Numerical properties of Chern classes of certain covering manifolds

In this paper, we study numerical properties of Chern classes of certain covering manifolds. One of the main results is the following: Let ψ : X → Pⁿ be a finite covering of the n-dimensional complex projective space branched along a hypersurface with only simple normal crossings and suppose X is nonsingular. Let c_i(X) be the i-th Chern class of X. Then (i) if the canonical divisor K_X is numerically effective, then (−1)^kc_k(X) (k ≥ 2) is numerically positive, and (ii) if X is of general type, then (−1)ⁿcⁱ_l (X) cⁱ_r, (X) > 0, where i_l + … + i_r = n. Furthermore we show that the same properties hold for certain Kummer coverings.     

Vertex Set Partitions Preserving Conservativeness

Let G be an undirected graph and ={X₁, …, X_n} be a partition of V(G). Denote by G/ the graph which has vertex set {X₁, …, X_n}, edge set E, and is obtained from G by identifying vertices in each class X_i of the partition . Given a conservative graph (G, w), we study vertex set partitions preserving conservativeness, i.e., those for which (G/ , w) is also a conservative graph. We characterize the conservative graphs (G/ , w), where is a terminal partition of V(G) (a partition preserving conservativeness which is not a refinement of any other partition of this kind). We prove that many conservative graphs admit terminal partitions with some additional properties. The results obtained are then used in new unified short proofs for a co-NP characterization of Seymour graphs by A. A. Ageev, A. V. Kostochka, and Z. Szigeti (1997, J. Graph Theory34, 357–364), a theorem of E. Korach and M. Penn (1992, Math. Programming55, 183–191), a theorem of E. Korach (1994, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B62, 1–10), and a theorem of A. V. Kostochka (1994, in “Discrete Analysis and Operations Research. Mathematics and its Applications (A. D. Korshunov, Ed.), Vol. 355, pp. 109–123, Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht).     

Precise asymptotics in some strong limit theorems for multidimensionally indexed random variables

Consider Z₊^d (d2)—the positive d-dimensional lattice points with partial ordering , let {X_k,kZ₊^d} be i.i.d. random variables with mean 0, and set S_n=∑_knX_k, nZ₊^d. We establish precise asymptotics for ∑_n|n|^r/p−2P(|S_n||n|^1/p), and for

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, (0δ1) as 0, and for

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as .     

On improved estimators of the generalized variance

Treated in this paper is the problem of estimating with squared error loss the generalized variance | Σ | from a Wishart random matrix S: p × p W_p(n, Σ) and an independent normal random matrix X: p × k N(ξ, Σ I_k) with ξ(p × k) unknown. Denote the columns of X by X₍₁₎ ,…, X_(k) and set ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X) = {(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S |, ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(X, X) = min[ψ⁽ⁱ⁻¹⁾(S, X), {(n − p + i + 2)!/(n + i + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎ X′₍₁₎ + + X_(i) X′_(i) |] and Ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X) = min[ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X), {(n − p + i + 2)!/(n + i + 2)!}| S + X₍₁₎ X′₍₁₎ + + X_(i) X′_(i) |], i = 1,…,k. Our result is that the minimax, best affine equivariant estimator ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X) is dominated by each of Ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X), i = 1,…,k and for every i, ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X) is better than ψ⁽ⁱ⁻¹⁾(S, X). In particular, ψ^(k)(S, X) = min[{(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S |, {(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎X′₍₁₎|,…,| {(n − p + k + 2)!/(n + k + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎X′₍₁₎ + + X_(k)X′_(k)|] dominates all other ψ's. It is obtained by considering a multivariate extension of Stein's result (Ann. Inst. Statist. Math. 16, 155–160 (1964)) on the estimation of the normal variance.     

A self-normalized Erd s—Rényi type strong law of large numbers

The original Erd s—Rényi theorem states that max_0kn∑^k+[clogn]_i=k+1X_i/[clogn]→α(c),c>0, almost surely for i.i.d. random variables {X_n, n1} with mean zero and finite moment generating function in a neighbourhood of zero. The latter condition is also necessary for the Erd s—Rényi theorem, and the function α(c) uniquely determines the distribution function of X₁. We prove that if the normalizing constant [c log n] is replaced by the random variable ∑^k+[clogn]_i=k+1(X²_i+1), then a corresponding result remains true under assuming only the exist first moment, or that the underlying distribution is symmetric.     

