Geometric Realization of a Triangulation on the Projective Plane with One Face Removed

Let M be a map on a surface F ². A geometric realization of M is an embedding of F ² into a Euclidean 3-space ?³ such that each face of M is a flat polygon. We shall prove that every triangulation G on the projective plane has a face f such that the triangulation of the Möbius band obtained from G by removing the interior of f has a geometric realization.     

The geometric Hopf invariant and double points

The geometric Hopf invariant of a stable map F is a stable _boxclose/2{{\mathbb Z}/2} -equivariant map h(F) such that the stable \mathbb Z/2{{\mathbb Z}/2} -equivariant homotopy class of h(F) is the primary obstruction to F being homotopic to an unstable map. In this paper, we express the geometric Hopf invariant of the Umkehr map F of an immersion f : M^m \looparrowright Nⁿ{f : M^m \looparrowright N^n} in terms of the double point set of f. We interpret the Smale–Hirsch–Haefliger regular homotopy classification of immersions f in the metastable dimension range 3m <  2n – 1 (when a generic f has no triple points) in terms of the geometric Hopf invariant.     

Optimally adapted meshes for finite elements of arbitrary order and W 1, p norms

Given a function f defined on a bounded polygonal domain W ì \mathbbR²{\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^2} and a number N > 0, we study the properties of the triangulation T_N{\mathcal{T}_N} that minimizes the distance between f and its interpolation on the associated finite element space, over all triangulations of at most N elements. The error is studied in the W ^{1, p} semi-norm for 1 ≤ p < ∞, and we consider Lagrange finite elements of arbitrary polynomial order m − 1. We establish sharp asymptotic error estimates as N → +∞ when the optimal anisotropic triangulation is used. A similar problem has been studied in Babenko et al. (East J Approx. 12(1):71–101, 2006), Cao (J Numer Anal. 45(6):2368–2391, 2007), Chen et al. (Math Comput. 76:179–204, 2007), Cohen (Multiscale, Nonlinear and Adaptive Approximation. Springer, Berlin, 2009), Mirebeau (Constr Approx. 32(2):339–383, 2010), but with the error measured in the L ^p norm. The extension of this analysis to the W ^{1, p} norm is required in order to match more closely the needs of numerical PDE analysis, and it is not straightforward. In particular, the meshes which satisfy the optimal error estimate are characterized by a metric describing the local aspect ratio of each triangle and by a geometric constraint on their maximal angle, a second feature that does not appear for the L ^p error norm. Our analysis also provides with practical strategies for designing meshes such that the interpolation error satisfies the optimal estimate up to a fixed multiplicative constant.     

Normal families and shared functions of meromorphic functions

Let k be a positive integer, let M be a positive number, let F be a family of meromorphic functions in a domain D, all of whose zeros are of multiplicity at least k, and let h be a holomorphic function in D, h ≢ 0. If, for every f ∈ F, f and f ^(k) share 0, and |f(z)| ≥ M whenever f ^(k)(z) = h(z), then F is normal in D. The condition that f and f ^(k) share 0 cannot be weakened, and the condition that |f(z)| ≥ M whenever f ^(k)(z) = h(z) cannot be replaced by the condition that |f(z)| ≥ 0 whenever f ^(k)(z) = h(z). This improves some results due to Fang and Zalcman [2] etc.     

Optimal Meshes for Finite Elements of Arbitrary Order

Given a function f defined on a bounded domain Ω⊂ℝ² and a number N>0, we study the properties of the triangulation T_N\mathcal{T}_{N} that minimizes the distance between f and its interpolation on the associated finite element space, over all triangulations of at most N elements. The error is studied in the norm X=L ^p for 1≤p≤∞, and we consider Lagrange finite elements of arbitrary polynomial degree m−1. We establish sharp asymptotic error estimates as N→+∞ when the optimal anisotropic triangulation is used, recovering the results on piecewise linear interpolation (Babenko et al. in East J. Approx. 12(1), 71–101, 2006; Babenko, submitted; Chen et al. in Math. Comput. 76, 179–204, 2007) and improving the results on higher degree interpolation (Cao in SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 45(6), 2368–2391, 2007, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 29, 756–781, 2007, Math. Comput. 77, 265–286, 2008). These estimates involve invariant polynomials applied to the m-th order derivatives of f. In addition, our analysis also provides practical strategies for designing meshes such that the interpolation error satisfies the optimal estimate up to a fixed multiplicative constant. We partially extend our results to higher dimensions for finite elements on simplicial partitions of a domain Ω⊂ℝ ^d .     

