The parity of Farey denominators and the Farey index

A function E(b,s) is defined on the set implicitly, by a functional equation. Various conjectures arise from tables and some of these are proved. This function is then related to a partial sum of Farey indices weighted according to the parity of the Farey denominators. An explicit formula for E(b,s) is given, together with sharp bounds, and these show that the weighted partial sums of Farey indices are much smaller than expected. The explicit formula was determined from numerical trials: the question arises whether a constructive derivation from the functional equation should be possible in these and similar circumstances.     

Newman's phenomenon for generalized Thue-Morse sequences

Let t_j=(-1)^s(j) be the Thue-Morse sequence with s(j) denoting the sum of the digits in the binary expansion of j. A well-known result of Newman [On the number of binary digits in a multiple of three, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 21 (1969) 719-721] says that t₀+t₃+t₆+?+t_3k>0 for all k?0.In the first part of the paper we show that t₁+t₄+t₇+?+t_3k+1<0 and t₂+t₅+t₈+?+t_3k+2?0 for k?0, where equality is characterized by means of an automaton. This sharpens results given by Dumont [Discrépance des progressions arithmétiques dans la suite de Morse, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Sér. I Math. 297 (1983) 145-148]. In the second part we study more general settings. For a,g?2 let ω_a=exp(2πi/a) and , where s_g(j) denotes the sum of digits in the g-ary digit expansion of j. We observe trivial Newman-like phenomena whenever a|(g-1). Furthermore, we show that the case a=2 inherits many Newman-like phenomena for every even g?2 and large classes of arithmetic progressions of indices. This, in particular, extends results by Drmota and Ska?ba [Rarified sums of the Thue-Morse sequence, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 352 (2000) 609-642] to the general g-case.     

Orthogonal random vectors and the Hurwitz-Radon-Eckmann theorem

In several different aspects of algebra and topology the following problem is of interest: find the maximal number of unitary antisymmetric operatorsU _i inH = ℝ ⁿ with the propertyU _i U _j = −U _j U _i (i≠j). The solution of this problem is given by the Hurwitz-Radon-Eckmann formula. We generalize this formula in two directions: all the operatorsU _i must commute with a given arbitrary self-adjoint operator andH can be infinite-dimensional. Our second main result deals with the conditions for almost sure orthogonality of two random vectors taking values in a finite or infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaceH. Finally, both results are used to get the formula for the maximal number of pairwise almost surely orthogonal random vectors inH with the same covariance operator and each pair having a linear support inH⊕H. The paper is based on the results obtained jointly with N.P. Kandelaki (see [1,2,3]).     

Voisinages dérivés ε-barycentriques

Let Y be a finite full subcomplex of a simplicial complex X. For any subdivision X′ of X keeping Y invariant, and for ε small enough relatively to X′, we define the ε-barycentric derived neighbourhood V_ε(X′,Y) of Y in X′. Theorem: for small enoughε, and for any simplexKofY, the transverse stars ofKinV_ε(X,Y) andV_ε(X′,Y) have the same support. As a consequence, we derive at the end of the paper a decomposition theorem for p.l. homeomorphisms of a polyhedron keeping a finite subpolyhedron invariant. Keywords: Polyhedron; Simplicial complex; Derived neighbourhood; p.l. homeomorphism     

Polaroid operators satisfying Weyl’s theorem

A Banach space operator T is polaroid and satisfies Weyl’s theorem if and only if T is Kato type at points λ ∈ iso σ(T) and has SVEP at points λ not in the Weyl spectrum of T. For such operators T, f(T) satisfies Weyl’s theorem for every non-constant function f analytic on a neighborhood of σ(T) if and only if f(T^∗) satisfies Weyl’s theorem.     

A solution to de Groot’s absolute cone conjecture

A compactum X is an ‘absolute cone’ if, for each of its points x, the space X is homeomorphic to a cone with x corresponding to the cone point. In 1971, J. de Groot conjectured that each n-dimensional absolute cone is an n-cell. In this paper, we give a complete solution to that conjecture. In particular, we show that the conjecture is true for n≤3 and false for n≥5. For n=4, the absolute cone conjecture is true if and only if the 3-dimensional Poincaré Conjecture is true.     

An improvement for the large sieve for square moduli

We establish a result on the large sieve with square moduli. These bounds improve recent results by S. Baier [S. Baier, On the large sieve with sparse sets of moduli, J. Ramanujan Math. Soc. 21 (2006) 279-295] and L. Zhao [L. Zhao, Large sieve inequality for characters to square moduli, Acta Arith. 112 (3) (2004) 297-308].     

Products of random variables and the first digit phenomenon

We provide conditions on dependent and on non-stationary random variables $X_n$ ensuring that the mantissa of the sequence of products $\left({\prod }_1^n{X}_k\right)$ is almost surely distributed following Benford’s law or converges in distribution to Benford’s law. This is achieved through proving new generalizations of Lévy’s and Robbins’s results on distribution modulo 1 of sums of independent random variables.     