Contraction–Deletion Invariants for Graphs

We consider generalizations of the Tutte polynomial on multigraphs obtained by keeping the main recurrence relation T(G)=T(G/e)+T(G−e) for eE(G) neither a bridge nor a loop and dropping the relations for bridges and loops. Our first aim is to find the universal invariant satisfying these conditions, from which all others may be obtained. Surprisingly, this turns out to be the universal V-function Z of Tutte (1947, Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc.43, 26–40) defined to obey the same relation for bridges as well. We also obtain a corresponding result for graphs with colours on the edges and describe the universal coloured V-function, which is more complicated than Z. Extending results of Tutte (1974, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B16, 168–174) and Brylawski (1981, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B30, 233–246), we give a simple proof that there are non-isomorphic graphs of arbitrarily high connectivity with the same Tutte polynomial and the same value of Z. We conjecture that almost all graphs are determined by their chromatic or Tutte polynomials and provide mild evidence to support this.     

On the Approximation of Positive Functions by Power Series, II

We consider positive functionsh=h(x) defined forxR⁺₀. Conditions for the existence of a power seriesN(x)=∑ c_nxⁿ,c_n0, with the propertyd₁h(x)/N(x)d₂, x0,for some constantsd₁, d₂R⁺, are investigated in [J. Clunie and T. Kövari,Canad. J. Math.20(1968), 7–20; P. Erd s and T. Kövari,Acta Math. Acad. Sci. Hung.7(1956), 305–316; U. Schmid,Complex Variables18(1992), 187–192; U. Schmid, J.Approx. Theory83(1995), 342–346]. In this paper, methods are discussed which allow for a given functionhthe construction of the coefficientsc_n,n ₀, for the above defined power seriesNand to find suitable constantsd₁andd₂. We also study the power seriesH(x)=∑ xⁿ/u_n, where we setu_n=sup{xⁿ/h(x), x0}, forn ₀, and the relation betweenhandHconcerning the above stated inequalities.     

Asymptotically optimal selection of a piecewise polynomial estimator of a regression function

Let (X, Y) be a pair of random variables such that X = (X₁,…, X_d) ranges over a nondegenerate compact d-dimensional interval C and Y is real-valued. Let the conditional distribution of Y given X have mean θ(X) and satisfy an appropriate moment condition. It is assumed that the distribution of X is absolutely continuous and its density is bounded away from zero and infinity on C. Without loss of generality let C be the unit cube. Consider an estimator of θ having the form of a piecewise polynomial of degree k_n based on m_n^d cubes of length 1/m_n, where the m_n^d(_d^k_n+d) coefficients are chosen by the method of least squares based on a random sample of size n from the distribution of (X, Y). Let (k_n, m_n) be chosen by the FPE procedure. It is shown that the indicated estimator has an asymptotically minimal squared error of prediction if θ is not of the form of piecewise polynomial.     

Approximation of Projections of Random Vectors

Let X be a d-dimensional random vector and X _θ its projection onto the span of a set of orthonormal vectors {θ ₁,…,θ _k }. Conditions on the distribution of X are given such that if θ is chosen according to Haar measure on the Stiefel manifold, the bounded-Lipschitz distance from X _θ to a Gaussian distribution is concentrated at its expectation; furthermore, an explicit bound is given for the expected distance, in terms of d, k, and the distribution of X, allowing consideration not just of fixed k but of k growing with d. The results are applied in the setting of projection pursuit, showing that most k-dimensional projections of n data points in ℝ ^d are close to Gaussian, when n and d are large and k=clog (d) for a small constant c.     

Two New Classes of Difference Families

A Z-cyclic triplewhist tournament for 4n+1 players, or briefly a TWh(4n+1), is equivalent to a n-set {(a_i, b_i, c_i, d_i) | i=1, …, n} of quadruples partitioning Z_4n+1−{0} with the property that ⁿ_i=1 {±(a_i−c_i), ±(b_i−d_i)}=ⁿ_i=1 {±(a_i−b_i), ±(c_i−d_i)}=ⁿ_i=1 {±(a_i−d_i), ±(b_i−c_i)}=Z_4n+1−{0}. The existence problem for Z-cyclic TWh(p)'s with p a prime has been solved for p1 (mod 16). I. Anderson et al. (1995, Discrete Math.138, 31–41) treated the case of p≡5 (mod 8) while Y. S. Liaw (1996, J. Combin. Des.4, 219–233) and G. McNay (1996, Utilitas Math.49, 191–201) treated the case of p≡9 (mod 16). In this paper, besides giving easier proofs of these authors' results, we solve the problem also for primes p≡1 (mod 16). The final result is the existence of a Z-cyclic TWh(v) for any v whose prime factors are all≡1 (mod 4) and distinct from 5, 13, and 17.     

