A local index theorem for families of\bar \partial -operators on punctured Riemann surfaces and a new Kähler metric on their moduli spaceson punctured Riemann surfaces and a new Kähler metric on their moduli spaces

We prove a local index theorem for families of \(\bar \partial \) -operators on Riemann surfaces of type (g, n), i.e. of genusg withn>0 punctures. We calculate the first Chern form of the determinant line bundle on the Teichmüller spaceT _g,n endowed with Quillen's metric (where the role of the determinant of the Laplace operators is played by the values of the Selberg zeta function at integer points). The result differs from the case of compact Riemann surfaces by an additional term, which turns out to be the Kähler form of a new Kähler metric on the moduli space of punctured Riemann surfaces. As a corollary of this result we derive, for instance, an analog of Mumford's isomorphism in the case of the universal curve.     

Comment on “On the controversy around Daganzo’s requiem for and Aw-Rascle’s resurrection of second-order traffic flow models" by D. Helbing and A.F. Johansson

There has been a debate in the transportation research community over the validity of a class of traffic flow models. These models have the peculiar property that one of its characteristic speeds is faster than that of vehicular traffic. This note attempts to provide an overview of the diverging views on how to interpret this property, and specific comments on the interpretation of Helbing and Johansson [On the controversy around Daganzo’s requiem for and Aw-Rascle’s resurrection of second-order traffic flow models, Eur. Phys. J. B (2009), DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2009-00182-7]. We showed that having faster-than-traffic characteristics does produce counterintuitive predictions, and they cannot be explained away by a linear stability analysis. As such, the existence of such characteristics must be justified by the physics of traffic, and verified through empirical observations.     

Reply to comment on “On the controversy around Daganzo’s requiem for and Aw-Rascle’s resurrection of second-order traffic flow models” by H.M. Zhang

This contribution compares several different approaches allowing one to derive macroscopic traffic equation directly from microscopic car-following models. While it is shown that some conventional approaches lead to theoretical problems, it is proposed to use an approach reminding of smoothed particle hydrodynamics to avoid gradient expansions. The derivation circumvents approximations and, therefore, demonstrates the large range of validity of macroscopic traffic equations, without the need of averaging over many vehicles. It also gives an expression for the “traffic pressure”, which generalizes previously used formulas. Furthermore, the method avoids theoretical inconsistencies of macroscopic traffic models, which have been criticized in the past by Daganzo and others.     

On a characteristic of the first eigenvalue of the Dirac operator on compact spin symmetric spaces with a Kähler or Quaternion-Kähler structure

It is shown that on a compact spin symmetric space with a Kähler or Quaternion-Kähler structure, the first eigenvalue of the Dirac operator is linked to a “lowest” action of the holonomy, given by the fiberwise action on spinors of the canonical forms characterized by this holonomy. The result is also verified for the symmetric space $F_4/{\mathrm{Spin}}_9$, proving that it is valid for all the “possible” holonomies in Berger’s list occurring in that context. The proof is based on a characterization of the first eigenvalue of the Dirac operator given in Milhorat (2005) and Milhorat (2006). By the way, we review an incorrect statement in the proof of the first lemma in Milhorat (2005).     

Remarks on a recent article of Ch. Obcemea and E. Brändas on the theory of subdynamics

In a recent paper on the theory of subdynamics, Ch. Obcemea and E. Brändas (Ann. Phys (N.Y.)151 (1983), 383–430) claimed to correct a recently published result (M. Courbage, J. Math. Phys.23 (1982), 646, 652). It is shown that this criticism is unfounded. Some additional remarks are made.     

Reexamination of the InSb(111) and GaSb(111) structures: Comment on ‘disorder in the reconstructed (111)2×2 surfaces of InSb and GaSb’ BY A. Belzner,E. Ritter and H. Schulz

A recent article [Surface Sci. 209 (1989) 379] has attempted to improve the agreement between our original X-ray diffraction data [Phys. Rev. Letters 54 (1985) 1275; Surface Sci. 186 (1987) 499] and the proposed distorted vacancy model by the introduction of an additional, partially occupied atom in the unit cell. Here we show that almost as much improvement can be obtained by introducing second-layer displacements into the original structure. This raises questions of uniqueness in crystallographic structure determination and the level of detail attainable without overinterpretation of data.