Aubry-mather theory and the inverse spectral problem for planar convex domains

The inverse spectral problem is concerned with the question to what extent the spectrum of a domain determines its geometry. We find that, associated to a convex domain Ω in ℝ², there is a convexfunction which is a length spectrum invariant under continuous deformations. It includes several geometric quantities, such as the lengths and Lazutkin parameters of caustics, as well as the asymptotic invariants discovered by Marvizi and Melrose. Via a Poisson relation, we also find invariants determined by the Laplace spectrum of Ω.     

The View-Obstruction Problem for 5-Dimensional Cubes

 The view-obstruction problem for the n-dimensional cube is equivalent to the conjecture that for any n positive integers there is a real number x such that each (here denotes the distance from y to the nearest integer). This conjecture has been previously solved for . In this paper we prove that when we can find x which gives each ; this is the first improvement over the easy result . Received 5 August 1997; in revised form 19 January 1998     

On the infimum problem of Hilbert space effects

The quantum effects for a physical system can be described by the set ε(H) of positive operators on a complex Hilbert space H that are bounded above by the identity operator I. The infimum problem of Hilbert space effects is to find under what condition the infimum A∧B exists for two quantum effects A and B∈ε(H). The problem has been studied in different contexts by R. Kadison, S. Gudder, M. Moreland, and T. Ando. In this note, using the method of the spectral theory of operators, we give a complete answer of the infimum problem. The characterizations of the existence of infimum A∧B for two effects A. B∈ε(H) are established.     

含有快速增长非线性恢复力的梁方程的行波解

Abstract. On studying traveling waves on a nonlinearly suspended bridge,the following partial differential equation has been considered:     

Restriction of characters and products of characters

Let G be a finite p-group, for some prime p, and ψ, θ ∈ Irr(G) be irreducible complex characters of G. It has been proved that if, in addition, ψ and θ are faithful characters, then the product ψθ is a multiple of an irreducible or it is the nontrivial linear combination of at least (p + 1)/2 distinct irreducible characters of G. We show that if we do not require the characters to be faithful, then given any integer k > 0, we can always find a p-group P and irreducible characters Ψ and Θ of P such that the product ΨΘ is the nontrivial combination of exactly k distinct irreducible characters. We do this by translating examples of decompositions of restrictions of characters into decompositions of products of characters.     

Total Colorings Of Degenerate Graphs

A total coloring of a graph G is a coloring of all elements of G, i.e. vertices and edges, such that no two adjacent or incident elements receive the same color. A graph G is s-degenerate for a positive integer s if G can be reduced to a trivial graph by successive removal of vertices with degree ≤s. We prove that an s-degenerate graph G has a total coloring with Δ+1 colors if the maximum degree Δ of G is sufficiently large, say Δ≥4s+3. Our proof yields an efficient algorithm to find such a total coloring. We also give a lineartime algorithm to find a total coloring of a graph G with the minimum number of colors if G is a partial k-tree, that is, the tree-width of G is bounded by a fixed integer k.     

On a processor sharing queue that models balking

We consider the processor sharing M/M/1-PS queue which also models balking. A customer that arrives and sees n others in the system “balks” (i.e., decides not to enter) with probability 1−b _n . If b _n is inversely proportional to n + 1, we obtain explicit expressions for a tagged customer’s sojourn time distribution. We consider both the conditional distribution, conditioned on the number of other customers present when the tagged customer arrives, as well as the unconditional distribution. We then evaluate the results in various asymptotic limits. These include large time (tail behavior) and/or large n, lightly loaded systems where the arrival rate λ → 0, and heavily loaded systems where λ → ∞. We find that the asymptotic structure for the problem with balking is much different from the standard M/M/1-PS queue. We also discuss a perturbation method for deriving the asymptotics, which should apply to more general balking functions.     