Asymptotic expansions in the conditional central limit theorem

Let X_n, n , be i.i.d. with mean 0, variance 1, and E(¦X_n¦^r) < ∞ for some r 3. Assume that Cramér's condition is fulfilled. We prove that the conditional probabilities P(1/√n Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ X_i t¦B) can be approximated by a modified Edgeworth expansion up to order o(1/n^{(r − 2)/2)}), if the distances of the set B from the σ-fields σ(X₁, …, X_n) are of order O(1/n^{(r − 2)/2)}(lg n)^β), where β < −(r − 2)/2 for r and β < −r/2 for r . An example shows that if we replace β < −(r − 2)/2 by β = −(r − 2)/2 for r (β < −r/2 by β = −r/2 for r ) we can only obtain the approximation order O(1/n^{(r − 2)/2)}) for r (O(lg lgn/n^{(r − 2)/2)}) for r ).     

Double Arrays,Triple Arrays and Balanced Grids with <Emphasis Type="Italic">v</Emphasis>=<Emphasis Type="Italic">r</Emphasis>+<Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis> −1

In Theorem 6.1 of McSorley et al. [3] it was shown that, when v=r+c−1, every triple array TA(v,k,λ_rr,λ_cc,k:r× c) is a balanced grid BG(v,k,k:r × c). Here we prove the converse of this Theorem. Our final result is: Let v=r+c−1. Then every triple array is a TA(v,k,c−k,r−k,k:r× c) and every balanced grid is a BG(v,k,k:r× c), and they are equivalent.Communicated by: J.D. Key     

Counting 1-factors in infinite graphs

F. Bry (J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 34 (1983), 48–57) proved that a locally finite infinite n-connected factorizable graph has at least (n−1)! 1-factors and showed that for n = 2 this lower bound is sharp. We prove that for n≥3 any infinite n-connected factorizable graph has at least n! 1-factors (which is a sharp lower bound).     

Distributions of Points in <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> Dimensions and Large <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Point Simplices

We consider a variant of Heilbronn’s triangle problem by investigating for a fixed dimension d≥2 and for integers k≥2 with k≤d distributions of n points in the d-dimensional unit cube [0,1] ^d , such that the minimum volume of the simplices, which are determined by (k+1) of these n points is as large as possible. Denoting by Δ _k,d (n), the supremum of this minimum volume over all distributions of n points in [0,1] ^d , we show that c _k,d ⋅(log n)^1/(d−k+1)/n ^k/(d−k+1)≤Δ _k,d (n)≤c _k,d ′/n ^k/d for fixed 2≤k≤d, and, moreover, for odd integers k≥1, we show the upper bound Δ _k,d (n)≤c _k,d ″/n ^{k/d+(k−1)/(2d(d−1))}, where c _k,d ,c _k,d ′,c _k,d ″>0 are constants. A preliminary version of this paper appeared in COCOON ’05.     

Nonparametric Empirical Bayes Estimation of the Matrix Parameter of the Wishart Distribution

We consider independent pairs (X₁, Σ₁), (X₂, Σ₂), …, (X_n, Σ_n), where eachΣ_iis distributed according to some unknown density functiong(Σ) and, givenΣ_i=Σ,X_ihas conditional density functionq(xΣ) of the Wishart type. In each pair the first component is observable but the second is not. After the (n+1)th observationX_n+1is obtained, the objective is to estimateΣ_n+1corresponding toX_n+1. This estimator is called the empirical Bayes (EB) estimator ofΣ. An EB estimator ofΣis constructed without any parametric assumptions ong(Σ). Its posterior mean square risk is examined, and the estimator is demonstrated to be pointwise asymptotically optimal.     

