖∞ if . If A∈Mn(R) is nonnegative, we prove that ρ(A)<‖A_‖∞ if and only if , and ρ(A)=‖A_‖∞ if and only if the transformation φ‖A_‖∞ preserves the spectral radius and the infinity norm of A. As an application, we investigate a class of linear discrete dynamic systems in the form of X(k+1)=AX(k). The asymptotical stability of the zero solution of the system is established by a simple algebraic method.     

Preconditioned conjugate gradient method for generalized least squares problems

A variant of the preconditioned conjugate gradient method to solve generalized least squares problems is presented. If the problem is min (Ax − b)^TW⁻¹(Ax − b) with A ∈ R^m×n and W ∈ R^m×m symmetric and positive definite, the method needs only a preconditioner A₁ ∈ R^n×n, but not the inverse of matrix W or of any of its submatrices. Freund's comparison result for regular least squares problems is extended to generalized least squares problems. An error bound is also given.     

On subword decomposition and balanced polynomials

Let H(x) be a monic polynomial over a finite field F=GF(q). Denote by Na(n) the number of coefficients in Hn which are equal to an element a∈F, and by G the set of elements a∈F^× such that Na(n)>0 for some n. We study the relationship between the numbers (Na(n))_a∈G and the patterns in the base q representation of n. This enables us to prove that for “most” n's we have Na(n)≈Nb(n), a,b∈G. Considering the case H=x+1, we provide new results on Pascal's triangle modulo a prime. We also provide analogous results for the triangle of Stirling numbers of the first kind.     

A description of Baer-Suzuki type of the solvable radical of a finite group

We obtain the following characterization of the solvable radical R(G) of any finite group G: R(G) coincides with the collection of all g∈G such that for any 3 elements a₁,a₂,a₃∈G the subgroup generated by the elements , i=1,2,3, is solvable. In particular, this means that a finite group G is solvable if and only if in each conjugacy class of G every 4 elements generate a solvable subgroup. The latter result also follows from a theorem of P. Flavell on {2,3}^′-elements in the solvable radical of a finite group (which does not use the classification of finite simple groups).     

A binary linear recurrence sequence of composite numbers

Let (a,b)∈Z², where b≠0 and (a,b)≠(±2,−1). We prove that then there exist two positive relatively prime composite integers x₁, x₂ such that the sequence given by xn+1=axn+bxn−1, n=2,3,… , consists of composite terms only, i.e., |xn| is a composite integer for each n∈N. In the proof of this result we use certain covering systems, divisibility sequences and, for some special pairs (a,±1), computer calculations. The paper is motivated by a result of Graham who proved this theorem in the special case of the Fibonacci-like sequence, where (a,b)=(1,1).     

Procrustes problems and associated approximation problems for matrices with k-involutory symmetries

We say that a matrix R∈C^n×n is k-involutary if its minimal polynomial is x^k-1 for some k?2, so R^k-1=R^-1 and the eigenvalues of R are 1,ζ,ζ²,…,ζ^k-1, where ζ=e^2πi/k. Let α,μ∈{0,1,…,k-1}. If R∈C^m×m, A∈C^m×n, S∈C^n×n and R and S are k-involutory, we say that A is (R,S,μ)-symmetric if RAS^-1=ζ^μA, and A is (R,S,α,μ)-symmetric if RAS^-α=ζ^μA.Let L be the class of m×n(R,S,μ)-symmetric matrices or the class of m×n(R,S,α,μ)-symmetric matrices. Given X∈C^n×t and B∈C^m×t, we characterize the matrices A in L that minimize ‖AX-B‖ (Frobenius norm), and, given an arbitrary W∈C^m×n, we find the unique matrix A∈L that minimizes both ‖AX-B‖ and ‖A-W‖. We also obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of A∈L such that AX=B, and, assuming that the conditions are satisfied, characterize the set of all such A.     

An Erd?s-Ko-Rado theorem for partial permutations

Let [n] denote the set of positive integers {1,2,…,n}. An r-partial permutation of [n] is a pair (A,f) where A⊆[n], |A|=r and f:A→[n] is an injective map. A set A of r-partial permutations is intersecting if for any (A,f), (B,g)∈A, there exists x∈A∩B such that f(x)=g(x). We prove that for any intersecting family A of r-partial permutations, we have .It seems rather hard to characterize the case of equality. For 8?r?n-3, we show that equality holds if and only if there exist x₀ and ε₀ such that A consists of all (A,f) for which x₀∈A and f(x₀)=ε₀.     

Strong commutativity preserving maps on Lie ideals

Let A be a prime ring and let R be a noncentral Lie ideal of A. An additive map f:R→A is called strong commutativity preserving (SCP) on R if [f(x),f(y)]=[x,y] for all x,y∈R. In this paper we show that if f is SCP on R, then there exist λ∈C, λ²=1 and an additive map μ:R→Z(A) such that f(x)=λx+μ(x) for all x∈R where C is the extended centroid of A, unless charA=2 and A satisfies the standard identity of degree 4.     

