Limits Along Parallel Lines and the Classical Fine Topology

The fine topology on Rⁿ (n2) is the coarsest topology for whichall superharmonic functions on Rⁿ are continuous. We refer toDoob [11, 1.XI] for its basic properties and its relationshipto the notion of thinness. This paper presents several theoremsrelating the fine topology to limits of functions along parallellines. (Results of this nature for the minimal fine topologyhave been given by Doob – see [10, Theorem 3.1] or [11,1.XII.23] – and the second author [15].) In particular,we will establish improvements and generalizations of resultsof Lusin and Privalov [18], Evans [12], Rudin [20], Bagemihland Seidel [6], Schneider [21], Berman [7], and Armitage andNelson [4], and will also solve a problem posed by the latterauthors. An early version of our first result is due to Evans [12, p.234], who proved that, if u is a superharmonic function on R³,then there is a set ER²x{0}, of two-dimensional measure 0, suchthat u(x, y,·) is continuous on R whenever (x, y, 0)E.We denote a typical point of Rⁿ by X=(X' x), where X'R^n–1and xR. Let :RⁿR^n–1x{0} denote the projection map givenby (X', x) = (X', 0). For any function f:Rⁿ[–, +] andpoint X we define the vertical and fine cluster sets of f atX respectively by C_V(f;X)={l[–, +]: there is a sequence (t_m) of numbersin R\{x} such that t_mx and f(X', t_m)l}| and C_F(f;X)={l[–, +]: for each neighbourhood N of l in [–,+], the set f^–1(N) is non-thin at X}. Sets which are open in the fine topology will be called finelyopen, and functions which are continuous with respect to thefine topology will be called finely continuous. Corollary 1(ii)below is an improvement of Evans' result.     

On Positive Multipeak Solutions of a Nonlinear Elliptic Problem

In this paper we continue our investigation in [5, 7, 8] onmultipeak solutions to the problem –²u+u=Q(x)|u|^q–2u, xR^N, uH¹(R^N) (1.1) where = ^N_i=1²/x²_i is the Laplace operator in R^N, 2 < q < for N = 1, 2, 2 < q < 2N/(N–2) for N3, and Q(x)is a bounded positive continuous function on R^N satisfying thefollowing conditions. (Q₁) Q has a strict local minimum at some point x₀R^N, that is,for some > 0 Q(x)>Q(x₀) for all 0 < |x–x₀| < . (Q₂) There are constants C, > 0 such that |Q(x)–Q(y)|C|x–y| for all |x–x₀| , |y–y₀| . Our aim here is to show that corresponding to each strict localminimum point x₀ of Q(x) in R^N, and for each positive integerk, (1.1) has a positive solution with k-peaks concentratingnear x₀, provided is sufficiently small, that is, a solutionwith k-maximum points converging to x₀, while vanishing as 0 everywhere else in R^N.     

On the Discreteness and Convergence in n-Dimensional Mobius Groups

Throughout this paper, we adopt the same notations as in [1,6, 8] such as the Möbius group M(Rⁿ), the Clifford algebraC_n–1, the Clifford matrix group SL(2, _n), the Cliffordnorm of ||A||=(|a|²+|b|²+|c|²+|d|²) (1) and the Clifford metric of SL(2, _n) or of the Möbius groupM(Rⁿ) d(A₁,A₂)=||A₁–A₂||(|a₁–a₂|²+|b₁–b₂|²+|c₁–c₂|²+|d₁–d₂|²)(2) where |·| is the norm of a Clifford number and represents f_i M(), i = 1,2, and so on. In addition, we adopt some notions in [6, 12]:the elementary group, the uniformly bounded torsion, and soon. For example, the definition of the uniformly bounded torsionis as follows.     

Asymptotics for Fractional Nonlinear Heat Equations

The Cauchy problem is studied for the nonlinear equations withfractional power of the negative Laplacian where (0,2), with critical = /n and sub-critical (0,/n)powers of the nonlinearity. Let u₀ L^1,a L C, u₀(x) 0 in Rⁿ, = . The case of not small initial data is of interest. It is proved that the Cauchy problemhas a unique global solution u C([0,); L L^1,a C) and the largetime asymptotics are obtained.     