Infinite injective transformations whose centralizers have simple structure

For an infinite set X, denote by Γ(X) the semigroup of all injective mappings from X to X under function composition. For α ∈ Γ(X), let C(α) = {β ∈ g/g(X): αβ = βα} be the centralizer of α in Γ(X). The aim of this paper is to determine those elements of Γ(X) whose centralizers have simple structure. We find α ∈ (X) such that various Green's relations in C(α) coincide, characterize α ∈ Γ(X) such that the $ \mathcal{J} $ \mathcal{J} -classes of C(α) form a chain, and describe Green's relations in C(α) for α with so-called finite ray-cycle decomposition. If α is a permutation, we also find the structure of C(α) in terms of direct and wreath products of familiar semigroups.     

Representing a Functional Curve by Curves with Fewer Peaks

In this paper, we study the problems of (approximately) representing a functional curve in 2-D by a set of curves with fewer peaks. Representing a function (or its curve) by certain classes of structurally simpler functions (or their curves) is a basic mathematical problem. Problems of this kind also find applications in applied areas such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Let f\bf f be an input piecewise linear functional curve of size n. We consider several variations of the problems. (1) Uphill–downhill pair representation (UDPR): Find two nonnegative piecewise linear curves, one nondecreasing (uphill) and one nonincreasing (downhill), such that their sum exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. (2) Unimodal representation (UR): Find a set of unimodal (single-peak) curves such that their sum exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. (3) Fewer-peak representation (FPR): Find a piecewise linear curve with at most k peaks that exactly or approximately represents f\bf f. Furthermore, for each problem, we consider two versions. For the UDPR problem, we study its feasibility version: Given ε>0, determine whether there is a feasible UDPR solution for f\bf f with an approximation error ε; its min-ε version: Compute the minimum approximation error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible UDPR solution for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. For the UR problem, we study its min-k version: Given ε>0, find a feasible solution with the minimum number k ^∗ of unimodal curves for f\bf f with an error ε; its min-ε version: given k>0, compute the minimum error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible solution with at most k unimodal curves for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. For the FPR problem, we study its min-k version: Given ε>0, find one feasible curve with the minimum number k ^∗ of peaks for f\bf f with an error ε; its min-ε version: given k≥0, compute the minimum error ε ^∗ such that there is a feasible curve with at most k peaks for f\bf f with error ε ^∗. Little work has been done previously on solving these functional curve representation problems. We solve all the problems (except the UR min-ε version) in optimal O(n) time, and the UR min-ε version in O(n+mlog m) time, where m<n is the number of peaks of f\bf f. Our algorithms are based on new geometric observations and interesting techniques.     

A Note on Projecting the Cubic Lattice

It is shown that, given any (n−1)-dimensional lattice Λ, there is a vector v∈ℤ ⁿ such that the orthogonal projection of ℤ ⁿ onto v ^⊥ is, up to a similarity, arbitrarily close to Λ. The problem arises in attempting to find the largest cylinder anchored at two points of ℤ ⁿ and containing no other points of ℤ ⁿ .     

A QPTAS for TSP with Fat Weakly Disjoint Neighborhoods in Doubling Metrics

We consider the Traveling Salesman Problem with Neighborhoods (TSPN) in doubling metrics. The goal is to find a shortest tour that visits each of a collection of n subsets (regions or neighborhoods) in the underlying metric space. We give a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme (QPTAS) when the regions are what we call α-fat weakly disjoint. This notion combines the existing notions of diameter variation, fatness and disjointness for geometric objects and generalizes these notions to any arbitrary metric space. Intuitively, the regions can be grouped into a bounded number of types, where in each type, the regions have similar upper bounds for their diameters, and each such region can designate a point such that these points are far away from one another.     

How good is lebesgue measure?

So, what is the answer to the question “How good is Lebesgue measure?” In the class of invariant measures, Lebesgue measure seems to be the best candidate to be a canonical measure. In the class of countably additive not necessarily invariant measures, to find a universal measure we have to use a strong additional set-theoretical assumption and this seems to be too high a price. Thus the best improvement of Lebesgue measure seems to be the Banach construction of a finitely additive isometrically invariant extension of Lebesgue measure on the plane and line. However, such a measure does not exist on Rⁿ for n ≤ 3, and to keep the theory of measures uniform for all dimensions we cannot accept the Banach measure on the plane as the best solution to the measure problem. From this discussion it seems clear that there is no reason to depose Lebesgue measure from the place it has in modern mathematics. Lebesgue measure also has a nice topological property called regularity: for every EL and every ɛ > 0, there exists an open set V⊃E and closed set F ⊂ E such that m(V/F) < ɛ. It is not difficult to prove that Lebesgue measure is the richest countably additive measure having this property (see [Ru], Thm. 2.20, p. 50).     