Discretization of Compact Riemannian Manifolds Applied to the Spectrum of Laplacian

For κ ⩾ 0 and r₀ > 0 let ℳ(n, κ, r₀) be the set of all connected, compact n-dimensional Riemannian manifolds (Mⁿ, g) with Ricci (M, g) ⩾ −(n−1) κ g and Inj (M) ⩾ r₀. We study the relation between the kth eigenvalue λ_k(M) of the Laplacian associated to (Mⁿ,g), Δ = −div(grad), and the kth eigenvalue λ_k(X) of a combinatorial Laplacian associated to a discretization X of M. We show that there exist constants c, C > 0 (depending only on n, κ and r₀) such that for all M ∈ ℳ(n, κ, r₀) and X a discretization of for all k < |X|. Then, we obtain the same kind of result for two compact manifolds M and N ∈ ℳ(n, κ, r₀) such that the Gromov–Hausdorff distance between M and N is smaller than some η > 0. We show that there exist constants c, C > 0 depending on η, n, κ and r₀ such that for all . Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 58J50, 53C20 Supported by Swiss National Science Foundation, grant No. 20-101 469     

On αrγs(k)-perfect graphs

For some integer k0 and two graph parameters π and τ, a graph G is called πτ(k)-perfect, if π(H)−τ(H)k for every induced subgraph H of G. For r1 let α_r and γ_r denote the r-(distance)-independence and r-(distance)-domination number, respectively. In (J. Graph Theory 32 (1999) 303–310), I. Zverovich gave an ingenious complete characterization of α₁γ₁(k)-perfect graphs in terms of forbidden induced subgraphs. In this paper we study α_rγ_s(k)-perfect graphs for r,s1. We prove several properties of minimal α_rγ_s(k)-imperfect graphs. Generalizing Zverovich's main result in (J. Graph Theory 32 (1999) 303–310), we completely characterize α_2r−1γ_r(k)-perfect graphs for r1. Furthermore, we characterize claw-free α₂γ₂(k)-perfect graphs.     

Construction of Some Optimal Ternary Linear Codes and the Uniqueness of [294, 6, 195; 3]-Codes Meeting the Griesmer Bound

Let n_q(k, d) denote the smallest value of n for which there exists an [n, k, d; q]-code. It is known (cf. (J. Combin. Inform. Syst. Sci.18, 1993, 161–191)) that (1) n₃(6, 195) {294, 295}, n₃(6, 194) {293, 294}, n₃(6, 193) {292, 293}, n₃(6, 192) {290, 291}, n₃(6, 191) {289, 290}, n₃(6, 165) {250, 251} and (2) there is a one-to-one correspondence between the set of all nonequivalent [294, 6, 195; 3]-codes meeting the Griesmer bound and the set of all {v₂ + 2v₃ + v₄, v₁ + 2v₂ + v₃; 5, 3}-minihypers, where v_i = (3ⁱ − 1)/(3 − 1) for any integer i ≥ 0. The purpose of this paper is to show that (1) n₃(6, 195) = 294, n₃(6, 194) = 293, n₃(6, 193) = 292, n₃(6, 192) = 290, n₃(6, 191) = 289, n₃(6, 165) = 250 and (2) a [294, 6, 195; 3]-code is unique up to equivalence using a characterization of the corresponding {v₂ + 2v₃ + v₄, v₁ + 2v₂ + v₃; 5, 3}-minihypers.     

A uniform bound for the deviation of empirical distribution functions

If X₁, …, X_n are independent R^d-valued random vectors with common distribution function F, and if F_n is the empirical distribution function for X₁, …, X_n, then, among other things, it is shown that P{sup_x F_n(x) ε} 2e²(2n)^de^−2nε2 for all nε² ≥ d². The inequality remains valid if the X_i are not identically distributed and F(x) is replaced by Σ_iP{X_i ≤ x}/n.     

On confidence sequences for the mean vector of a multivariate normal distribution

Let X₁, X₂,… be idd random vectors with a multivariate normal distribution N(μ, Σ). A sequence of subsets {R_n(a₁, a₂,…, a_n), n ≥ m} of the space of μ is said to be a (1 − α)-level sequence of confidence sets for μ if P(μ R_n(X₁, X₂,…, X_n) for every n ≥ m) ≥ 1 − α. In this note we use the ideas of Robbins Ann. Math. Statist. 41 (1970) to construct confidence sequences for the mean vector μ when Σ is either known or unknown. The constructed sequence R_n(X₁, X₂, …, X_n) depends on Mahalanobis' or Hotelling's according as Σ is known or unknown. Confidence sequences for the vector-valued parameter in the general linear model are also given.