Sandwich semigroups in locally small categories II: transformations

Fix sets X and Y, and write \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}\) for the set of all partial functions \(X\rightarrow Y\). Fix a partial function \({a:Y\rightarrow X}\), and define the operation \(\star _a\) on \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}\) by \(f\star _ag=fag\) for \(f,g\in \mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}\). The sandwich semigroup \((\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY},\star _a)\) is denoted \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a\). We apply general results from Part I to thoroughly describe the structural and combinatorial properties of \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a\), as well as its regular and idempotent-generated subsemigroups, \({\text {Reg}}(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a)\) and \(\mathbb E(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a)\). After describing regularity, stability and Green’s relations and preorders, we exhibit \({\text {Reg}}(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a)\) as a pullback product of certain regular subsemigroups of the (non-sandwich) partial transformation semigroups \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_X\) and \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_Y\), and as a kind of “inflation” of \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_A\), where A is the image of the sandwich element a. We also calculate the rank (minimal size of a generating set) and, where appropriate, the idempotent rank (minimal size of an idempotent generating set) of \(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a\), \({\text {Reg}}(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a)\) and \(\mathbb E(\mathcal P\mathcal T_{XY}^a)\). The same program is also carried out for sandwich semigroups of totally defined functions and for injective partial functions. Several corollaries are obtained for various (non-sandwich) semigroups of (partial) transformations with restricted image, domain and/or kernel.     

Lengths of words in transformation semigroups generated by digraphs

Given a simple digraph D on n vertices (with \(n\ge 2\)), there is a natural construction of a semigroup of transformations \(\langle D\rangle \). For any edge (a, b) of D, let \(a\rightarrow b\) be the idempotent of rank \(n-1\) mapping a to b and fixing all vertices other than a; then, define \(\langle D\rangle \) to be the semigroup generated by \(a \rightarrow b\) for all \((a,b) \in E(D)\). For \(\alpha \in \langle D\rangle \), let \(\ell (D,\alpha )\) be the minimal length of a word in E(D) expressing \(\alpha \). It is well known that the semigroup \(\mathrm {Sing}_n\) of all transformations of rank at most \(n-1\) is generated by its idempotents of rank \(n-1\). When \(D=K_n\) is the complete undirected graph, Howie and Iwahori, independently, obtained a formula to calculate \(\ell (K_n,\alpha )\), for any \(\alpha \in \langle K_n\rangle = \mathrm {Sing}_n\); however, no analogous non-trivial results are known when \(D \ne K_n\). In this paper, we characterise all simple digraphs D such that either \(\ell (D,\alpha )\) is equal to Howie–Iwahori’s formula for all \(\alpha \in \langle D\rangle \), or \(\ell (D,\alpha ) = n - \mathrm {fix}(\alpha )\) for all \(\alpha \in \langle D\rangle \), or \(\ell (D,\alpha ) = n - \mathrm {rk}(\alpha )\) for all \(\alpha \in \langle D\rangle \). We also obtain bounds for \(\ell (D,\alpha )\) when D is an acyclic digraph or a strong tournament (the latter case corresponds to a smallest generating set of idempotents of rank \(n-1\) of \(\mathrm {Sing}_n\)). We finish the paper with a list of conjectures and open problems.     

Resilience of ranks of higher inclusion matrices

Let \(n \ge r \ge s \ge 0\) be integers and \(\mathcal {F}\) a family of r-subsets of [n]. Let \(W_{r,s}^{\mathcal {F}}\) be the higher inclusion matrix of the subsets in \({{\mathcal {F}}}\) vs. the s-subsets of [n]. When \(\mathcal {F}\) consists of all r-subsets of [n], we shall simply write \(W_{r,s}\) in place of \(W_{r,s}^{\mathcal {F}}\). In this paper we prove that the rank of the higher inclusion matrix \(W_{r,s}\) over an arbitrary field K is resilient. That is, if the size of \(\mathcal {F}\) is “close” to \({n \atopwithdelims ()r}\) then \({{\mathrm{rank}}}_{K}( W_{r,s}^{\mathcal {F}}) = {{\mathrm{rank}}}_{K}(W_{r,s})\), where K is an arbitrary field. Furthermore, we prove that the rank (over a field K) of the higher inclusion matrix of r-subspaces vs. s-subspaces of an n-dimensional vector space over \({\mathbb {F}}_q\) is also resilient if \(\mathrm{char}(K)\) is coprime to q.     