A note on k-potence preserving maps

Let M_n be the algebra of all n×n complex matrices and Γ_n the set of all k-potent matrices in M_n. Suppose ?:M_n→M_n is a map satisfying A-λB∈Γ_n implies ?(A)-λ?(B)∈Γ_n, where A, B∈M_n, λ∈C. Then either ? is of the form ?(A)=cTAT^-1, A∈M_n, or ? is of the form ?(A)=cTA^tT^-1, A∈M_n, where T∈M_n is an invertible matrix, c∈C satisfies c^k=c.     

Davenport constant with weights and some related questions, II

Let G be a finite abelian group of order n and let A⊆Z be non-empty. Generalizing a well-known constant, we define the Davenport constant of G with weight A, denoted by DA(G), to be the least natural number k such that for any sequence (x₁,…,xk) with xi∈G, there exists a non-empty subsequence (xj₁,…,xjl) and a₁,…,al∈A such that . Similarly, for any such set A, EA(G) is defined to be the least t∈N such that for all sequences (x₁,…,xt) with xi∈G, there exist indices j₁,…,jn∈N,1?j₁<?<jn?t, and ?₁,…,?n∈A with . In the present paper, we establish a relation between the constants DA(G) and EA(G) under certain conditions. Our definitions are compatible with the previous generalizations for the particular group G=Z/nZ and the relation we establish had been conjectured in that particular case.     

On averaging Frankl's conjecture for large union-closed-sets

Let F be a union-closed family of subsets of an m-element set A. Let n=|F|?2 and for a∈A let s(a) denote the number of sets in F that contain a. Frankl's conjecture from 1979, also known as the union-closed sets conjecture, states that there exists an element a∈A with n−2s(a)?0. Strengthening a result of Gao and Yu [W. Gao, H. Yu, Note on the union-closed sets conjecture, Ars Combin. 49 (1998) 280-288] we verify the conjecture for the particular case when m?3 and n?m²−²m/2. Moreover, for these “large” families F we prove an even stronger version via averaging. Namely, the sum of the n−2s(a), for all a∈A, is shown to be non-positive. Notice that this stronger version does not hold for all union-closed families; however we conjecture that it holds for a much wider class of families than considered here. Although the proof of the result is based on elementary lattice theory, the paper is self-contained and the reader is not assumed to be familiar with lattices.     

Integral circulant graphs of prime power order with maximal energy

The energy of a graph is the sum of the moduli of the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. We study the energy of integral circulant graphs, also called gcd graphs, which can be characterized by their vertex count n and a set D of divisors of n in such a way that they have vertex set Z_n and edge set {{a,b}:a,b∈Z_n,gcd(a-b,n)∈D}. Using tools from convex optimization, we analyze the maximal energy among all integral circulant graphs of prime power order p^s and varying divisor sets D. Our main result states that this maximal energy approximately lies between s(p-1)p^s-1 and twice this value. We construct suitable divisor sets for which the energy lies in this interval. We also characterize hyperenergetic integral circulant graphs of prime power order and exhibit an interesting topological property of their divisor sets.     

Density of sets of natural numbers and the Lévy group

Let N denote the set of positive integers. The asymptotic density of the set A⊆N is d(A)=limn→∞|A∩[1,n]|/n, if this limit exists. Let AD denote the set of all sets of positive integers that have asymptotic density, and let SN denote the set of all permutations of the positive integers N. The group L^? consists of all permutations f∈SN such that A∈AD if and only if f(A)∈AD, and the group L^* consists of all permutations f∈L^? such that d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Let be a one-to-one function such that d(f(N))=1 and, if A∈AD, then f(A)∈AD. It is proved that f must also preserve density, that is, d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Thus, the groups L^? and L^* coincide.     

Semilinear differential inclusions via weak topologies

The paper deals with the multivalued initial value problem x^′∈A(t,x)x+F(t,x) for a.a. t∈[a,b], x(a)=x₀ in a separable, reflexive Banach space E. The nonlinearity F is weakly upper semicontinuous in x and the investigation includes the case when both A and F have a superlinear growth in x. We prove the existence of local and global classical solutions in the Sobolev space W1,p([a,b],E) with 1<p<∞. Introducing a suitably defined Lyapunov-like function, we are able to investigate the topological structure of the solution set. Our main tool is a continuation principle in Frechét spaces and we prove the required pushing condition in two different ways. Some examples complete the discussion.     

A semialgebraic closure for commutative algebra

Let A⊂R be rings containing the rationals. In R let S be a multiplicatively closed subset such that 1∈S and 0∉S, T a preorder of R (a proper subsemiring containing the squares) such that S⊂T and I an A-submodule of R. Define ρ(I) (or ρ_S,T(I)) to be

ρ(I)={a∈R|sa^2m+t∈I^2m for some m∈N,s∈S and t∈T}.     

Accretive operators and Cassels inequality

Let a,b>0 and let Z∈M_n(R) such that Z lies into the operator ball of diameter [aI,bI]. Then for all positive definite A∈M_n(R),