Area-preserving approximations of polygonal paths

Let P be an x-monotone polygonal path in the plane. For a path Q that approximates P let W_A(Q) be the area above P and below Q, and let W_B(Q) be the area above Q and below P. Given P and an integer k, we show how to compute a path Q with at most k edges that minimizes W_A(Q)+W_B(Q). Given P and a cost C, we show how to find a path Q with the smallest possible number of edges such that W_A(Q)+W_B(Q)C. However, given P, an integer k, and a cost C, it is NP-hard to determine if a path Q with at most k edges exists such that max{W_A(Q),W_B(Q)}C. We describe an approximation algorithm for this setting. Finally, it is also NP-hard to decide whether a path Q exists such that |W_A(Q)−W_B(Q)|=0. Nevertheless, in this error measure we provide an algorithm for computing an optimal approximation up to an additive error.     

The bandwidth sum of join and composition of graphs

Given a graph G, a proper labeling f of G is a one-to-one function . The bandwidth sum of a graph G, denoted by B_s(G), is defined by B_s(G)=min∑_uvE(G)|f(u)-f(v)|, where the minimum is taken for all proper labelings f of G. In this paper, we give some results for the bandwidth sum problem for the join of k graphs G₁,G₂,…,G_k, where each G_i is a path, cycle, complete graph, or union of isolated vertices. We also discuss the bandwidth sum for the composition of two graphs G and H, where G and H are path, cycle, or union of isolated vertices.     

Global stability of a rational difference equation

In this paper, we study the global stability of the difference equation , where the parameters a,a_i(0,∞) for i=0,…,k, x_-k,…, x_-1[0,∞) and x₀(0,∞). We prove that the unique positive equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if and only if it is locally asymptotically. Also we provide sufficient condition for it to be globally asymptotically stable and our results solve the open problem proposed by Kulenović and Ladas (Dynamics of Second Order Rational Difference Equations with Open Problems and Conjectures, Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, 2002).     

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.     

On minimizing pattern splitting in multi-track string matching

Given a pattern string P=p₁p₂p_m and K parallel text strings over an integer alphabet Σ, our task is to find the smallest integer κ>0 such that P can be split into κ pieces P=P¹…P^κ, where each Pⁱ has an occurrence in some text track T^k_i and these partial occurrences retain the order. We study some variations of this minimum splitting problem, such as splittings with limited gaps and transposition invariance, and show how to use sparse dynamic programming to solve the variations efficiently. In particular, we show that the minimum splitting problem can be interpreted as a shortest path problem on line segments.     

A new formula for an evaluation of the Tutte polynomial of a matroid

Given a matroid M and its Tutte polynomial T_M(x,y), T_M(0,1) is an invariant of M with various interesting combinatorial and topological interpretations. Being a Tutte–Grothendieck invariant, T_M(0,1) may be computed via deletion–contraction recursions. In this note we derive a new recursion formula for this invariant that involves contractions of M through the circuits containing a fixed element of M.     

A chromatic partition polynomial

A polynomial in two variables is defined by C_n(x,t)=Σ_πΠnx(Gπ,x)t^|π|, where Π_n is the lattice of partitions of the set {1, 2, …, n}, G_π is a certain interval graph defined in terms of the partition gp, χ(G_π, x) is the chromatic polynomial of G_π and |π| is the number of blocks in π. It is shown that , where S(n, i) is the Stirling number of the second kind and (x)_i = x(x − 1) ··· (x − i + 1). As a special case, C_n(−1, −t) = A_n(t), where A_n(t) is the nth Eulerian polynomial. Moreover, A_n(t)=Σ_πΠna_πt^|π| where a_π is the number of acyclic orientations of G_π.     

An algorithm for calculating the independence and vertex-cover polynomials of a graph

The independence polynomial, ω(G,x)=∑w_kx^k, of a graph, G, has coefficients, w_k, that enumerate the ways of selecting k vertices from G so that no two selected vertices share an edge. The independence number of G is the largest value of k for which w_k≠0. Little is known of less straightforward relationships between graph structure and the properties of ω(G,x), in part because of the difficulty of calculating values of w_k for specific graphs. This study presents a new algorithm for these calculations which is both faster than existing ones and easily adaptable to high-level computer languages.     

Finding a length-constrained maximum-sum or maximum-density subtree and its application to logistics

We study the problem of finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree with weight and length on each edge. This problem was proposed in [R.R. Lin, W.H. Kuo, K.M. Chao, Finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree, Journal of Combinatorial Optimization 9 (2005) 147–156] and solved in O(nU) time when the edge lengths are positive integers, where n is the number of nodes in the tree and U is the length upper bound of the path. We present an algorithm that runs in O(nlog²n) time for the generalized case when the edge lengths are positive real numbers, which indicates an improvement when U=Ω(log²n). The complexity is reduced to O(nlogn) when edge lengths are uniform. In addition, we study the generalized problems of finding a length-constrained maximum-sum or maximum-density subtree in a given tree or graph, providing algorithmic and complexity results.     