Idempotent and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-potent quadratic functions: distribution of nonlinearity and co-dimension

The Walsh transform \(\widehat{Q}\) of a quadratic function \(Q:{\mathbb F}_{p^n}\rightarrow {\mathbb F}_p\) satisfies \(|\widehat{Q}(b)| \in \{0,p^{\frac{n+s}{2}}\}\) for all \(b\in {\mathbb F}_{p^n}\), where \(0\le s\le n-1\) is an integer depending on Q. In this article, we study the following three classes of quadratic functions of wide interest. The class \(\mathcal {C}_1\) is defined for arbitrary n as \(\mathcal {C}_1 = \{Q(x) = \mathrm{Tr_n}(\sum _{i=1}^{\lfloor (n-1)/2\rfloor }a_ix^{2^i+1})\;:\; a_i \in {\mathbb F}_2\}\), and the larger class \(\mathcal {C}_2\) is defined for even n as \(\mathcal {C}_2 = \{Q(x) = \mathrm{Tr_n}(\sum _{i=1}^{(n/2)-1}a_ix^{2^i+1}) + \mathrm{Tr_{n/2}}(a_{n/2}x^{2^{n/2}+1}) \;:\; a_i \in {\mathbb F}_2\}\). For an odd prime p, the subclass \(\mathcal {D}\) of all p-ary quadratic functions is defined as \(\mathcal {D} = \{Q(x) = \mathrm{Tr_n}(\sum _{i=0}^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor }a_ix^{p^i+1})\;:\; a_i \in {\mathbb F}_p\}\). We determine the generating function for the distribution of the parameter s for \(\mathcal {C}_1, \mathcal {C}_2\) and \(\mathcal {D}\). As a consequence we completely describe the distribution of the nonlinearity for the rotation symmetric quadratic Boolean functions, and in the case \(p > 2\), the distribution of the co-dimension for the rotation symmetric quadratic p-ary functions, which have been attracting considerable attention recently. Our results also facilitate obtaining closed formulas for the number of such quadratic functions with prescribed s for small values of s, and hence extend earlier results on this topic. We also present the complete weight distribution of the subcodes of the second order Reed–Muller codes corresponding to \(\mathcal {C}_1\) and \(\mathcal {C}_2\) in terms of a generating function.     

Semigroups of rectangular matrices under a sandwich operation

Let \({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}={\mathcal {M}}_{mn}({\mathbb {F}})\) denote the set of all \(m\times n\) matrices over a field \({\mathbb {F}}\), and fix some \(n\times m\) matrix \(A\in {\mathcal {M}}_{nm}\). An associative operation \(\star \) may be defined on \({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}\) by \(X\star Y=XAY\) for all \(X,Y\in {\mathcal {M}}_{mn}\), and the resulting sandwich semigroup is denoted \({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A={\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A({\mathbb {F}})\). These semigroups are closely related to Munn rings, which are fundamental tools in the representation theory of finite semigroups. We study \({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A\) as well as its subsemigroups \(\hbox {Reg}({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A)\) and \({\mathcal {E}}_{mn}^A\) (consisting of all regular elements and products of idempotents, respectively), and the ideals of \(\hbox {Reg}({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A)\). Among other results, we characterise the regular elements; determine Green’s relations and preorders; calculate the minimal number of matrices (or idempotent matrices, if applicable) required to generate each semigroup we consider; and classify the isomorphisms between finite sandwich semigroups \({\mathcal {M}}_{mn}^A({\mathbb {F}}_1)\) and \({\mathcal {M}}_{kl}^B({\mathbb {F}}_2)\). Along the way, we develop a general theory of sandwich semigroups in a suitably defined class of partial semigroups related to Ehresmann-style “arrows only” categories; we hope this framework will be useful in studies of sandwich semigroups in other categories. We note that all our results have applications to the variants \({\mathcal {M}}_n^A\) of the full linear monoid \({\mathcal {M}}_n\) (in the case \(m=n\)), and to certain semigroups of linear transformations of restricted range or kernel (in the case that \(\hbox {rank}(A)\) is equal to one of m, n).     