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Exponential Stability and Ultimate Boundedness of Systems Governed by Stochastic Partial Differential Equations

Consider the following infinite dimensional stochastic evolutionequation over some Hilbert space H with norm |·|: It is proved that under certain mild assumptions, the strongsolution X_t(x₀)VHV*, t 0, is mean square exponentially stableif and only if there exists a Lyapunov functional (·,·):HxR₊R¹ which satisfies the following conditions: (i)c₁|x|²–k₁e^–µ₁t(x,t)c₂|x|²+k₂+k₂e^–µ₂t; (ii) L(x,t)–c₃(x,t)+k₃e^–µ₃t, xV, t0; where L is the infinitesimal generator of the Markov processX_t and c_i, k_i, µ_i, i = 1, 2, 3, are positive constants.As a by-product, the characterization of exponential ultimateboundedness of the strong solution is established as the nulldecay rates (that is, µ_i = 0) are considered.     

A Class of Infinite Dimensional Simple Lie Algebras

Let A be an abelian group, F be a field of characteristic 0,and , ß be linearly independent additive maps fromA to F, and let ker()\{0}. Then there is a Lie algebra L = L(A,, ß, ) = _xA Fe_x under the product [e_x, e_y]]=(x–y)e_x+y+(ß) (x, y) e_x+y–. If, further, ß() = 1, and ß(A) = Z, thereis a subalgebra L⁺:=L(A⁺, , ß, ) = _xA⁺ Fe_x, whereA⁺ = {xA|ß(x)0}. The necessary and sufficient conditionsare given for L' = [L, L] and L⁺ to be simple, and all semi-simpleelements in L' and L⁺ are determined. It is shown that L' andL⁺ cannot be isomorphic to any other known Lie algebras andL' is not isomorphic to any L⁺, and all isomorphisms betweentwo L' and all isomorphisms between two L⁺ are explicitly described.     

Hypersurface Singularities with 2-Dimensional Critical Locus

Consider an analytic germ f:(C^m, 0)(C, 0) (m3) whose criticallocus is a 2-dimensional complete intersection with an isolatedsingularity (icis). We prove that the homotopy type of the Milnorfiber of f is a bouquet of spheres, provided that the extendedcodimension of the germ f is finite. This result generalizesthe cases when the dimension of the critical locus is zero [8],respectively one [12]. Notice that if the critical locus isnot an icis, then the Milnor fiber, in general, is not homotopicallyequivalent to a wedge of spheres. For example, the Milnor fiberof the germ f:(C⁴, 0)(C, 0), defined by f(x₁, x₂, x₃, x₄) =x₁x₂x₃x₄ has the homotopy type of S¹xS¹xS¹. On the other hand,the finiteness of the extended codimension seems to be the rightgeneralization of the isolated singularity condition; see forexample [9–12, 17, 18]. In the last few years different types of ‘bouquet theorems’have appeared. Some of them deal with germs f:(X, x)(C, 0) wheref defines an isolated singularity. In some cases, similarlyto the Milnor case [8], F has the homotopy type of a bouquetof (dim X–1)-spheres, for example when X is an icis [2],or X is a complete intersection [5]. Moreover, in [13] Siersmaproved that F has a bouquet decomposition FF₀Sⁿ...Sⁿ (whereF₀ is the complex link of (X, x)), provided that both (X, x)and f have an isolated singularity. Actually, Siersma conjecturedand Tibr proved [16] a more general bouquet theorem for thecase when (X, x) is a stratified space and f defines an isolatedsingularity (in the sense of the stratified spaces). In thiscase F_iF_i, where the F_i are repeated suspensions of complexlinks of strata of X. (If (X, x) has the ‘Milnor property’,then the result has been proved by Lê; for details see[6].) In our situation, the space-germ (X, x) is smooth, but f hasbig singular locus. Surprisingly, for dim Sing f^–1(0)2,the Milnor fiber is again a bouquet (actually, a bouquet ofspheres, maybe of different dimensions). This result is in thespirit of Siersma's paper [12], where dim Sing f^–1(0)= 1. In that case, there is only a rather small topologicalobstruction for the Milnor fiber to be homotopically equivalentto a bouquet of spheres (as explained in Corollary 2.4). Inthe present paper, we attack the dim Sing f^–1(0) = 2 case.In our investigation some results of Zaharia are crucial [17,18].     