Invariant functions in Denjoy–Carleman classes

Let V be a real finite dimensional representation of a compact Lie group G. It is well known that the algebra of G-invariant polynomials on V is finitely generated, say by σ ₁, . . . , σ _p . Schwarz (Topology 14:63–68, 1975) proved that each G-invariant C ^∞-function f on V has the form f = F(σ ₁, . . . , σ _p ) for a C ^∞-function F on . We investigate this representation within the framework of Denjoy–Carleman classes. One can in general not expect that f and F lie in the same Denjoy–Carleman class C ^M (with M = (M _k )). For finite groups G and (more generally) for polar representations V, we show that for each G-invariant f of class C ^M there is an F of class C ^N such that f = F(σ ₁, . . . , σ _p ), if N is strongly regular and satisfies

Gromov hyperbolicity of negatively curved Finsler manifolds

Let (M, F) be a closed C ^∞ Finsler manifold. The lift of the Finsler metric F to the universal covering space defines an asymmetric distance [(d)\tilde]{\widetilde d} on [(M)\tilde]{\widetilde M}. It is well-known that the classical comparison theorem of Aleksandrov does not exist in the Finsler setting. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce new Finsler tools for the study of the asymmetric metric space ([(M)\tilde], [(d)\tilde]){(\widetilde M, \widetilde d)}. In this paper, by using the geometric flip map and the unstable-stable angle introduced in [2], we prove that if (M, F) is a closed Finsler manifold of negative flag curvature, then ([(M)\tilde], [(d)\tilde]){(\widetilde M, \widetilde d)} is an asymmetric δ-hyperbolic space in the sense of Gromov.     

Delannoy Orthants of Legendre Polytopes

We construct an n-dimensional polytope whose boundary complex is compressed and whose face numbers for any pulling triangulation are the coefficients of the powers of (x−1)/2 in the nth Legendre polynomial. We show that the non-central Delannoy numbers count all faces in the lexicographic pulling triangulation that contain a point in a given open generalized orthant. We thus provide a geometric interpretation of a relation between the central Delannoy numbers and Legendre polynomials, observed over 50 years ago (Good in Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 54:39–42, 1958; Lawden in Math. Gaz. 36:193–196, 1952; Moser and Zayachkowski in Scr. Math. 26:223–229, 1963). The polytopes we construct are closely related to the root polytopes introduced by Gelfand et al. (Arnold–Gelfand mathematical seminars: geometry and singularity theory, pp. 205–221. Birkhauser, Boston, 1996).     

Jensen’s functional equation on the symmetric group S<Subscript>n</Subscript>

Two natural extensions of Jensen’s functional equation on the real line are the equations f(xy) + f(xy ⁻¹) =  2f(x) and f(xy) + f(y ⁻¹ x) =  2f(x), where f is a map from a multiplicative group G into an abelian additive group H. In a series of papers (see Ng in Aequationes Math 39:85–99, 1990; Ng in Aequationes Math 58:311–320, 1999; Ng in Aequationes Math 62:143–159, 2001), Ng solved these functional equations for the case where G is a free group and the linear group GL_n(R), R=\mathbbZ,\mathbbR{{GL_n(R), R=\mathbb{Z},\mathbb{R}}} , is a quadratically closed field or a finite field. He also mentioned, without a detailed proof, in the above papers and in (see Ng in Aequationes Math 70:131–153, 2005) that when G is the symmetric group S _n , the group of all solutions of these functional equations coincides with the group of all homomorphisms from (S _n , ·) to (H, + ). The aim of this paper is to give an elementary and direct proof of this fact.     