On kernels and nuclei of rank metric codes

For each rank metric code \(\mathcal {C}\subseteq \mathbb {K}^{m\times n}\), we associate a translation structure, the kernel of which is shown to be invariant with respect to the equivalence on rank metric codes. When \(\mathcal {C}\) is \(\mathbb {K}\)-linear, we also propose and investigate other two invariants called its middle nucleus and right nucleus. When \(\mathbb {K}\) is a finite field \(\mathbb {F}_q\) and \(\mathcal {C}\) is a maximum rank distance code with minimum distance \(d<\min \{m,n\}\) or \(\gcd (m,n)=1\), the kernel of the associated translation structure is proved to be \(\mathbb {F}_q\). Furthermore, we also show that the middle nucleus of a linear maximum rank distance code over \(\mathbb {F}_q\) must be a finite field; its right nucleus also has to be a finite field under the condition \(\max \{d,m-d+2\} \geqslant \left\lfloor \frac{n}{2} \right\rfloor +1\). Let \(\mathcal {D}\) be the DHO-set associated with a bilinear dimensional dual hyperoval over \(\mathbb {F}_2\). The set \(\mathcal {D}\) gives rise to a linear rank metric code, and we show that its kernel and right nucleus are isomorphic to \(\mathbb {F}_2\). Also, its middle nucleus must be a finite field containing \(\mathbb {F}_q\). Moreover, we also consider the kernel and the nuclei of \(\mathcal {D}^k\) where k is a Knuth operation.     

EKR Sets for Large <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">r</Emphasis>

Let \(\mathcal {A}\subset \left( {\begin{array}{c}[n]\\ r\end{array}}\right) \) be a compressed, intersecting family and let \(X\subset [n]\). Let \(\mathcal {A}(X)=\{A\in \mathcal {A}:A\cap X\ne \emptyset \}\) and \(\mathcal {S}_{n,r}=\left( {\begin{array}{c}[n]\\ r\end{array}}\right) (\{1\})\). Motivated by the Erd?s–Ko–Rado theorem, Borg asked for which \(X\subset [2,n]\) do we have \(|\mathcal {A}(X)|\le |\mathcal {S}_{n,r}(X)|\) for all compressed, intersecting families \(\mathcal {A}\)? We call X that satisfy this property EKR. Borg classified EKR sets X such that \(|X|\ge r\). Barber classified X, with \(|X|\le r\), such that X is EKR for sufficiently large n, and asked how large n must be. We prove n is sufficiently large when n grows quadratically in r. In the case where \(\mathcal {A}\) has a maximal element, we sharpen this bound to \(n>\varphi ^{2}r\) implies \(|\mathcal {A}(X)|\le |\mathcal {S}_{n,r}(X)|\). We conclude by giving a generating function that speeds up computation of \(|\mathcal {A}(X)|\) in comparison with the naïve methods.     

Largest initial segments pointwise fixed by automorphisms of models of set theory

Given a model \(\mathcal {M}\) of set theory, and a nontrivial automorphism j of \(\mathcal {M}\), let \(\mathcal {I}_{\mathrm {fix}}(j)\) be the submodel of \(\mathcal {M}\) whose universe consists of elements m of \(\mathcal {M}\) such that \(j(x)=x\) for every x in the transitive closure of m (where the transitive closure of m is computed within \(\mathcal {M}\)). Here we study the class \(\mathcal {C}\) of structures of the form \(\mathcal {I}_{\mathrm {fix}}(j)\), where the ambient model \(\mathcal {M}\) satisfies a frugal yet robust fragment of \(\mathrm {ZFC}\) known as \(\mathrm {MOST}\), and \(j(m)=m\) whenever m is a finite ordinal in the sense of \(\mathcal {M}.\) Our main achievement is the calculation of the theory of \(\mathcal {C}\) as precisely \(\mathrm {MOST+\Delta }_{0}^{\mathcal {P}}\)-\(\mathrm {Collection}\). The following theorems encapsulate our principal results: Theorem A. Every structure in \(\mathcal {C}\) satisfies \(\mathrm {MOST+\Delta }_{0}^{\mathcal {P}}\)-\(\mathrm { Collection}\). Theorem B. Each of the following three conditions is sufficient for a countable structure \(\mathcal {N}\) to be in \(\mathcal {C}\):(a) \(\mathcal {N}\) is a transitive model of \(\mathrm {MOST+\Delta }_{0}^{\mathcal {P}}\)-\(\mathrm {Collection}\).(b) \(\mathcal {N}\) is a recursively saturated model of \(\mathrm {MOST+\Delta }_{0}^{\mathcal {P}}\)-\(\mathrm {Collection}\).(c) \(\mathcal {N}\) is a model of \(\mathrm {ZFC}\). Theorem C. Suppose \(\mathcal {M}\) is a countable recursively saturated model of \(\mathrm {ZFC}\) and I is a proper initial segment of \(\mathrm {Ord}^{\mathcal {M}}\) that is closed under exponentiation and contains \(\omega ^\mathcal {M}\) . There is a group embedding \(j\longmapsto \check{j}\) from \(\mathrm {Aut}(\mathbb {Q})\) into \(\mathrm {Aut}(\mathcal {M})\) such that I is the longest initial segment of \(\mathrm {Ord}^{\mathcal {M}}\) that is pointwise fixed by \(\check{j}\) for every nontrivial \(j\in \mathrm {Aut}(\mathbb {Q}).\) In Theorem C, \(\mathrm {Aut}(X)\) is the group of automorphisms of the structure X, and \(\mathbb {Q}\) is the ordered set of rationals.     

