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.     

Faithful Representations of Free Products

In 1940 Nisnevi published the following theorem [3]. Let (G) be a family of groups indexed by some set and (F) a family of fields of the same characteristic p0. Iffor each the group G has a faithful representation of degreen over F then the free product* G has a faithful representationof degree n+1 over some field of characteristic p. In [6] Wehrfritzextended this idea. If (G) GL(n, F) is a family of subgroupsfor which there exists ZGL(n, F) such that for all the intersectionGF.1_n=Z, then the free product of the groups *_ZG with Z amalgamatedvia the identity map is isomorphic to a linear group of degreen over some purely transcendental extension of F. Initially, the purpose of this paper was to generalize theseresults from the linear to the skew-linear case, that is, togroups isomorphic to subgroups of GL(n, D) where the D are divisionrings. In fact, many of the results can be generalized to ringswhich, although not necessarily commutative, contain no zero-divisors.We have the following.     

Set Theory is Interpretable in the Automorphism Group of an Infinitely Generated Free Group

In [6] S. Shelah showed that in the endomorphism semi-groupof an infinitely generated algebra which is free in a varietyone can interpret some set theory. It follows from his resultsthat, for an algebra F which is free of infinite rank in avariety of algebras in a language L, if > |L|, then thefirst-order theory of the endomorphism semi-group of F, Th(End(F)),syntactically interprets Th(,L₂), the second-order theory ofthe cardinal . This means that for any second-order sentence of empty language there exists *, a first-order sentence ofsemi-group language, such that for any infinite cardinal >|L|, Th(,L₂)*Th(End(F)) In his paper Shelah notes that it is natural to study a similarproblem for automorphism groups instead of endomorphism semi-groups;a priori the expressive power of the first-order logic for automorphismgroups is less than the one for endomorphism semi-groups. Forinstance, according to Shelah's results on permutation groups[4, 5], one cannot interpret set theory by means of first-orderlogic in the permutation group of an infinite set, the automorphismgroup of an algebra in empty language. On the other hand, onecan do this in the endomorphism semi-group of such an algebra. In [7, 8] the author found a solution for the case of the varietyof vector spaces over a fixed field. If V is a vector spaceof an infinite dimension over a division ring D, then the theoryTh(, L₂) is interpretable in the first-order theory of GL(V),the automorphism group of V. When a field D is countable anddefinable up to isomorphism by a second-order sentence, thenthe theories Th(GL(V)) and Th(, L₂) are mutually syntacticallyinterpretable. In the general case, the formulation is a bitmore complicated. The main result of this paper states that a similar result holdsfor the variety of all groups.     

The Non-Finite Presentability of the Automorphism Group of the Free Z-Group of Rank Two

Let G be a group, and let F_n[G] be the free G-group of rankn. Then F_n[G] is just the natural non-abelian analogue of thefree ZG-module of rank n, and correspondingly the group _n(G)of equivariant automorphisms of F_n[G] is a natural analogueof the general linear group GL_n(ZG). The groups _n(G) have beenstudied recently in [4, 8, 5]. In particular, in [5] it wasshown that if G is not finitely presentable (f.p.) then neitheris _n(G), and conversely, that _n(G) is f.p. if G is f.p. andn2. It is a common phenomenon that for small ranks the automorphismgroups of free objects may behave unstably (see the survey article[2]), and the main aim of the present paper is to show thatthis turns out to be the case for the groups ₂(G).     

Support Varieties of Non-Restricted Modules over Lie Algebras of Reductive Groups

Let G be a connected semisimple group over an algebraicallyclosed field K of characteristic p>0, and g=Lie (G). Fixa linear function g* and let Z_g() denote the stabilizer of in g. Set N_p(g)={xg|x^[p]=0}. Let C(g) denote the category offinite-dimensional g-modules with p-character . In [7], Friedlanderand Parshall attached to each MOb(C(g)) a Zariski closed, conicalsubset V_g(M)N_p(g) called the support variety of M. Suppose thatG is simply connected and p is not special for G, that is, p2if G has a component of type B_n, C_n or F₄, and p3 if G has acomponent of type G₂. It is proved in this paper that, for anynonzero MOb(C(g)), the support variety V_g(M) is contained inN_p(g)Z_g(). This allows one to simplify the proof of the Kac–Weisfeilerconjecture given in [18].     

A Criterion for the Existence of Transversals of Set Systems

Nash-Williams [6] formulated a condition that is necessary andsufficient for a countable family A=(A_i)_iI of sets to have atransversal. In [7] he proved that his criterion applies alsowhen we allow the set I to be arbitrary and require only that_iJA_i=Ø for any uncountable JI. In this paper, we formulateanother criterion of a similar nature, and prove that it isequivalent to the criterion of Nash-Williams for any familyu. We also present a self-contained proof that if _iJA_i=Øfor any uncountable JI, then our condition is necessary andsufficient for the family u to have a transversal.     

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].     

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.     

Metrical Theorems on Prime Values of the Integer Parts of Real Sequences II

Let [ ] denote the integer part. Among other results in [3]we gave a complete solution to the following problem. PROBLEM. Given an increasing sequence a_n R⁺, n = 1, 2, ...,where a_n as n , are there infinitely many primes in the sequence[a_n] for almost all ?     

On the Structure of Specht Modules

Most of our notation is taken from James [7], where furtherdetails of the representation theory of the symmetric groupsmay be found; note, however, that we write functions on theleft. Let n be a non-negative integer, and a partition of n. Saythat two -tableaux are row equivalent if one can be obtainedfrom the other by permuting the entries within each row, anddefine column equivalence similarly. Let _row and _col denotethese relations.     