Almost periodic solutions of differential equations with piecewise constant argument of generalized type

We consider the existence and stability of an almost periodic solution of the following hybrid system:

(1)

where if θ_i≤t<θ_i+1,i=…−2,−1,0,1,2,…, is an identification function, θ_i is a strictly ordered sequence of real numbers, unbounded on the left and on the right, p_j,j=1,2,…,m, are fixed integers, and the linear homogeneous system associated with (1) satisfies exponential dichotomy. The deviations of the argument are not restricted by any sign assumption when existence is considered. A new technique of investigation of equations with piecewise argument, based on integral representation, is developed.     

On distinct unit fractions whose sum equals 1

Questions, partial and complete answers about the diophantine equation in distinct positive integers are given when additional requirements are asked on the x_i's such as: being large, odd, even or x_ix_j for i≠j. Various combinations of the above conditions are also considered.     

On association schemes all elements of which have valency 1 or 2

In the present note, we investigate schemes S in which each element s satisfies n_s2 and n_s^*s≠2. We show that such a scheme is schurian. More precisely, we show that it is isomorphic to G//t, where G is a finite group and t an involution of G weakly closed in C_G(t).

Groups G with an involution t weakly closed in C_G(t) have been described in Glauberman's Z^*-Theorem [G. Glauberman, Central elements in core-free groups, J. Algebra 4 (1966) 403–420] with the help of the largest normal subgroup of G having odd order.     

The total chromatic number of regular graphs of even order and high degree

The total chromatic number χ_T(G) of a graph G is the minimum number of colours needed to colour the edges and the vertices of G so that incident or adjacent elements have distinct colours. We show that if G is a regular graph of even order and , thenχ_T(G)Δ(G)+2.     

Exact algorithms and applications for Tree-like Weighted Set Cover

We introduce an NP-complete special case of the Weighted Set Cover problem and show its fixed-parameter tractability with respect to the maximum subset size, a parameter that appears to be small in relevant applications. More precisely, in this practically relevant variant we require that the given collection C of subsets of a base set S should be “tree-like”. That is, the subsets in C can be organized in a tree T such that every subset one-to-one corresponds to a tree node and, for each element s of S, the nodes corresponding to the subsets containing s induce a subtree of T. This is equivalent to the problem of finding a minimum edge cover in an edge-weighted acyclic hypergraph. Our main result is an algorithm running in O(3^kmn) time where k denotes the maximum subset size, n:=|S|, and m:=|C|. The algorithm also implies a fixed-parameter tractability result for the NP-complete Multicut in Trees problem, complementing previous approximation results. Our results find applications in computational biology in phylogenomics and for saving memory in tree decomposition based graph algorithms.     

Maximum genus, connectivity and minimal degree of graphs

This paper is devoted to the lower bounds on the maximum genus of graphs. A simple statement of our results in this paper can be expressed in the following form:

Let G be a k-edge-connected graph with minimum degree δ, for each positive integer k(3), there exists a non-decreasing function f(δ) such that the maximum genus γ_M(G) of G satisfies the relation γ_M(G)f(δ)β(G), and furthermore that lim_δ→∞f(δ)=1/2, where β(G)=|E(G)|-|V(G)|+1 is the cycle rank of G.

The result shows that lower bounds of the maximum genus of graphs with any given connectivity become larger and larger as their minimum degree increases, and complements recent results of several authors.     

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.     

Global existence and blow-up solutions and blow-up estimates for a non-local quasilinear degenerate parabolic system

This paper deals with p-Laplacian systems

with null Dirichlet boundary conditions in a smooth bounded domain ΩR^N, where p,q>1, , and a,b>0 are positive constants. We first get the non-existence result for a related elliptic systems of non-increasing positive solutions. Secondly by using this non-existence result, blow-up estimates for above p-Laplacian systems with the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary value conditions are obtained under Ω=B_R={xR^N:|x|<R}(R>0). Then under appropriate hypotheses, we establish local theory of the solutions and obtain that the solutions either exists globally or blow-up in finite time.     

Variable step size initial value algorithm for singular perturbation problems using locally exact integration

We consider quasilinear singular perturbation problems of the form εy^″+p(x)y^′+q(x,y)=h(x),x[0,1];y(0)=,y(1)=β with a boundary layer at one end point. The original problem is reduced to an asymptotically equivalent linear first order initial-value problem (IVP). Then, a variable step size initial value algorithm is applied to solve this (IVP). The algorithm is based on the locally exact integration of quadratic linearized problem coefficients on a non-uniform mesh. Two term-recurrence relation with controlled step size is obtained. Several problems are solved to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the algorithm. It is observed that the present method approximates the exact solution very well.     

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.     

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.