On finitely generated modules over quasi-Euclidean rings

Let R be a unital commutative ring, and let M be an R-module that is generated by k elements but not less. Let \(\text {E}_n(R)\) be the subgroup of \(\text {GL}_n(R)\) generated by the elementary matrices. In this paper we study the action of \(\text {E}_n(R)\) by matrix multiplication on the set \(\text {Um}_n(M)\) of unimodular rows of M of length \(n \ge k\). Assuming R is moreover Noetherian and quasi-Euclidean, e.g., R is a direct product of finitely many Euclidean rings, we show that this action is transitive if \(n > k\). We also prove that \(\text {Um}_k(M) /\text {E}_k(R)\) is equipotent with the unit group of \(R/\mathfrak {a}_1\) where \(\mathfrak {a}_1\) is the first invariant factor of M. These results encompass the well-known classification of Nielsen non-equivalent generating tuples in finitely generated Abelian groups.     

Generic Vopěnka’s Principle,remarkable cardinals,and the weak Proper Forcing Axiom

We introduce and study the first-order Generic Vopěnka’s Principle, which states that for every definable proper class of structures \(\mathcal {C}\) of the same type, there exist \(B\ne A\) in \(\mathcal {C}\) such that B elementarily embeds into A in some set-forcing extension. We show that, for \(n\ge 1\), the Generic Vopěnka’s Principle fragment for \(\Pi _n\)-definable classes is equiconsistent with a proper class of n-remarkable cardinals. The n-remarkable cardinals hierarchy for \(n\in \omega \), which we introduce here, is a natural generic analogue for the \(C^{(n)}\)-extendible cardinals that Bagaria used to calibrate the strength of the first-order Vopěnka’s Principle in Bagaria (Arch Math Logic 51(3–4):213–240, 2012). Expanding on the theme of studying set theoretic properties which assert the existence of elementary embeddings in some set-forcing extension, we introduce and study the weak Proper Forcing Axiom, \(\mathrm{wPFA}\). The axiom \(\mathrm{wPFA}\) states that for every transitive model \(\mathcal M\) in the language of set theory with some \(\omega _1\)-many additional relations, if it is forced by a proper forcing \(\mathbb P\) that \(\mathcal M\) satisfies some \(\Sigma _1\)-property, then V has a transitive model \(\bar{\mathcal M}\), satisfying the same \(\Sigma _1\)-property, and in some set-forcing extension there is an elementary embedding from \(\bar{\mathcal M}\) into \(\mathcal M\). This is a weakening of a formulation of \(\mathrm{PFA}\) due to Claverie and Schindler (J Symb Logic 77(2):475–498, 2012), which asserts that the embedding from \(\bar{\mathcal M}\) to \(\mathcal M\) exists in V. We show that \(\mathrm{wPFA}\) is equiconsistent with a remarkable cardinal. Furthermore, the axiom \(\mathrm{wPFA}\) implies \(\mathrm{PFA}_{\aleph _2}\), the Proper Forcing Axiom for antichains of size at most \(\omega _2\), but it is consistent with \(\square _\kappa \) for all \(\kappa \ge \omega _2\), and therefore does not imply \(\mathrm{PFA}_{\aleph _3}\).     

