The second twisted Betti number and the convergence of collapsing Riemannian manifolds

Let M _i X denote a sequence of n-manifolds converging to a compact metric space, X, in the Gromov-Hausdorff topology such that the sectional curvature is bounded in absolute value and dim(X)<n. We prove the following stability result: If the fundamental groups of M _i are torsion groups of uniformly bounded exponents and the second twisted Betti numbers of M _i vanish, then there is a manifold, M, and a sequence of diffeomorphisms from M to a subsequence of {M _i } such that the distance functions of the pullback metrics converge to a pseudo-metric in C ⁰-norm. Furthermore, M admits a foliation with leaves diffeomorphic to flat manifolds (not necessarily compact) such that a vector is tangent to a leaf if and only if its norm converges to zero with respect to the pullback metrics. These results lead to a few interesting applications. Oblatum 17-I-2002 & 27-II-2002?Published online: 29 April 2002     

Single Supplier Scheduling for Multiple Deliveries

The problem of scheduling the production and delivery of a supplier to feed the production of F manufacturers is studied. The orders fulfilled by the supplier are delivered to the manufacturers in batches of the same size. The supplier's production line has to be set up whenever it switches from processing an order of one manufacturer to an order of another manufacturer. The objective is to minimize the total setup cost, subject to maintaining continuous production for all manufacturers. The problem is proved to be NP-hard. It is reduced to a single machine scheduling problem with deadlines and jobs belonging to F part types. An O(NlogF) algorithm, where N is the number of delivery batches, is presented to find a feasible schedule. A dynamic programming algorithm with O(N ^F /F ^F–2) running time is presented to find an optimal schedule. If F=2 and setup costs are unit, an O(N) time algorithm is derived.     

Conjugate function theory in weak1 Dirichlet algebras

The fundamental theorems on conjugate functions are shown to be valid for weak¹ Dirichlet algebras. In particular the conjugation operator is shown to be a continuous map of L^p to L^p for 1 < p < ∞, to be a continuous map of L¹ to L^p, 0 < p < 1, and to map functions in L^∞ to exponentially integrable functions. These results allow a number of results for Dirichlet algebras to be extended to weak¹ Dirichlet algebras.     

Safe solutions of a nonlinear car-following equation

A leader-follower pair of cars whose motion is subject to a non-linear delay differential equation are travelling with the same constant velocity u_I when the leader begins to change his velocity in a smooth way to the non-negative velocity u_F < u_I. Conditions are found for the response of the follower to be a safe one according to certain natural safety criteria.     

Asymmetric norms and optimal distance points in linear spaces

In this paper we analyze the existence of points of a subset S of a linear space X where the shortest distance to a point x of X with respect to an asymmetric norm q is attained (q-nearest points). Since the structure of an asymmetric norm do not provide in general uniqueness of such points—due to the fact that the separation properties in these spaces are in general weaker than in normed spaces—we develop a technique to find particular subsets of the set of q-nearest points—that we call optimal distance points—that are also optimal for the norm qs associated to the asymmetric norm.     

On eigenvalue pinching in positive Ricci curvature

We shall show that for manifolds with Ric≥n−1 the radius is close to π iff the (n+1)st eigenvalue is close to n. This extends results of Cheng and Croke which show that the diameter is close to π iff the first eigenvalue is close to n. We shall also give a new proof of an important theorem of Colding to the effect that if the radius is close to π, then the volume is close to that of the sphere and the manifold is Gromov-Hausdorff close to the sphere. From work of Cheeger and Colding these conditions imply that the manifold is diffeomorphic to a sphere. Oblatum 29-V-1998 & 4-II-1999 / Published online: 21 May 1999     

Integrating across Pascal's triangle

Sums across the rows of Pascal's triangle yield n² while certain diagonal sums yield the Fibonacci numbers which are asymptotic to ?n where ? is the golden ratio. Sums across other diagonals yield quantities asymptotic to cn where c depends on the directions of the diagonals. We generalize this to the continuous case. Using the gamma function, we generalize the binomial coefficients to real variables and thus form a generalization of Pascal's triangle. Integration over various families of lines and curves yields quantities asymptotic to cx where c is determined by the family and x is a parameter. Finally, we revisit the discrete case to get results on sums along curves.     

