On the algorithm of the solution of the signorini problem

An algorithm is proposed for solving the Signorini problem /1/ in the formulation of a unilateral variational problem for the boundary functional in the zone of possible contact /2/. The algorithm is based on a dual formulation of Lagrange maximin problems for whose solution a decomposition approach is used in the following sense: a Ritz process in the basis functions that satisfy the linear constraint of the problem, the differential equation in the domain, is used in solving the minimum problem (with fixed Lagrange multipliers); the maximum problem is solved by the method of descent (a generalization of the Frank-Wolf method) under convexity constraints on the Lagrange multipliers. The algorithm constructed can be conisidered as a modification of the well-known algorithm to find the Udzawa-Arrow-Hurwitz saddle points /3, 4/. The convergence of the algorithm is investigated. A numerical analysis of the algorithm is performed in the example of a classical contact problem about the insertion of a stamp in an elastic half-plane under approximation of the contact boundary by isoparametric boundary elements. The comparative efficiency of the algorithm is associated with the reduction in the dimensionality of the boundary value problem being solved and the possibility of utilizing the calculation apparatus of the method of boundary elements to realize the solution.     

On the finite termination of the Douglas-Rachford method for the convex feasibility problem

In this paper we apply the Douglas–Rachford (DR) method to solve the problem of finding a point in the intersection of the interior of a closed convex cone and a closed convex set in an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. For this purpose, we propose two variants of the DR method which can find a point in the intersection in a finite number of iterations. In order to analyse the finite termination of the methods, we use some properties of the metric projection and a result regarding the rate of convergence of fixed point iterations. As applications of the results, we propose the methods for solving the conic and semidefinite feasibility problems, which terminate at a solution in a finite number of iterations.     

Bound on the number of eigenvalues near the boundary of the pseudospectrum

We show an estimate of the number of eigenvalues in a neighbourhood of a finite part of the boundary of the semiclassical pseudospectrum of pseudodifferential non-selfadjoint operators in terms of a corresponding volume in phase space.

     

Hume, the Occult, and the Substance of the School

I have not been able to locate any critique of Hume on substance by a Schoolman, at least in English, dating from Hume's period or shortly thereafter. I have, therefore, constructed my own critique as an exercise in ??post facto history??. This is what a late eighteenth-century/early nineteenth-century Scholastic could, would, and should have said in response to Hume's attack on substance should they have been minded to do so. That no one did is somewhat mysterious. My critique is precisely in the language of the period, using solely the conceptual resources available to a Schoolman at that time. The arguments, however, are as sound now as they were then, and in this sense the paper performs a dual role??contributing to the defence of substance contra Hume, and filling, albeit two hundred?years or so too late, a gap in the historical record.     

关于控制系统的绝对稳定性准则

本文:1.给出非线性控制系统第二标准型[2]平凡解绝对稳定性准则,特别地给出了飞机纵向运动方程平凡解绝对稳定性准则,文[8][9]中关于飞机纵向运动方程的结果是本文推论2.2的特例;2.给出非线性控制系统第一标准型[2]平凡解在通常情况和一种临界情况下绝对稳定准则;3.给出了Lure型直接控制系统一般型平凡解绝对稳定若干准则,全文结果均根据系统本身的参数,具体构造函数,给出显式判据.     

Sets with the Pompeiu property on the plane and on the sphere

We obtain new sufficient conditions under which a set on the plane has the Pompeiu property. This result allows us to construct first examples of domains with the Pompeiu property with non-Lipschitz (and even fractal) boundary. In addition, we study the problem of determining the least radius of the ball on the sphere in which a given set is a Pompeiu set. We obtain the solution of this problem in the case of a biangle and a spherical half-disk. We also consider some applications to questions of complex analysis.     

On the Gap in the Spectrum of the Translations

The spectrum of the translations in local quantum field theory will be analyzed in order to show that in a positive energy representation without vacuum vector and with lowest mass m₁ there is no gap in the spectrum which is larger than 2m₁. In particular in a zero mass representation there is no hole at all. These results are obtained with methods of analytic functions of several complex variables.     

From the neutrino to the edge of the universe

Two recent findings necessitate a closer look at the existing standard models of particle physics and cosmology. These are the discovery of neutrino oscillation, and hence a non-zero mass on the one hand and, on the other, observations of distant supernovae which indicate that contrary to popular belief, the universe would continue to expand for ever, possibly accelerating in the process. In this paper it is pointed out that relatively recent studies which indicate a stochastic, quantum vacuum underpinning and a fractal structure for space time, reconcile both of the recent observations, harmoniously.     

Approximating the relationship among the degree of the reaction forces and the nodes on footprint during a stance phase

This study examined the foot biomechanics that are utilized when foot is in contact with the ground during a stance phase. The purpose of the study was to investigate the normalized ground reaction forces that impacted certain sections and points on the footprint, and to identify patterns in the degrees to which these forces occurred. Foot was modeled in such a manner that a vertex represented a bone and an edge represented a joint, and a graph that depicted the foot was created. Twelve nodes were marked on the footprint and these were linked together to create a gait path. By fusing the graph and the gait path and by manipulating the mathematical models, a profile for an ideal bipedal walking locomotion was developed. A male subject performed bipedal walking through a force plate system in order to obtain the profile that reflected actual bipedal walking. The actual and the proposed profiles were compared and there were significant similarities between the two profiles, with both exhibiting an double-bump pattern. It is therefore viable that the approximation techniques proposed in this work may provide an alternative means over the application of a force plate system to generate a profile for bipedal walking. However, the accuracy and reliability of the results yielded from this technique need further investigation.     