Semidefinite bounds for nonbinary codes based on quadruples

For nonnegative integers q, n, d, let \(A_q(n,d)\) denote the maximum cardinality of a code of length n over an alphabet [q] with q letters and with minimum distance at least d. We consider the following upper bound on \(A_q(n,d)\). For any k, let \(\mathcal{C}_k\) be the collection of codes of cardinality at most k. Then \(A_q(n,d)\) is at most the maximum value of \(\sum _{v\in [q]^n}x(\{v\})\), where x is a function \(\mathcal{C}_4\rightarrow {\mathbb {R}}_+\) such that \(x(\emptyset )=1\) and \(x(C)=\!0\) if C has minimum distance less than d, and such that the \(\mathcal{C}_2\times \mathcal{C}_2\) matrix \((x(C\cup C'))_{C,C'\in \mathcal{C}_2}\) is positive semidefinite. By the symmetry of the problem, we can apply representation theory to reduce the problem to a semidefinite programming problem with order bounded by a polynomial in n. It yields the new upper bounds \(A_4(6,3)\le 176\), \(A_4(7,3)\le 596\), \(A_4(7,4)\le 155\), \(A_5(7,4)\le 489\), and \(A_5(7,5)\le 87\).     

Bending the helicoid

We construct Colding–Minicozzi limit minimal laminations in open domains in \({\mathbb{R}}^3\) with the singular set of C ¹-convergence being any properly embedded C ^1,1-curve. By Meeks’ C ^1,1-regularity theorem, the singular set of convergence of a Colding–Minicozzi limit minimal lamination \({\mathcal{L}}\) is a locally finite collection \(S({\mathcal{L}})\) of C ^1,1-curves that are orthogonal to the leaves of the lamination. Thus, our existence theorem gives a complete answer as to which curves appear as the singular set of a Colding–Minicozzi limit minimal lamination. In the case the curve is the unit circle \({\mathbb{S}}^1(1)\) in the (x ₁, x ₂)-plane, the classical Björling theorem produces an infinite sequence of complete minimal annuli H _n of finite total curvature which contain the circle. The complete minimal surfaces H _n contain embedded compact minimal annuli \(\overline{H}_n\) in closed compact neighborhoods N _n of the circle that converge as \(n \to \infty\) to \(\mathbb {R}^3 - x_3\) -axis. In this case, we prove that the \(\overline{H}_n\) converge on compact sets to the foliation of \(\mathbb {R}^3 - x_3\) -axis by vertical half planes with boundary the x ₃-axis and with \({\mathbb{S}}^1(1)\) as the singular set of C ¹-convergence. The \(\overline{H}_n\) have the appearance of highly spinning helicoids with the circle as their axis and are named bent helicoids.     

Computing Explicit Isomorphisms with Full Matrix Algebras over $$\mathbb {F}_q(x)$$

We propose a polynomial time f-algorithm (a deterministic algorithm which uses an oracle for factoring univariate polynomials over \(\mathbb {F}_q\)) for computing an isomorphism (if there is any) of a finite-dimensional \(\mathbb {F}_q(x)\)-algebra \(\mathcal{A}\) given by structure constants with the algebra of n by n matrices with entries from \(\mathbb {F}_q(x)\). The method is based on computing a finite \(\mathbb {F}_q\)-subalgebra of \(\mathcal{A}\) which is the intersection of a maximal \(\mathbb {F}_q[x]\)-order and a maximal R-order, where R is the subring of \(\mathbb {F}_q(x)\) consisting of fractions of polynomials with denominator having degree not less than that of the numerator.     

On Standard Derived Equivalences of Orbit Categories

Let k be a commutative ring, \(\mathcal {A}\) and \(\mathcal {B}\) – two k-linear categories with an action of a group G. We introduce the notion of a standard G-equivalence from \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {B}\) to \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {A}\), where \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {A}\) is the homotopy category of finitely generated projective \(\mathcal {A}\)-complexes. We construct a map from the set of standard G-equivalences to the set of standard equivalences from \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {B}\) to \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {A}\) and a map from the set of standard G-equivalences from \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {B}\) to \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}\mathcal {A}\) to the set of standard equivalences from \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}(\mathcal {B}/G)\) to \(\mathcal {K}_{p}^{\mathrm {b}}(\mathcal {A}/G)\), where \(\mathcal {A}/G\) denotes the orbit category. We investigate the properties of these maps and apply our results to the case where \(\mathcal {A}=\mathcal {B}=R\) is a Frobenius k-algebra and G is the cyclic group generated by its Nakayama automorphism ν. We apply this technique to obtain the generating set of the derived Picard group of a Frobenius Nakayama algebra over an algebraically closed field.     