On the asymptotics with respect to a parameter of solutions of differential systems with coefficients in the class <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis></Subscript>

We consider a system of first-order ordinary linear differential equations with coefficients depending on an arbitrary parameter λ. For large λ, if the coefficients are smooth with respect to x, then there are known classical exponentially asymptotic (with respect to λ) formulas for the solution of the system. We generalize such formulas to the case in which the coefficients belong to the class L _q , q > 1. We use a new method for the reduction of problems to an integral system of special form.     

Convergence results for a class of spectrally hyperviscous models of 3-D turbulent flow

We consider the spectrally hyperviscous Navier–Stokes equations (SHNSE) which add hyperviscosity to the NSE but only to the higher frequencies past a cutoff wavenumber _m0$m_0$. In Guermond and Prudhomme (2003) [18], subsequence convergence of SHNSE Galerkin solutions to dissipative solutions of the NSE was achieved in a specific spectral-vanishing-viscosity setting. Our goal is to obtain similar results in a more general setting and to obtain convergence to the stronger class of Leray solutions. In particular we obtain subsequence convergence of SHNSE strong solutions to Leray solutions of the NSE by fixing the hyperviscosity coefficient μ$\mu$ while the spectral hyperviscosity cutoff _m0$m_0$ goes to infinity. This formulation presents new technical challenges, and we discuss how its motivation can be derived from computational experiments, e.g. those in Borue and Orszag (1996, 1998)  and . We also obtain weak subsequence convergence to Leray weak solutions under the general assumption that the hyperviscous coefficient μ$\mu$ goes to zero with no constraints imposed on the spectral cutoff. In both of our main results the Aubin Compactness Theorem provides the underlying framework for the convergence to Leray solutions.     

From Endomorphisms to Automorphisms and Back: Dilations and Full Corners

When S is a discrete subsemigroup of a discrete group G suchthat G = S^–1S, it is possible to extend circle-valuedmultipliers from S to G, to dilate (projective) isometric representationsof S to (projective) unitary representations of G, and to dilate/extendactions of S by injective endomorphisms of a C*-algebra to actionsof G by automorphisms of a larger C*-algebra. These dilationsare unique provided they satisfy a minimality condition. The(twisted) semigroup crossed product corresponding to an actionof S is isomorphic to a full corner in the (twisted) crossedproduct by the dilated action of G. This shows that crossedproducts by semigroup actions are Morita equivalent to crossedproducts by group actions, making powerful tools available tostudy their ideal structure and representation theory. The dilationof the system giving the Bost–Connes Hecke C*-algebrafrom number theory is constructed explicitly as an application:it is the crossed product C₀(A_f)Q*₊, corresponding to the multiplicativeaction of the positive rationals on the additive group A_f offinite adeles.     

Inhomogeneous Navier–Stokes equations in the half-space,with only bounded density

In this paper, we establish the global existence and uniqueness of solutions to the inhomogeneous Navier–Stokes system in the half-space. The initial density only has to be bounded and close enough to a positive constant, the initial velocity belongs to some critical Besov space, and the L^∞$L^{\infty }$ norm of the inhomogeneity plus the critical norm to the horizontal components of the initial velocity has to be very small compared to the exponential of the norm to the vertical component of the initial velocity. With a little bit more regularity for the initial velocity, those solutions are proved to be unique. In the last section of the paper, our results are partially extended to the bounded domain case.     

The extension property for compact convex sets

A closed convex subsetQ of a compact convex setK is said to have the extension property if every continuous affine function onQ can be extended to a continuous affine function onK. It is proved that the extension property is equivalent to the existence of a numberN such that is any direction in whichQ has positive width, the ratio of the width ofK to the width ofQ is less thanN.     

