Torsion Modules, Lattices and P-Points

Answering a long-standing question in the theory of torsionmodules, we show that weakly productively bounded domains arenecessarily productively bounded. (See the Introduction fordefinitions.) Moreover, we prove a twin result for the ideallattice L of a domain equating weak and strong global intersectionconditions for families (X_i)_iI of subsets of L with the propertythat _iI A_i 0 whenever A_iX_i. Finally, we show that for domainswith Krull dimension (and countably generated extensions thereof),these lattice-theoretic conditions are equivalent to productiveboundedness. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 03E05,06A23, 13C12, 16U20, 16P60.     

Second-order operators with degenerate coefficients

We consider properties of second-order operators on ^d with bounded real symmetric measurable coefficients.We assume that C = (c_ij) 0 almost everywhere, but allow forthe possibility that C is degenerate. We associate with H acanonical self-adjoint viscosity operator H₀ and examine propertiesof the viscosity semigroup S⁽⁰⁾ generated by H₀. The semigroupextends to a positive contraction semigroup on the L_p-spaceswith p [1, ]. We establish that it conserves probability andsatisfies L₂ off-diagonal bounds, and that the wave equationassociated with H₀ has finite speed of propagation. Nevertheless,S⁽⁰⁾ is not always strictly positive because separation of thesystem can occur even for subelliptic operators. This demonstratesthat subelliptic semigroups are not ergodic in general and theirkernels are neither strictly positive nor Hölder continuous.In particular, one can construct examples for which both upperand lower Gaussian bounds fail even with coefficients in C^2–(^d)with > 0.     

Coverings of Groups and Types

Assume that G is a group covered by countably many sets X_n,n < . It is proved that G is generated in two or three stepsby a small number of the sets X_n. These results are generalizedfor countable coverings of types and countable colourings ofgraphs.     

Common Multiples of Complete Graphs

A graph H is said to divide a graph G if there exists a setS of subgraphs of G, all isomorphic to H, such that the edgeset of G is partitioned by the edge sets of the subgraphs inS. Thus, a graph G is a common multiple of two graphs if eachof the two graphs divides G. This paper considers common multiples of a complete graph oforder m and a complete graph of order n. The complete graphof order n is denoted K_n. In particular, for all positive integersn, the set of integers q for which there exists a common multipleof K₃ and K_n having precisely q edges is determined. It is shown that there exists a common multiple of K₃ and K_nhaving q edges if and only if q 0 (mod 3), q 0 (mod n2) and (1) q 3 n2 when n 5 (mod 6); (2) q (n + 1) n2 when n is even; (3) q {36, 42, 48} when n = 4. The proof of this result uses a variety of techniques includingthe use of Johnson graphs, Skolem and Langford sequences, andequitable partial Steiner triple systems. 2000 MathematicalSubject Classification: 05C70, 05B30, 05B07.     

Acyclic Colourings of Planar Graphs with Large Girth

A proper vertex-colouring of a graph is acyclic if there areno 2-coloured cycles. It is known that every planar graph isacyclically 5-colourable, and that there are planar graphs withacyclic chromatic number _a = 5 and girth g = 4. It is provedhere that a planar graph satisfies _a 4 if g 5 and _a 3 ifg 7.     

Sandwiching C0-Semigroups

Let T = {T(t)}_t0 be a C₀-semigroup on a Banach space X. Thefollowing results are proved. (i) If X is separable, there exist separable Hilbert spacesX₀ and X₁, continuous dense embeddings j₀:X₀ X and j₁:X X₁,and C₀-semigroups T₀ and T₁ on X₀ and X₁ respectively, suchthat j₀ T₀(t) = T(t) j₀ and T₁(t) j₁ = j₁ T(t) for all t 0. (ii) If T is -reflexive, there exist reflexive Banach spacesX₀ and X₁ , continuous dense embeddings j:D(A²) X₀, j₀:X₀ X, j₁:X X₁, and C₀-semigroups T₀ and T₁ on X₀ and X₁ respectively,such that T₀(t) j = j T(t), j₀ T₀(t) = T(t) j₀ and T(t) j₁ = j₁ T(t) for all t 0, and such that (A₀) = (A) = (A₁),where A_k is the generator of T_k, k = 0, Ø, 1.     

Rank Properties of Endomorphisms of Infinite Partially Ordered Sets

The relative rank (S : U) of a subsemigroup U of a semigroupS is the minimum size of a set V S such that U together withV generates the whole of S. As a consequence of a result ofSierpiski, it follows that for U T_X, the monoid of all self-mapsof an infinite set X, rank(T_X : U) is either 0, 1 or 2, or uncountable.In this paper, the relative ranks rank(T_X : O_X) are considered,where X is a countably infinite partially ordered set and O_Xis the endomorphism monoid of X. We show that rank(T_X : O_X) 2 if and only if either: there exists at least one elementin X which is greater than, or less than, an infinite numberof elements of X; or X has |X| connected components. Four examplesare given of posets where the minimum number of members of T_Xthat need to be adjoined to O_X to form a generating set is,respectively, 0, 1, 2 and uncountable. 2000 Mathematics SubjectClassification 08A35 (primary), 06A07, 20M20 (secondary).     