Milnor's μ-invariants,Massey products and Whitney's trick in 4 dimensions

We present the failure of Whitney's lemma in dimension 4 from the homotopical and topological viewpoints. Those are detected by Massey products. The invariants for the examples represented by framed links are computed in terms of Milnor's $\text{μ}$-invariants.     

The Bezoutian, state space realizations and Fisher’s information matrix of an ARMA process

In this paper we derive some properties of the Bezout matrix and relate the Fisher information matrix for a stationary ARMA process to the Bezoutian. Some properties are explained via realizations in state space form of the derivatives of the white noise process with respect to the parameters. A factorization of the Fisher information matrix as a product in factors which involve the Bezout matrix of the associated AR and MA polynomials is derived. From this factorization we can characterize singularity of the Fisher information matrix.     

Discrepancy of Fractions with Divisibility Constraints

We provide bounds for the absolute discrepancy of sequences of fractions with denominators streaming in a given arithmetic progression and satisfying divisibility constraints. Supported by the CERES Program 4-147/2004 of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research.     

Density of sets of natural numbers and the Lévy group

Let N denote the set of positive integers. The asymptotic density of the set A⊆N is d(A)=limn→∞|A∩[1,n]|/n, if this limit exists. Let AD denote the set of all sets of positive integers that have asymptotic density, and let SN denote the set of all permutations of the positive integers N. The group L^? consists of all permutations f∈SN such that A∈AD if and only if f(A)∈AD, and the group L^* consists of all permutations f∈L^? such that d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Let be a one-to-one function such that d(f(N))=1 and, if A∈AD, then f(A)∈AD. It is proved that f must also preserve density, that is, d(f(A))=d(A) for all A∈AD. Thus, the groups L^? and L^* coincide.     

The homology of cyclic branched covers ofS 3

Partially supported by NSF grant DMS-9208052 and the MSRI NSF grant DMS-9022140. The author held an MSRI Research Professorship while the paper was being written     

Waldhausen's theory of k-fold end structures: a survey

Let R⁺ be the space of nonnegative real numbers. F. Waldhausen defines a k-fold end structure on a space X as an ordered k-tuple of continuous maps x_f:X → R⁺, 1 ? j ? k, yielding a proper map x:X → (R⁺)^k. The pairs (X,x) are made into the category E^k of spaces with k-fold end structure. Attachments and expansions in E^k are defined by induction on k, where elementary attachments and expansions in E⁰ have their usual meaning. The category E^k/Z consists of objects (X, i) where i: Z → X is an inclusion in E^k with an attachment of i(Z) to X, and the category E^k6Z consists of pairs (X,i) of E^k/Z that admit retractions X → Z. An infinite complex over Z is a sequence X = {X₁ ? X₂ ? … ? X_n …} of inclusions in E^k6Z. The abelian grou p S₀(Z) is then defined as the set of equivalence classes of infinite complexes dominated by finite ones, where the equivalence relation is generated by homotopy equivalence and finite attachment; and the abelian group S₁(Z) is defined as the set of equivalence classes of X₁, where X ∈ E^k/Z deformation retracts to Z. The group operations are gluing over Z. This paper presents the Waldhausen theory with some additions and in particular the proof of Waldhausen's proposition that there exists a natural exact sequence 0 → S₁(Z × R)→^πS₀(Z) by utilizing methods of L.C. Siebenmann. Waldhausen developed this theory while seeking to prove the topological invariance of Whitehead torsion; however, the end structures also have application in studying the splitting of a noncompact manifold as a product with R[1].     

A note on Thue's equation over function fields

By a refinement of Mason's method we improve upon the estimate of the height of solutions of Thue's equation over function fields. We also give an application to the diophantine approximation of algebraic functions.     

The homology of irregular dihedral branched covers ofS 3

Partially supported by NSF grant DMS-9208052 and the MSRI NSF grant DMS-9022140. The author held an MSRI Research Professorship while the paper was being written     

On a refinement of Craig’s lattices

Let p be an odd prime. A family of (p−1)-dimensional over-lattices yielding new record packings for several values of p in the interval [149…3001] is presented. The result is obtained by modifying Craig’s construction and considering conveniently chosen Z-submodules of Q(ζ), where ζ is a primitive pth root of unity. For p≥59, it is shown that the center density of the (p−1)-dimensional lattice in the new family is at least twice the center density of the (p−1)-dimensional Craig lattice.     

Homology representations arising from the half cube

We construct a CW decomposition Cn of the n-dimensional half cube in a manner compatible with its structure as a polytope. For each 3?k?n, the complex Cn has a subcomplex Cn,k, which coincides with the clique complex of the half cube graph if k=4. The homology of Cn,k is concentrated in degree k−1 and furthermore, the (k−1)st Betti number of Cn,k is equal to the (k−2)nd Betti number of the complement of the k-equal real hyperplane arrangement. These Betti numbers, which also appear in theoretical computer science, numerical analysis and engineering, are the coefficients of a certain Pascal-like triangle (Sloane's sequence A119258). The Coxeter groups of type Dn act naturally on the complexes Cn,k, and thus on the associated homology groups.