On the geometry of the Calogero-Moser system

We discuss a special eigenstate of the quantized periodic Calogero—Moser system associated to a root system. This state has the property that its eigenfunctions, when regarded as multivalued functions on the space of regular conjugacy classes in the corresponding semisimple complex Lie group, transform under monodromy according to the complex reflection representation of the affine Hecke algebra. We show that this endows the space of conjugacy classes in question with a projective structure. For a certain parameter range this projective structure underlies a complex hyperbolic structure. If in addition a Schwarz type of integrality condition is satisfied, then it even has the structure of a ball quotient minus a Heegner divisor. For example, the case of the root system E₈ with the triflection monodromy representation describes a special eigenstate for the system of 12 unordered points on the projective line under a particular constraint.     

On the computability of the Steenrod squares

We give explicitely the formulas of a sequence of morphisms which measure the failure of commutativity of the cup product on the cochain level, provided that we work with simplicial sets; these formulas are established in terms of the component morphisms of a given Eilenberg-Zilber contraction. As a consequence, in the case in which the simplicial set is finite in each dimension, we obtain an algorithm for calculating Steenrod squares.     

On the Tractability of the Measure Associated to the Phase-Type Planar Point Process

One primary purpose of introducing the phase-type planar point process was to offer an algorithmically tractable point process on the plane. In an attempt to achieve this objective, we describe here a powerful technique to obtain the distribution and the moments of the number of points generated by the process and located in a particular convex bounded Borel set of the plane. Applied to the case of the circle, this technique has enabled us to estimate the outage probability in a CDMA based wireless system. Furthermore, a numerical analysis of the second moment of the number of points in a circle is discussed. This analysis highlights among others some relevant asymptotic results and therefore ways to distinguish between the processes. The technique we derive here can be exploited in many different problems as illustrated in our conclusion.     

On the relation between the singular and the weak coupling limits

After having recalled some definitions concerning quantum stochastic processes and, in particular, quantum Brownian motions, a general scheme is introduced which allows a unified approach to the weak coupling and singular coupling limits. The analogies and differences between the two are discussed. The main difference consists of the fact that, in the singular coupling limit, the use of a Hamiltonian unbounded below seems to be unavoidable, while this is not the case for the weak coupling limit.     

On the Chebyshev Center and the Nonemptiness of the Intersection of Nested Sets

Mathematical Notes - We show that if every bounded set in a Banach space has a Chebyshev center, then the intersection of nested closed bounded sets in this space is nonempty in the case of a...     

On the Genesis of the Lagrange Multipliers

The genesis of the Lagrange multipliers is analyzed in this work. Particularly, the author shows that this mathematical approach was introduced by Lagrange in the framework of statics in order to determine the general equations of equilibrium for problems with constraints. Indeed, the multipliers allowed Lagrange to treat the questions of maxima and minima in differential calculus and in calculus of variations in the same way as problems of statics: if the equilibrium of a point or a system of points is required, there is an analogy between statics and differential calculus; if the equilibrium of a rigid body is required, there is an analogy between statics and calculus of variations.     

On the Geometry of the Nodal Lines of Eigenfunctions of the Two-Dimensional Torus

The width of a convex curve in the plane is the minimal distance between a pair of parallel supporting lines of the curve. In this paper we study the width of nodal lines of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian on the standard flat torus. We prove a variety of results on the width, some having stronger versions assuming a conjecture of Cilleruelo and Granville asserting a uniform bound for the number of lattice points on the circle lying in short arcs.     

On the robustness of the bowl phenomenon

The bowl phenomenon provides a way of increasing the throughput of some production line systems with variable processing times by purposely unbalancing the line in a certain manner. However, achieving this increase in throughput depends on correctly identifying the values of the system parameters to estimate the optimal amount of unbalance and then actually being able to assign work to stations according to the optimal bowl allocation. In this paper we study the robustness of the bowl phenomenon by examining the effect of inaccurately estimating the optimal amount of unbalance and the effect of deviating from the optimal bowl allocation. Our results show that the bowl phenomenon is relatively robust in the sense that fairly large errors (even 50%) in the amount of unbalance still provide most of the potential improvement in throughput over a perfectly balanced line. Moreover, the throughput still exceeds that of a perfectly balanced line in most cases even when the work allocation to each station deviates from the optimal bowl allocation by as much as 10%. We also address the question of whether the optimal bowl allocation or the balanced line provides a more robust ‘target’ when assigning work to stations. When the deviations from these two targets are of the same magnitude, we found that the optimal bowl allocation target yields the larger throughput in most cases, where the average difference between their throughputs is roughly the same as the difference between the optimal throughput and the throughput of a balanced line. Furthermore, for the same magnitude of deviation, the throughput depends more heavily on the direction of the deviation from the balanced line than that from the optimal bowl allocation, so that the risk of a substantially reduced throughput is much larger when using the balanced line as the target. Therefore, the optimal bowl allocation provides a much more robust target than the balanced line.     

Variational characterization of the uniqueness of the optimal state for the minimal-time problem

In this paper, we give a variational characterization of the uniqueness of the optimal state in a proper linear control process for the time-optimal problem; we extend to control processes with time-variable coefficients a characterization of normality given by Hajek in Ref. 1.This work was supported by CNR-GNAFA, Rome, Italy.     

Increased Integrability of the Gradient of the Solution to the Zaremba Problem for the Poisson Equation

Doklady Mathematics - An estimate is obtained for the increased integrability of the gradient of the solution to the Zaremba problem in a bounded plane domain with a Lipschitz boundary and rapidly...