Proximity problems on line segments spanned by points

Finding the closest or farthest line segment (line) from a point are fundamental proximity problems. Given a set S of n points in the plane and another point q, we present optimal O(nlogn) time, O(n) space algorithms for finding the closest and farthest line segments (lines) from q among those spanned by the points in S. We further show how to apply our techniques to find the minimum (maximum) area triangle with a vertex at q and the other two vertices in S{q} in optimal O(nlogn) time and O(n) space. Finally, we give an O(nlogn) time, O(n) space algorithm to find the kth closest line from q and show how to find the k closest lines from q in O(nlogn+k) time and O(n+k) space.     

On oscillatory solutions of certain first order ordinary differential equations

By constructing a class of solutions to the integral inequality for t  t₀ large enough, where 0<A₁a(τ)A₂<+∞ and λ>1, that tend to zero as t→+∞ we address an open problem in the theory of nonlinear oscillations.     

Cauchy–Riemann equations and J-symplectic forms

Let (Σ,j) be a Riemann surface. The almost complex manifolds (M,J) for which the J-holomorphic curves :Σ→M are of variational type, are characterized. This problem is related to the existence of a vertically non-degenerate closed complex 3-form on Σ×M (see Theorem 4.3 below), which determines a family of J-symplectic structures on (M,J) parametrized by Σ.     

Discrete subspaces of countably tight compacta

Our main result is that the following cardinal arithmetic assumption, which is a slight weakening of GCH, “2^κ is a finite successor of κ for every cardinal κ”, implies that in any countably tight compactum X there is a discrete subspace D with . This yields a (consistent) confirmation of Alan Dow’s Conjecture 2 from [A. Dow, Closures of discrete sets in compact spaces, Studia Math. Sci. Hung. 42 (2005) 227–234].     

On -differential graded algebras

We introduce the concept of N-differential graded algebras (N-dga), and study the moduli space of deformations of the differential of an N-dga. We prove that it is controlled by what we call the (M,N)-Maurer–Cartan equation.     

Existence of an elliptic system involving Pucci operator

We study the existence of solutions for the nonlinear elliptic system

where Ω is a bounded domain, f₁ is superlinear and f₂ is sublinear at zero and infinity, h₁ and h₂ are perturbation terms. We will show that the system has at least two semi-trivial solutions (u,0), (0,v) and a nontrivial solution (u^*,v^*).     

On partitioning two matroids into common independent subsets

Let M₁ and M₂ be two matroids on the same ground set S. We conjecture that if there do not exist disjoint subsets A₁,A₂,…,A_k+1 of S, such that _isp_M1(A_i)≠Ø, and similarly for M₂, then S is partitioned into k sets, each independent in both M₁ and M₂. This is a possible generalization of König's edge-coloring theorem. We prove the conjecture for the case k=2 and for a regular case, in which both matroids have the same rank d, and S consists of k·d elements. Finally, we prove another special case related to a conjecture of Rota.     

The number of spanning forests of a graph

In this paper we study the number of spanning forests of a graph. Let G be a connected simple graph. (1) We give a lower bound for the number of spanning forests of G in terms of the edge connectivity of G. (2) We give an upper bound for the number of rooted spanning forests of G. (3) We describe the elementary symmetric functions of inverse positive Laplacian eigenvalues of a tree. (4) We determine all Laplacian integral graphs with prime number of spanning trees. (5) We give a simple proof of a theorem of K. Hashimoto on Ihara zeta function.     

Mass formula for self-dual codes over Z

We give a mass formula for self-dual codes over Z_p², where p is an odd prime. Using the mass formula, we classify such codes of lengths up to n=8 over the ring Z₉, n=7 over Z₂₅ and n=6 over Z₄₉.     

Some results on a heat conduction problem by Myshkis

An infinite homogeneous d-dimensional medium initially is at zero temperature. A heat impulse is applied at the origin, raising the temperature there to a value greater than a constant value u₀>0. The temperature at the origin then decays, and when it reaches u₀, another equal-sized heat impulse is applied at a normalized time τ₁=1. Subsequent equal-sized heat impulses are applied at the origin at the normalized times τ_n, n=2,3,…, when the temperature there has decayed to u₀. This sequence of normalized waiting times τ_n can be defined recursively by a difference equation and its asymptotic behavior was known recently. This heat conduction problem was first studied in [J. Difference Equations Appl. 3 (1997) 89–91].

A natural subsequent question is what happens if the problem is set in a finite region, like in a laboratory, with the temperature at the boundary being kept zero forever. In this paper we obtain the asymptotic behavior of the heating times for the one-dimensional case.     