Quantum Markov Processes with a Christensen-Evans Generator in a Von Neumann Algebra

Let A be a unital von Neumann algebra of operators on a complexseparable Hilbert space H₀, and let {T_t, t 0} be a uniformlycontinuous quantum dynamical semigroup of completely positiveunital maps on A. The infinitesimal generator L of {T_t} is abounded linear operator on the Banach space A. For any Hilbertspace K, denote by B(K) the von Neumann algebra of all boundedoperators on K. Christensen and Evans [3] have shown that Lhas the form [formula] where is a representation of A in B(K) for some Hilbert spaceK, R: H₀ K is a bounded operator satisfying the ‘minimality’condition that the set {(RX–(X)R)u, uH₀, XA} is totalin K, and K₀ is a fixed element of A. The unitality of {T_t}implies that L(1) = 0, and consequently K₀=iH–R^*R, whereH is a hermitian element of A. Thus (1.1) can be expressed as [formula] We say that the quadruple (K, , R, H) constitutes the set ofChristensen–Evans (CE) parameters which determine theCE generator L of the semigroup {T_t}. It is quite possible thatanother set (K', ', R', H') of CE parameters may determine thesame generator L. In such a case, we say that these two setsof CE parameters are equivalent. In Section 2 we study thisequivalence relation in some detail. 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 81S25, 60J25.     

Long Snakes in Powers of the Complete Graph with an Odd Number of Vertices

In [5] Abbott and Katchalski ask if there exists a constantc < 0 such that for every d 2 there is a snake (cycle withoutchords) of length at least c3^d in the product of d copies ofthe complete graph K₃. We show that the answer to the abovequestion is positive, and that in general for any odd integern there is a constant c_n such that for every d 2 there is asnake of length at least c_n n^d in the product of d copies ofthe complete graph K_n.     

Spectra of graph neighborhoods and scattering

Let (G)_>0 be a family of ‘-thin’ Riemannian manifoldsmodeled on a finite metric graph G, for example, the -neighborhoodof an embedding of G in some Euclidean space with straight edges.We study the asymptotic behavior of the spectrum of the Laplace–Beltramioperator on G, as 0, for various boundary conditions. We obtaincomplete asymptotic expansions for the kth eigenvalue and theeigenfunctions, uniformly for kC^–1, in terms of scatteringdata on a non-compact limit space. We then use this to determinethe quantum graph which is to be regarded as the limit object,in a spectral sense, of the family (G). Our method is a directconstruction of approximate eigenfunctions from the scatteringand graph data, and the use of a priori estimates to show thatall eigenfunctions are obtained in this way.     

Decomposability of Reflexive Cycle Algebras

We give, for each n 3, an example of a reflexive operator algebra_n with the following properties: (i) each finite rank operatorwith rank less than n – 1 is the sum of rank-one operatorsin _n, and (ii) there is an operator of rank n – 1 in _nwhich is not the sum of rank-one operators in _n. The invariantsubspace lattice of _n is finite and distributive with 2n join-irreducibleelements. We show also that the indecomposability of _n is relatedto the existence of a chordless cycle in a bipartite graph associatedwith _n.     

The Heat Flow of the CCR Algebra

Let Pf(x) = –if'(x) and Qf(x) = xf(x) be the canonicaloperators acting on an appropriate common dense domain in L²(R).The derivations D_P(A) = i(PA–AP) and D_Q(A) = i(QA–AQ)act on the *-algebra A of all integral operators having smoothkernels of compact support, for example, and one may considerthe noncommutative ‘Laplacian’, L = + , as a linear mapping of A into itself. L generates a semigroup of normal completely positive linearmaps on B(L₂(R)), and this paper establishes some basic propertiesof this semigroup and its minimal dilation to an E₀-semigroup.In particular, the author shows that its minimal dilation ispure and has no normal invariant states, and he discusses thesignificance of those facts for the interaction theory introducedin a previous paper. There are similar results for the canonical commutation relationswith n degrees of freedom, where 1 n < . 2000 MathematicsSubject Classification 46L57 (primary), 46L53, 46L65 (secondary).     

The Intersection of Two Infinite Matroids

Conjecture: Let M and N be two matroids (possibly of infiniteranks) on the same set S. Then there exists a set I independentin both M and N, which can be partitioned as I=HK, where sp_M(H)sp_N(K)=S.This conjecture is an extension of Edmonds' matroid intersectiontheorem to the infinite case. We prove the conjecture when oneof the matroids (say M) is the sum of countably many matroidsof finite rank (the other matroid being general). For the proofwe have also to answer the following question: when does thereexist a subset of S which is spanning for M and independentin N?     