Geometry of Critical Loci

Let :(Z,z)(U,0) be the germ of a finite (that is, proper with finite fibres)complex analytic morphism from a complex analytic normal surfaceonto an open neighbourhood U of the origin 0 in the complexplane C². Let u and v be coordinates of C² defined on U. Weshall call the triple (, u, v) the initial data. Let stand for the discriminant locus of the germ , that is,the image by of the critical locus of . Let ()_A be the branches of the discriminant locus at O whichare not the coordinate axes. For each A, we define a rational number d by where I(–, –) denotes the intersection number at0 of complex analytic curves in C². The set of rational numbersd, for A, is a finite subset D of the set of rational numbersQ. We shall call D the set of discriminantal ratios of the initialdata (, u, v). The interesting situation is when one of thetwo coordinates (u, v) is tangent to some branch of , otherwiseD = {1}. The definition of D depends not only on the choiceof the two coordinates, but also on their ordering. In this paper we prove that the set D is a topological invariantof the initial data (, u, v) (in a sense that we shall definebelow) and we give several ways to compute it. These resultsare first steps in the understanding of the geometry of thediscriminant locus. We shall also see the relation with thegeometry of the critical locus.     

On Simultaneous Diagonal Inequalities

Let F₁, ..., F_t be diagonal forms of degree k with real coefficientsin s variables, and let be a positive real number. The solubilityof the system of inequalities |F₁(x)|<,...,|F_t(x)|< in integers x₁, ..., x_s has been considered by a number of authorsover the last quarter-century, starting with the work of Cook[9] and Pitman [13] on the case t = 2. More recently, Brüdernand Cook [8] have shown that the above system is soluble providedthat s is sufficiently large in terms of k and t and that theforms F₁, ..., F_t satisfy certain additional conditions. Whathas not yet been considered is the possibility of allowing theforms F₁, ..., F_t to have different degrees. However, with therecent work of Wooley [18,20] on the corresponding problem forequations, the study of such systems has become a feasible prospect.In this paper we take a first step in that direction by studyingthe analogue of the system considered in [18] and [20]. Let₁, ..., _s and µ₁, ..., µ_s be real numbers such thatfor each i either _i or µ_i is nonzero. We define the forms and consider the solubility of the system of inequalities in rational integers x₁, ..., x_s. Although the methods developedby Wooley [19] hold some promise for studying more general systems,we do not pursue this in the present paper. We devote most ofour effort to proving the following theorem.     

Ramanujan's Eisenstein series and powers of Dedekind's eta-function

In this article, we use the theory of elliptic functions toconstruct theta function identities which are equivalent toMacdonald's identities for A₂, B₂ and G₂. Using these identities,we express, for d = 8, 10 or 14, certain theta functions inthe form ^d()F(P, Q, R), where () is Dedekind's eta-function,and F(P, Q, R) is a polynomial in Ramanujan's Eisenstein seriesP, Q and R. We also derive identities in the case when d = 26.These lead to a new expression for ²⁶(). This work generalizesthe results for d = 1 and d = 3 which were given by Ramanujanon page 369 of ‘The Lost Notebook’.     

Interpolation of Vector-Valued Real Analytic Functions

Let R^d be an open domain. The sequentially complete DF-spacesE are characterized such that for each (some) discrete sequence(z_n) , a sequence of natural numbers (k_n) and any family the infinite system of equations has an E-valued real analytic solution f.     

Asymptotic Cones of Finitely Generated Groups

Answering a question of Gromov [7], we shall present an exampleof a finitely generated group and two non-principal ultrafiltersA, B such that the asymptotic cones Con_A and Con_B are nothomeomorphic. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 20F06,20F32.     

Some Properties of Free Groups of Some Soluble Varieties of Groups

Let F be a free group, and let _n(F) be the nth term of the lowercentral series of F. It is proved that F/[_j(F), _i(F), _k(F)]and F/[_j(F), _i(F), _k(F), _l(F)] are torsion free and residuallynilpotent for certain values of i, j, k and i, j, k, l, respectively.In the process of proving this, it is proved that the analogousLie rings are torsion free.     

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.     

Identity Theorems for Functions of Bounded Characteristic

Suppose that f(z) is a meromorphic function of bounded characteristicin the unit disk :|z|<1. Then we shall say that f(z)N. Itfollows (for example from [3, Lemma 6.7, p. 174 and the following])that where h₁(z), h₂(z) are holomorphic in and have positive realpart there, while ₁(z), ₂(z) are Blaschke products, that is, where p is a positive integer or zero, 0<|a_j|<1, c isa constant and (1–|a_j|)<. We note in particular that, if c0, so that f(z)0, (1.1) so that f(z)=0 only at the points a_j. Suppose now that z_j isa sequence of distinct points in such that |z_j|1 as j and (1–|z_j|)=. (1.2) If f(z_j)=0 for each j and fN, then f(z)0. N. Danikas [1] has shown that the same conclusion obtains iff(z_j)0 sufficiently rapidly as j. Let _j, _j be sequences of positivenumbers such that _j< and _j as j. Danikas then defines and proves Theorem A.     

A Torsion-Free Milnor-Moore Theorem

Let X be the space of Moore loops on a finite, q-connected,n-dimensional CW complex X, and let R Q be a subring containing1/2. Let (R) be the least non-invertible prime in R. For a gradedR-module M of finite type, let FM = M/Torsion M. We show thatthe inclusion P FH_*(X;R) of the sub-Lie algebra of primitiveelements induces an isomorphism of Hopf algebras provided that (R) n/q. Furthermore, the Hurewiczhomomorphism induces an embedding of F(_*(X) R) in P, with P/F(_*(X)R)torsion. As a corollary, if X is elliptic, then FH_*(X;R) isa finitely generated R-algebra.