Buchsbaum homogeneous algebras with minimal multiplicity

In this paper we first give a lower bound on multiplicities for Buchsbaum homogeneous k-algebras A in terms of the dimension d, the codimension c, the initial degree q, and the length of the local cohomology modules of A. Next, we introduce the notion of Buchsbaum k-algebras with minimal multiplicity of degree q, and give several characterizations for those rings. In particular, we will show that those algebras have linear free resolutions. Further, we will give many examples of those algebras.     

Sparse geometric graphs with small dilation

Given a set S of n points in , and an integer k such that 0k<n, we show that a geometric graph with vertex set S, at most n−1+k edges, maximum degree five, and dilation O(n/(k+1)) can be computed in time O(nlogn). For any k, we also construct planar n-point sets for which any geometric graph with n−1+k edges has dilation Ω(n/(k+1)); a slightly weaker statement holds if the points of S are required to be in convex position.     

Coclass and cohomology

Recently, it was proved by Leedham-Green and others that with a finite number of exceptions, every p-group of coclass r is a quotient of one of only a finite number of p-adic uniserial space groups. In this paper we use that structure to demonstrate that there are only finitely many isomorphism classes of cohomology rings of 2-groups of coclass r with coefficients in any fixed field k of characteristic 2. In addition, there is experimental evidence indicating that in many cases successive quotients of the uniserial space groups have isomorphic cohomology rings.     

Dimensions of supercritical branching processes in varying environments

Let ∂Γ be the boundary of a family tree Γ associated with a supercritical branching process in varying environments. In this paper, the Hausdorff dimension, the upper box dimension and the packing dimension of ∂Γ are computed explicitly. In contrast to the (fixed environment) Galton–Watson case, the Hausdorff and upper box dimension may take different values.     

Characterizations of some classes of relatively regular operators

A bounded linear operator A on a Banach space is called relatively regular, if there is a bounded linear operator B such that ABA=A. In this case B is called a g₁-inverse of A. In this paper we characterize some classes of relatively regular operators A via the set {B₁-B₂:B₁ and B₂ are g₁-inverses of A}.     

Covering point sets with two disjoint disks or squares

We study the following problem: Given a set of red points and a set of blue points on the plane, find two unit disks C_R and C_B with disjoint interiors such that the number of red points covered by C_R plus the number of blue points covered by C_B is maximized. We give an algorithm to solve this problem in O(n^8/3log²n) time, where n denotes the total number of points. We also show that the analogous problem of finding two axis-aligned unit squares S_R and S_B instead of unit disks can be solved in O(nlogn) time, which is optimal. If we do not restrict ourselves to axis-aligned squares, but require that both squares have a common orientation, we give a solution using O(n³logn) time.     

A survey on proper codes

The performance of a linear t-error correcting code over a q-ary symmetric memoryless channel with symbol error probability ε is characterized by the probability that a transmission error will remain undetected. This probability is a function of ε involving the code weight distribution and the weight distribution of the cosets of minimum weight at most t. When the undetectable error probability is an increasing function of ε, the code is called t-proper.

The paper presents sufficient conditions for t-properness and a list of codes known to be proper, many of which have been studied by these sufficient conditions. Special attention is paid to error detecting codes of interest in modern communication.     

The PI index of product graphs

The Padmakar–Ivan index of a graph G is the sum over all edges uv of G of number of edges which are not equidistant from u and v. In this work, an exact expression for the PI index of the Cartesian product of bipartite graphs is computed. Using this formula, the PI indices of C₄ nanotubes and nanotori are computed.     

A combinatorial approach to doubly transitive permutation groups

Let G be a doubly but not triply transitive group on a set X. We give an algorithm to construct the orbits of G acting on X×X×X by combining those of its stabilizer H of a point of X If the group H is given first, we compute the orbits of its transitive extension G, if it exists. We apply our algorithm to G=PSL(m,q) and Sp(2m,2), m3, successfully. We go forward to compute the transitive extension of G itself. In our construction we use a superscheme defined by the orbits of H on X×X×X and do not use group elements.     

On the consistency strength of the Milner–Sauer conjecture

In their paper from 1981, Milner and Sauer conjectured that for any poset P,≤, if , then P must contain an antichain of cardinality κ. The conjecture is consistent and known to follow from GCH-type assumptions.

We prove that the conjecture has large cardinals consistency strength in the sense that its negation implies, for example, the existence of a measurable cardinal in an inner model. We also prove that the conjecture follows from Martin’s Maximum and holds for all singular λ above the first strongly compact cardinal.