Poisson convergence in the restricted k‐partitioning problem

The randomized k‐number partitioning problem is the task to distribute N i.i.d. random variables into k groups in such a way that the sums of the variables in each group are as similar as possible. The restricted k‐partitioning problem refers to the case where the number of elements in each group is fixed to N/k. In the case k = 2 it has been shown that the properly rescaled differences of the two sums in the close to optimal partitions converge to a Poisson point process, as if they were independent random variables. We generalize this result to the case k > 2 in the restricted problem and show that the vector of differences between the k sums converges to a k ‐ 1‐dimensional Poisson point process. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2007     

Discrete Time Analytic Semigroups and the Geometry of Banach Spaces

Abstract. We study different notions of discrete maximal regularity for discrete-time abstract Cauchy problems in Banach spaces. First we look at l ₂ -discrete maximal regularity and show that Hilbert spaces are the only Banach spaces, among spaces with an unconditional basis, in which the analyticity of the associated discrete-time semigroup is a sufficient condition to obtain this kind of regularity. We then turn to different notions of regularity, in a l ₁ and in a l _∞ sense. We link the existence of particular semigroups such that the associated Cauchy problem has one of these maximal regularities to the geometry of the underlying Banach space (more precisely, to the existence of a complemented subspace isomorphic to c ₀ or l ₁ ). Finally, we give some elements to compare these regularities.     

Scaling properties of functionals and existence of constrained minimizers

In this paper we develop a new method to prove the existence of minimizers for a class of constrained minimization problems on Hilbert spaces that are invariant under translations. Our method permits to exclude the dichotomy of the minimizing sequences for a large class of functionals. We introduce family of maps, called scaling paths, that permits to show the strong subadditivity inequality. As byproduct the strong convergence of the minimizing sequences (up to translations) is proved. We give an application to the energy functional I associated to the Schrödinger-Poisson equation in R³

iψt+Δψ−(|x|⁻¹?²|ψ|)ψ+|ψ|^p−2ψ=0     

On the singularities of foliations and of vector bundle maps

LetF be a (smooth) Γ _q ^∞ -stucture (often called a codimension-q Haefliger structure) on a compact manifoldX ⁿ . Cohomological invariants associated to the singularities ofF are defined whose vanishing is shown to be a necessary condition for deformingF to a codimension-q foliation onX ⁿ . An analagous approach to vector bundle maps is then utilized to prove a general theorem concerning the possibility of embedding a vector bundle in the tangent bundle ofX ⁿ , and applications to the planefield problem are given. In the final section geometric realizations of the singularity classes associated toF are constructed.     

Pricing and volume discounting for a dominant retailer with uncertain manufacturing cost information

A product costs the manufacturer c/unit to produce; the retailer sells it at p/unit to the consumers. The retail-market demand volume V varies with p according to a given demand curve D_p. How would or should the “players” (i.e., the manufacturer and the retailer) set their prices? In contrast to many studies that assume a dominant manufacturer implementing the “manufacturer-Stackelberg” (“[mS]”) game, this paper examines how a dominant retailer should operate when his knowledge of c is imperfect. We first derive optimal decisions (some of them counter-intuitive) for the dominant retailer when he is restricted to choosing between [rS] (retailer-Stackelberg) and [mS]. Second, we propose a “reverse quantity discount” scheme that the dominant retailer (i.e., the downstream player) can offer to the manufacturer (note that the standard discount scheme is offered by the upstream player). We show that this discounting scheme is quite effective compared to the considerably more complicated though nevertheless theoretically optimal “menu of contracts.” We also reveal a largely overlooked function of discounting; i.e., discounting enables an “ignorant” but dominant player to usurp the earnings attributable to the knowledge of the dominated player. Finally, we also show that discounting works well when the demand curve is linear, but becomes ineffective when the demand curve is iso-elastic – a result echoing the conclusions of some earlier related works.