Suites de longueur minimale associees a un ensemble normal donne

For a given subsetA of the set of real numbers, we search a sequence Λ=(λ _n) of real numbers such that bothA is the normal setB(Λ) associated to Λ, and Λ takes its values in a bounded interval, with a minimal lengthM. A lower bound ofM is obtained, which gives some necessary conditions of existency of such a bounded sequence Λ. More details are given whenA is a subset of the set of integers. In this case, the problem is to find a polynomialQ of lowest degree such that the productP.Q has non-negative coefficients, for some special given polynomialP.      

Quasi-<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis></Superscript> norm orthogonal Galerkin expansions in sums of Jacobi polynomials

In the study of differential equations on [ − 1,1] subject to linear homogeneous boundary conditions of finite order, it is often expedient to represent the solution in a Galerkin expansion, that is, as a sum of basis functions, each of which satisfies the given boundary conditions. In order that the functions be maximally distinct, one can use the Gram-Schmidt method to generate a set orthogonal with respect to a particular weight function. Here we consider all such sets associated with the Jacobi weight function, w(x) = (1 − x) ^α (1 + x) ^β . However, this procedure is not only cumbersome for sets of large degree, but does not provide any intrinsic means to characterize the functions that result. We show here that each basis function can be written as the sum of a small number of Jacobi polynomials, whose coefficients are found by imposing the boundary conditions and orthogonality to the first few basis functions only. That orthogonality of the entire set follows—a property we term “auto-orthogonality”—is remarkable. Additionally, these basis functions are shown to behave asymptotically like individual Jacobi polynomials and share many of the latter’s useful properties. Of particular note is that these basis sets retain the exponential convergence characteristic of Jacobi expansions for expansion of an arbitrary function satisfying the boundary conditions imposed. Further, the associated error is asymptotically minimized in an L ^p(α) norm given the appropriate choice of α = β. The rich algebraic structure underlying these properties remains partially obscured by the rather difficult form of the non-standard weighted integrals of Jacobi polynomials upon which our analysis rests. Nevertheless, we are able to prove most of these results in specific cases and certain of the results in the general case. However a proof that such expansions can satisfy linear boundary conditions of arbitrary order and form appears extremely difficult.     

Network Design Via Iterative Rounding Of Setpair Relaxations

A typical problem in network design is to find a minimum-cost sub-network H of a given network G such that H satisfies some prespecified connectivity requirements. Our focus is on approximation algorithms for designing networks that satisfy vertex connectivity requirements. Our main tool is a linear programming relaxation of the following setpair formulation due to Frank and Jordan: a setpair consists of two subsets of vertices (of the given network G); each setpair has an integer requirement, and the goal is to find a minimum-cost subset of the edges of G sucht hat each setpair is covered by at least as many edges as its requirement. We introduce the notion of skew bisupermodular functions and use it to prove that the basic solutions of the linear program are characterized by “non-crossing families” of setpairs. This allows us to apply Jain’s iterative rounding method to find approximately optimal integer solutions. We give two applications. (1) In the k-vertex connectivity problem we are given a (directed or undirected) graph G=(V,E) with non-negative edge costs, and the task is to find a minimum-cost spanning subgraph H such that H is k-vertex connected. Let n=|V|, and let ε<1 be a positive number such that k≤(1−ε)n. We give an -approximation algorithm for both problems (directed or undirected), improving on the previous best approximation guarantees for k in the range . (2)We give a 2-approximation algorithm for the element connectivity problem, matching the previous best approximation guarantee due to Fleischer, Jain and Williamson. * Supported in part by NSERC researchgran t OGP0138432. † Supported in part by NSF Career Award CCR-9875024.     