Spectral Multipliers for Hardy Spaces Associated with Schrodinger Operators with Polynomial Potentials

Let T_t be the semigroup of linear operators generated by a Schrödingeroperator – A = – V, where V is a non-negative polynomial,and let be the spectral resolution of A. We say that f is an element of if the maximal function Mf(x) = sup_t>0|T_tf(x)| belongs toL_p. We prove a criterion of Mihlin type on functions F whichimplies boundedness of the operators on , 0 < p 1. 1991 MathematicsSubject Classification 42B30, 35J10.     

Higher Generation Subgroup Sets and the Virtual Cohomological Dimension of Graph Products of Finite Groups

We introduce panels of stabilizer schemes (K, G_*) associatedwith finite intersection-closed subgroup sets of a given groupG, generalizing in some sense Davis' notion of a panel structureon a triangulated manifold for Coxeter groups. Given (K, G_*),we construct a G-complex X with K as a strong fundamental domainand simplex stabilizers conjugate to subgroups in . It turnsout that higher generation properties of in the sense of Abels-Holzare reflected in connectivity properties of X. Given a finite simplicial graph and a non-trivial group G()for every vertex of , the graph product G() is the quotientof the free product of all vertex groups modulo the normal closureof all commutators [G(), G(w)] for which the vertices , w areadjacent. Our main result allows the computation of the virtualcohomological dimension of a graph product with finite vertexgroups in terms of connectivity properties of the underlyinggraph .     

Characterisation of Graphs which Underlie Regular Maps on Closed Surfaces

It is proved that a graph K has an embedding as a regular mapon some closed surface if and only if its automorphism groupcontains a subgroup G which acts transitively on the orientededges of K such that the stabiliser G_e of every edge e is dihedralof order 4 and the stabiliser G of each vertex is a dihedralgroup the cyclic subgroup of index 2 of which acts regularlyon the edges incident with . Such a regular embedding can berealised on an orientable surface if and only if the group Ghas a subgroup H of index 2 such that H is the cyclic subgroupof index 2 in G. An analogous result is proved for orientably-regularembeddings.     

A Note on Groups Associated with 4-Arc-Transitive Cubic Graphs

A cubic (trivalent) graph is said to be 4-arc-transitive ifits automorphism group acts transitively on the 4-arcs of (wherea 4-arc is a sequence v₀, v₁, ... v₄ of vertices of such thatv_i–1 is adjacent to v_i for 1 i 4, and v_i–1 v_i+1for 1 i < 4). In his investigations into graphs of thissort, Biggs defined a family of groups 4⁺(a^m), for m = 3,4,5...,each presented in terms of generators and relations under theadditional assumption that the vertices of a circuit of lengthm are cyclically permuted by some automorphism. In this paperit is shown that whenever m is a proper multiple of 6, the group4⁺(a^m) is infinite. The proof is obtained by constructing transitivepermutation representations of arbitrarily large degree.     

Symmetries of Surface Singularities

The study of reductive group actions on a normal surface singularityX is facilitated by the fact that the group Aut X of automorphismsof X has a maximal reductive algebraic subgroup G which containsevery reductive algebraic subgroup of Aut X up to conjugation.If X is not weighted homogeneous then this maximal group G isfinite (Scheja, Wiebe). It has been determined for cusp singularitiesby Wall. On the other hand, if X is weighted homogeneous butnot a cyclic quotient singularity then the connected componentG₁ of the unit coincides with the C* defining the weighted homogeneousstructure (Scheja, Wiebe, Wahl). Thus the main interest liesin the finite group G/G₁. Not much is known about G/G₁. Ganterhas given a bound on its order valid for Gorenstein singularitieswhich are not log-canonical. Aumann-Körber has determinedG/G₁ for all quotient singularities. We propose to study G/G₁ through the action of G on the minimalgood resolution of X. If X is weightedhomogeneous but not a cyclic quotient singularity, let E₀ bethe central curve of the exceptional divisor of . We show that the natural homomorphism GAut E₀ haskernel C* and finite image. In particular, this re-proves therest of Scheja, Wiebe and Wahl mentioned above. Moreover, itallows us to view G/G₁ as a subgroup of Aut E₀. For simple ellipticsingularities it equals (Z_bxZ_b)Aut₀ E₀ where –b is theself-intersection number of E₀, Z_bxZ_b is the group of b-torsionpoints of the elliptic curve E₀ acting by translations, andAut₀ E₀ is the group of automorphisms fixing the zero elementof E₀. If E₀ is rational then G/G₁ is the group of automorphismsof E₀ which permute the intersection points with the branchesof the exceptional divisor while preserving the Seifert invariantsof these branches. When there are exactly three branches weconclude that G/G₁ is isomorphic to the group of automorphismsof the weighted resolution graph. This applies to all non-cyclicquotient singularities as well as to triangle singularities.We also investigate whether the maximal reductive automorphismgroup is a direct product GG₁xG/G₁. This is the case, for instance,if the central curve E₀ is rational of even self-intersectionnumber or if X is Gorenstein such that its nowhere-zero 2-form has degree ±1. In the latter case there is a ‘natural’section G/G₁G of GG/G₁ given by the group of automorphisms inG which fix . For a simple elliptic singularity one has GG₁xG/G₁if and only if –E₀ · E₀ = 1.