Quasiconformal homogeneity of genus zero surfaces

A Riemann surface M is said to be K-quasiconformally homogeneous if, for every two points p, q ∈ M, there exists a K-quasiconformal homeomorphism f: M→M such that f(p) = q. In this paper, we show there exists a universal constant K > 1 such that if M is a K-quasiconformally homogeneous hyperbolic genus zero surface other than ⅅ², then K ≥ K. This answers a question by Gehring and Palka [10]. Further, we show that a non-maximal hyperbolic surface of genus g ≥ 1 is not K-quasiconformally homogeneous for any finite K ≥ 1.     

A variational problem for pullback metrics

Let (M, g) and (N, h) be Riemannian manifolds without boundary and let f : M → N be a smooth map. Let ||f^*h||{\|f^*h\|} denote the norm of the pullback metric of h by f. In this paper, we consider the functional F(f) = ò_M ||f^*h||² dv_g{{\Phi (f) = \int_M \|f^*h\|^2 dv_g}}. We prove the existence of minimizers of the functional Φ in each 3-homotopy class of maps, where maps f ₁ and f ₂ are 3-homotopic if they are homotopic on the three dimensional skeltons of a triangulation of M. Furthermore, we give a monotonicity formula and a Bochner type formula.     

Hypercyclic Pairs of Coanalytic Toeplitz Operators

A pair of commuting operators, (A,B), on a Hilbert space is said to be hypercyclic if there exists a vector such that {A ⁿ B ^k x : n, k ≥ 0} is dense in . If f, g ∈H ^∞(G) where G is an open set with finitely many components in the complex plane, then we show that the pair (M ^* _f , M ^* _g ) of adjoints of multiplcation operators on a Hilbert space of analytic functions on G is hypercyclic if and only if the semigroup they generate contains a hypercyclic operator. However, if G has infinitely many components, then we show that there exists f, g ∈H ^∞(G) such that the pair (M ^* _f , M ^* _g ) is hypercyclic but the semigroup they generate does not contain a hypercyclic operator. We also consider hypercyclic n-tuples.     

Fixed points and normal families of quasiregular mappings

LetF be a family of mappingsK-quasiregular in some domainG. We show that if for eachf∈F, there existsk>1 such that thek-th iteratef ^k off has no fixed point, thenF is normal. Moreover, we examine to what extent this result holds if we consider only repelling fixed points, rather than fixed points in general. We also prove thatF is quasinormal, ifF contains only quasiregular mappings that do not have periodic points of some period greater than one inG. This implies that a quasiregular mappingf:ℝ ⁿ with an essential singularity in ∞ has infinitely many periodic points of any period greater than one. These results generalize results of M. Essén, S. Wu, D. Bargmann and W. Bergweiler for holomorphic functions.     

The Inverse Conjecture for the Gowers Norm over Finite Fields in Low Characteristic

We establish the inverse conjecture for the Gowers norm over finite fields, which asserts (roughly speaking) that if a bounded function f : V ? \mathbbC{f : V \rightarrow \mathbb{C}} on a finite-dimensional vector space V over a finite field \mathbbF{\mathbb{F}} has large Gowers uniformity norm ||f||_U^s+1(V){{\parallel{f}\parallel_{U^{s+1}(V)}}} , then there exists a (non-classical) polynomial P: V ? \mathbbT{P: V \rightarrow \mathbb{T}} of degree at most s such that f correlates with the phase e(P) = e ^2πiP . This conjecture had already been established in the “high characteristic case”, when the characteristic of \mathbbF{\mathbb{F}} is at least as large as s. Our proof relies on the weak form of the inverse conjecture established earlier by the authors and Bergelson [3], together with new results on the structure and equidistribution of non-classical polynomials, in the spirit of the work of Green and the first author [22] and of Kaufman and Lovett [28].     