A Mean Value Property of Poly-Temperatures on a Strip Domain

We consider the iterates of the heat operator on Rⁿ⁺¹={(X, t); X=(x₁, x₂, ..., x_n)Rⁿ, tR}. Let Rⁿ⁺¹ be a domain,and let m1 be an integer. A lower semi-continuous and locallyintegrable function u on is called a poly-supertemperatureof degree m if (–H)^mu0 on (in the sense of distribution). If u and –u are both poly-supertemperatures of degreem, then u is called a poly-temperature of degree m. Since His hypoelliptic, every poly-temperature belongs to C(), andhence (–H)^m u(X, t)=0 (X, t). For the case m=1, we simply call the functions the supertemperatureand the temperature. In this paper, we characterise a poly-temperature and a poly-supertemperatureon a strip D={(X, t);XRⁿ, 0<t<T} by an integral mean on a hyperplane. To state our result precisely,we define a mean A[·, ·]. This plays an essentialrole in our argument.     

Majorations Uniformes de Normes D'Inverses Dans Les Algebres de Beurling

The Beurling algebras l¹(D,)(D=N,Z) that are semi-simple, withcompact Gelfand transform, are considered. The paper gives anecessary and sufficient condition (on ) such that l¹(D,) possessesa uniform quantitative version of Wiener's theorem in the sensethat there exists a function :]0,+[]0,+ such that, for everyinvertible element x in the unit ball of l¹(D,), we have ||x^–1||(r(x^–1)) r(x^–1) is the spectral radiusof x^–1.     

On Simultaneously Badly Approximable Numbers

For any pair i,j 0 with i+j=1 let Bad(i,j) denote the set ofpairs (,ß) R² for which max{||q||^1/i||qß|^1/j}>c/qfor all q N. Here c=c(,ß) is a positive constant.If i=0 the set Bad(0, 1) is identified with RxBad where Badis the set of badly approximable numbers. That is, Bad(0, 1)consists of pairs (, ß) with R and ß Bad If j=0 the roles of and ß are reversed. It isproved that the set Bad(1,0)Bad (0,1) Bad(i,j) has Hausdorffdimension 2, that is, full dimension. The method easily generalizesto give analogous statements in higher dimensions.     

A Priori Estimates and Existence of Positive Solutions for a Quasilinear Elliptic Equation

On the basis of some new Liouville theorems, under suitableconditions, a priori estimates are obtained of positive solutionsof the problem where R^N (N 2) is a bounded smooth domain, p>1 and isa parameter, , q are given constants such that p–1<<p*–1, <q, p*=Np/(N–p) if N > p and p*= when N p, and a(x) is a continuous nonnegative function. Makinguse of the Leray–Schauder degree of a compact mappingand a priori estimates, the paper finds that the problem abovepossesses at least one positive solution. It also discussesthe corresponding perturbed problem, where a(x) is replacedby a(x)+, >0. The results are strikingly different from thoseobtained for the case =p–1.     