Dissipation of Convolution Powers in a Metric Group

In contrast to what is known about probability measures on locally compact groups, a metric group G can support a probability measure μ which is not carried on a compact subgroup but for which there exists a compact subset C⊆G such that the sequence μ ⁿ (C) fails to converge to zero as n tends to ∞. A noncompact metric group can also support a probability measure μ such that supp μ=G and the concentration functions of μ do not converge to zero. We derive a number of conditions which guarantee that the concentration functions in a metric group G converge to zero, and obtain a sufficient and necessary condition in order that a probability measure μ on G satisfy lim  _n→∞ μ ⁿ (C)=0 for every compact subset C⊆G. Supported by an NSERC Grant.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Centrum Straight-line Location Problem

A line is sought in the plane which minimizes the sum of the k largest (Euclidean) weighted distances from n given points. This problem generalizes the known straight-line center and median problems and, as far as the authors are aware, has not been tackled up to now. By way of geometric duality it is shown that such a line may always be found which either passes through two of the given points or lying at equal weighted distance from three of these. This allows construction of an algorithm to find all t-centrum lines for 1 ≤ t ≤ k in O((k + logn)n ³). Finally it is shown that both, the characterization of an optimal line and the algorithm, can be extended to any smooth norm.     

The 2-circle and 2-disk problems on trees

Our purpose here is to consider on a homogeneous tree two Pompeiutype problems which classically have been studied on the plane and on other geometric manifolds. We obtain results which have remarkably the same flavor as classical theorems. Given a homogeneous tree, letd(x, y) be the distance between verticesx andy, and letf be a function on the vertices. For each vertexx and nonnegative integern let Σ _n f(x) be the sum Σ _{d(x, y)=n} f(y) and letB _n f(x)=Σ _{d(x, y)≦n} f(y). The purpose is to study to what extent Σ _n f andB _n f determinef. Since these operators are linear, this is really the study of their kernels. It is easy to find nonzero examples for which Σ _n f orB _n f vanish for one value ofn. What we do here is to study the problem for two values ofn, the 2-circle and the 2-disk problems (in the cases of Σ _n andB _n respectively). We show for which pairs of values there can exist non-zero examples and we classify these examples. We employ the combinatorial techniques useful for studying trees and free groups together with some number theory.     

The Radon-Nikodym theorem for von neumann algebras

Let ϕ be a faithful normal semi-finite weight on a von Neumann algebraM. For each normal semi-finite weight ϕ onM, invariant under the modular automorphism group Σ of ϕ, there is a unique self-adjoint positive operatorh, affiliated with the sub-algebra of fixed-points for Σ, such that ϕ=ϕ(h·). Conversely, each suchh determines a Σ-invariant normal semi-finite weight. An easy application of this non-commutative Radon-Nikodym theorem yields the result thatM is semi-finite if and only if Σ consists of inner automorphisms. Partially supported by NSF Grant # 28976 X. Partially supported by NSF Grant # GP-28737 This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Icosahedral galois extensions and elliptic curves

Summary This paper is devoted to the last unsolved case of the Artin Conjecture in two dimensions. Given an irreducible 2-dimensional complex representation of the absolute Galois group of a number fieldF, the Artin Conjecture states that the associatedL-series is entire. The conjecture has been proved for all cases except the icosahedral one. In this paper we construct icosahedral representations of the absolute Galois group of ℚ(√5) by means of 5-torsion points of an elliptic curve defined over ℚ. We compute the L-series explicitely as an Euler product, giving algorithms for determining the factors at the difficult primes. We also prove a formula for the conductor of the elliptic representation. A feasible way of proving the Artin Conjecture in a given case is to construct a modular form whose L-series matches the one obtained from the representation. In this paper we obtain the following result: letρ be an elliptic Galois representation over ℚ(√5) of the type above, and letL(s, ρ) be the corresponding L-series. If there exists a Hilbert modular formf of weight one such thatL(s, f) ≡L(s, ρ) modulo a certain ideal above (√5), then the Artin conjecture is true forρ. This article was processed by the author using the LATEX style filecljour1m from Springer-Verlag.