Incompressibility and normal minimal surfaces

In this paper we describe a procedure for refining the given triangulation of a 3-manifold that scales the PL-metric according to a given weight function while creating no new normal surfaces. Let F be a closed orientable incompressible surface in an irreducible 3-manifold M. Then in every triangulation τ of M, F is isotopic to a τ-normal surface F(τ) that is of minimal PL-area (in the isotopy class of F). Using the above scaling refinement we prove the converse. If for every triangulation τ of M, F is isotopic to a τ-normal surface F(τ) that is of minimal PL-area, then we shall show that F is incompressible. Hence we get a characterisation of incompressibility of a surface in terms of existence of a minimal PL-area normal surface.     

Classification of Refinable Splines in ℝ d

A refinable spline in ℝ ^d is a compactly supported refinable function whose support can be decomposed into simplices such that the function is a polynomial on each simplex. The best-known refinable splines in ℝ ^d are the box splines. Refinable splines play a key role in many applications, such as numerical computation, approximation theory and computer-aided geometric design. Such functions have been classified in one dimension in Dai et al. (Appl. Comput. Harmon. Anal. 22(3), 374–381, 2007), Lawton et al. (Comput. Math. 3, 137–145, 1995). In higher dimensions Sun (J. Approx. Theory 86, 240–252, 1996) characterized those splines when the dilation matrices are of the form A=mI, where m∈ℤ and I is the identity matrix. For more general dilation matrices the problem becomes more complex. In this paper we give a complete classification of refinable splines in ℝ ^d for arbitrary dilation matrices A∈M _d (ℤ).     

Inverse-preserving Linear Maps Between Spaces of Matrices over Fields

Suppose F is a field different from F2, the field with two elements. Let Mn（F） and Sn（F） be the space of n × n full matrices and the space of n ×n symmetric matrices over F, respectively. For any G1, G2 ∈ {Sn（F）, Mn（F）}, we say that a linear map f from G1 to G2 is inverse-preserving if f（X）^-1 = f（X^-1） for every invertible X ∈ G1. Let L （G1, G2） denote the set of all inverse-preserving linear maps from G1 to G2. In this paper the sets .L（Sn（F）,Mn（F））, L（Sn（F）,Sn（F））, L （Mn（F）,Mn（F）） and L（Mn （F）, Sn （F）） are characterized.     

Pseudo-Anosov extensions and degree one maps between hyperbolic surface bundles

Let F′,F be any two closed orientable surfaces of genus g′ > g≥ 1, and f:F→ F be any pseudo-Anosov map. Then we can “extend” f to be a pseudo- Anosov map f′:F′→ F′ so that there is a fiber preserving degree one map M(F′,f′)→ M(F,f) between the hyperbolic surface bundles. Moreover the extension f′ can be chosen so that the surface bundles M(F′,f′) and M(F,f) have the same first Betti numbers. Y. Ni is partially supported by a Centennial fellowship of the Graduate School at Princeton University. S.C. Wang is partially supported by MSTC     

Compactifications and algebraic completions of limit groups

This paper considers the existence of nondiscrete embeddings Γ ↦ G, where Γ is an abstract limit group and G is topological group. Namely, it is shown that a locally compact group G that admits a nondiscrete nonabelian free subgroup F admits a nondiscrete copy of every nonabelian limit group L. In some cases, for instance if the F is of rank 2 and its closure in G is compact or semisimple algebraic, or if L is a surface group (as considered in [6]), L can be chosen with the same closure as F.     

Cyclic 4‐Colorings of Graphs on Surfaces

To attack the Four Color Problem, in 1880, Tait gave a necessary and sufficient condition for plane triangulations to have a proper 4‐vertex‐coloring: a plane triangulation G has a proper 4‐vertex‐coloring if and only if the dual of G has a proper 3‐edge‐coloring. A cyclic coloring of a map G on a surface F² is a vertex‐coloring of G such that any two vertices x and y receive different colors if x and y are incident with a common face of G. In this article, we extend the result by Tait to two directions, that is, considering maps on a nonspherical surface and cyclic 4‐colorings.