Rational Points on a Class of Superelliptic Curves

A famous Diophantine equation is given by y^k=(x+1)(x+2)...(x+m). (1) For integers k2 and m2, this equation only has the solutionsx = –j (j = 1, ..., m), y = 0 by a remarkable result ofErds and Selfridge [9] in 1975. This put an end to the old questionof whether the product of consecutive positive integers couldever be a perfect power (except for the obviously trivial cases).In a letter to D. Bernoulli in 1724, Goldbach (see [7, p. 679])showed that (1) has no solution with x0 in the case k = 2 andm = 3. In 1857, Liouville [18] derived from Bertrand's postulatethat for general k2 and m2, there is no solution with x0 ifone of the factors on the right-hand side of (1) is prime. Byuse of the Thue–Siegel theorem, Erds and Siegel [10] provedin 1940 that (1) has only trivial solutions for all sufficientlylarge kk₀ and all m. This was closely related to Siegel's earlierresult [30] from 1929 that the superelliptic equation y^k=f(x) has at most finitely many integer solutions x, y under appropriateconditions on the polynomial f(x). The ineffectiveness of k₀was overcome by Baker's method [1] in 1969 (see also [2]). In 1955, Erds [8] managed to re-prove the result jointly obtainedwith Siegel by elementary methods. A refinement of Erds' ideasfinally led to the above-mentioned theorem as follows.     

Concavity and B-Concavity of Solutions of Quasilinear Filtration Equations

Spatial concavity properties of non-negative weak solutionsof the filtration equations with absorption u_t = ((u))_xx–(u)in Q = Rx(0, ), '0, 0 are studied. Under certain assumptionson the coefficients , it is proved that concavity of the pressurefunction is a consequence of a ‘weak’ convexityof travelling-wave solutions of the form V(x, t) = (x–t+a).It is established that the global structure of a so-called properset B = {V} of such particular solutions determines a propertyof B-concavity for more general solutions which is preservedin time. For the filtration equation u_t = ((u))_xx a semiconcavityestimate for the pressure, v_xx(t+)^–1'(), due to the B-concavityof the solution to the subset B of the explicit self-similarsolutions (x/t+)) is proved. The analysis is based on the intersection comparison based onthe Sturmian argument of the general solution u(x, t) with subsetsB of particular solutions. Also studied are other aspects ofthe B-concavity/convexity with respect to different subsetsof explicit solutions.     

Irregularities of Point Distribution Relative to Convex Polygons III

Suppose that P is a distribution of N points in the unit squareU=[0, 1]². For every x=(x₁, x₂)U, let B(x)=[0, x₁]x[0, x₂] denotethe aligned rectangle containing all points y=(y₁, y₂)U satisfying0y₁x₁ and 0y₂x₂. Denote by Z[P; B(x)] the number of points ofP that lie in B(x), and consider the discrepancy function D[P; B(x)]=Z[P; B(x)]–Nµ(B(x)), where µ denotes the usual area measure.     

The Finite Subsets of Z2 Having the Extension Property

The paper considers finite subsets Z^d which possess the extensionproperty, namely that every collection {c_k}_k– of complexnumbers which is positive definite with respect to is the restrictionof the Fourier coefficients of some positive measure on T^d.All finite subsets of Z² which possess the extension propertyare described.     

On the Greatest Prime Divisor of the Sum of Two Squares of Primes

One of the most famous theorems in number theory states thatthere are infinitely many positive prime numbers (namely p =2 and the primes p 1 mod4) that can be represented in the formx²₁+x²₂, where x₁ and x₂ are positive integers. In a recentpaper, Fouvry and Iwaniec [2] have shown that this statementremains valid even if one of the variables, say x₂, is restrictedto prime values only. In the sequel, the letter p, possiblywith an index, is reserved to denote a positive prime number.As p²₁=p²₂ = p is even for p₁, p₂ > 2, it is reasonable toconjecture that the equation p²₁=p²₂ = 2p has an infinity ofsolutions. However, a proof of this statement currently seemsfar beyond reach. As an intermediate step in this direction,one may quantify the problem by asking what can be said aboutlower bounds for the greatest prime divisor, say P(N), of thenumbers p²₁=p²₂, where p₁, p₂ N, as a function of the realparameter N 1. The well-known Chebychev–Hooley methodcombined with the Barban–Davenport–Halberstam theoremalmost immediately leads to the bound P(N) N^1–, if N N_o(); here, denotes some arbitrarily small fixed positivereal number. The first estimate going beyond the exponent 1has been achieved recently by Dartyge [1, Théorème1], who showed that P(N) N^10/9–. Note that Dartyge'sproof provides the more general result that for any irreduciblebinary form f of degree d 2 with integer coefficients the greatestprime divisor of the numbers |f(p₁, p₂)|, p₁, p₂ N, exceedsN^_d–, where _d = 2 – 8/(d = 7). We in particular wantto point out that Dartyge does not make use of the specificfeatures provided by the form x²₁+x²₂. By taking advantage ofsome special properties of this binary form, we are able toimprove upon the exponent ₂ = 10/9 considerably.     

The Bestvina-Brady Construction Revisited: Geometric Computation of {sum}-Invariants for Right-Angled Artin Groups

The starting point of our investigation is the remarkable paper[2] in which Bestvina and Brady gave an example of an infinitelyrelated group of type FP₂. The result about right-angled Artingroups behind their example is best interpreted by means ofthe Bieri–Strebel–Neumann–Renz -invariants. For a group G the invariants ⁿ(G) and ⁿ(G, Z) are sets of non-trivialhomomorphisms :GR. They contain full information about finitenessproperties of subgroups of G with abelian factor groups. Themain result of [2] determines for the canonical homomorphism, taking each generator of the right-angled Artin group G to1, the maximal n with ⁿ(G), respectively ⁿ(G, Z). In [6] Meier, Meinert and VanWyk completed the picture by computingthe full -invariants of right-angled Artin groups using as wellthe result of Bestvina and Brady as algebraic techniques from-theory. Here we offer a new account of their result which istotally geometric. In fact, we return to the Bestvina–Bradyconstruction and simplify their argument considerably by bringinga more general notion of links into play. At the end of thefirst section we re-prove their main result. By re-computingthe full -invariants, we show in the second section that thesimplification even adds some power to the method. The criterionwe give provides new insight on the geometric nature of the‘n-domination’ condition employed in [6].     

On Borel Sets in Function Spaces with the Weak Topology

It is proved that the duality map ,:(, weak)x(()*, weak*)R isnot Borel. More generally, the evaluation e:(C)(K),x KR, e(f,x) = f(x), is not Borel for any function space C(K) on a compactF-space. It is also shown that a non-coincidence of norm-Boreland weak-Borel sets in a function space does not imply thatthe duality map is non-Borel.     

On the Boundedness and Compactness of a Class of Integral Operators

Let > 0. The operator of the form is considered, where the real weight function v(x) is locallyintegrable on R⁺ := (0, ). In case v(x) = 1 the operator coincideswith the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral, L^p L^qestimates of which with power weights are well known. This workgives L^p L^qboundedness and compactness criteria for the operatorT in the case 0 < p, q < , p > max(1/, 1).     

Reciprocating the Regular Polytopes

For reciprocation with respect to a sphere x²=c in Euclideann-space, there is a unitary analogue: Hermitian reciprocationwith respect to an antisphere u=c. This is now applied, forthe first time, to complex polytopes. When a regular polytope has a palindromic Schläfli symbol,it is self-reciprocal in the sense that its reciprocal ', withrespect to a suitable concentric sphere or antisphere, is congruentto . The present article reveals that and ' usually have togetherthe same vertices as a third polytope ⁺ and the same facet-hyperplanesas a fourth polytope ^– (where ⁺ and ^– are againregular), so as to form a ‘compound’, ⁺[2]^–.When the geometry is real, ⁺ is the convex hull of and ', while^– is their common content or ‘core’. For instance,when is a regular p-gon {p}, the compound is The exceptions are of two kinds. In one, ⁺ and ^– are notregular. The actual cases are when is an n-simplex {3, 3, ...,3} with n4 or the real 4-dimensional 24-cell {3, 4, 3}=2{3}2{4}2{3}2or the complex 4-dimensional Witting polytope 3{3}3{3}3{3}3.The other kind of exception arises when the vertices of arethe poles of its own facet-hyperplanes, so that , ', ⁺ and ^–all coincide. Then is said to be strongly self-reciprocal.