Symmetric Pairs and Self-Adjoint Extensions of Operators,with Applications to Energy Networks

We provide a streamlined construction of the Friedrichs extension of a densely-defined self-adjoint and semibounded operator A on a Hilbert space \(\mathcal {H}\), by means of a symmetric pair of operators. A symmetric pair is comprised of densely defined operators \(J: \mathcal {H}_1 \rightarrow \mathcal {H}_2\) and \(K: \mathcal {H}_2 \rightarrow \mathcal {H}_1\) which are compatible in a certain sense. With the appropriate definitions of \(\mathcal {H}_1\) and J in terms of A and \(\mathcal {H}\), we show that \((\textit{JJ}^\star )^{-1}\) is the Friedrichs extension of A. Furthermore, we use related ideas (including the notion of unbounded containment) to construct a generalization of the construction of the Krein extension of A as laid out in a previous paper of the authors. These results are applied to the study of the graph Laplacian on infinite networks, in relation to the Hilbert spaces \(\ell ^2(G)\) and \(\mathcal {H}_{\mathcal {E}}\) (the energy space).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">l</Emphasis>-Groups <Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>) in continuous logic

In the context of continuous logic, this paper axiomatizes both the class \(\mathcal {C}\) of lattice-ordered groups isomorphic to C(X) for X compact and the subclass \(\mathcal {C}^+\) of structures existentially closed in \(\mathcal {C}\); shows that the theory of \(\mathcal {C}^+\) is \(\aleph _0\)-categorical and admits elimination of quantifiers; establishes a Nullstellensatz for \(\mathcal {C}\) and \(\mathcal {C}^+\); shows that \(C(X)\in \mathcal {C}\) has a prime-model extension in \(\mathcal {C}^+\) just in case X is Boolean; and proves that in a sense relevant to continuous logic, positive formulas admit in \(\mathcal {C}^+\) elimination of quantifiers to positive formulas.     

Constructive Approximation in de Branges–Rovnyak Spaces

In most classical holomorphic function spaces on the unit disk in which the polynomials are dense, a function f can be approximated in norm by its dilates \(f_r(z):=f(rz)~(r<1)\). We show that this is not the case for the de Branges–Rovnyak spaces \(\mathcal{H}(b)\). More precisely, we exhibit a space \(\mathcal{H}(b)\) in which the polynomials are dense and a function \(f\in \mathcal{H}(b)\) such that \(\lim _{r\rightarrow 1^-}\Vert f_r\Vert _{\mathcal{H}(b)}=\infty \). On the positive side, we prove the following approximation theorem for Toeplitz operators on general de Branges–Rovnyak spaces \(\mathcal{H}(b)\). If \((h_n)\) is a sequence in \(H^\infty \) such that \(\Vert h_n\Vert _{H^\infty }\le 1\) and \(h_n(0)\rightarrow 1\), then \(\Vert T_{\overline{h}_n}f-f\Vert _{\mathcal{H}(b)}\rightarrow 0\) for all \(f\in \mathcal{H}(b)\). Using this result, we give the first constructive proof that, if b is a nonextreme point of the unit ball of \(H^\infty \), then the polynomials are dense in \(\mathcal{H}(b)\).     

Operator maps of Jensen-type

Let \(\mathbb {B}_J({\mathcal {H}})\) denote the set of self-adjoint operators acting on a Hilbert space \(\mathcal {H}\) with spectra contained in an open interval J. A map \(\Phi :\mathbb {B}_J({\mathcal {H}})\rightarrow {{\mathbb {B}}}({\mathcal {H}})_\text {sa} \) is said to be of Jensen-type if

$$\begin{aligned} \Phi (C^*AC+D^*BD)\le C^*\Phi (A)C+D^*\Phi (B)D \end{aligned}$$

for all \( A, B \in \mathbb {B}_J({\mathcal {H}})\) and bounded linear operators C, D acting on \( \mathcal {H} \) with \( C^*C+D^*D=I\), where I denotes the identity operator. We show that a Jensen-type map on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space is of the form \(\Phi (A)=f(A)\) for some operator convex function f defined in J.

     

Sets with even partition functions and 2-adic integers

For P ? \(\mathbb{F}_2 \)[z] with _P(0) = 1 and deg(_P) ≥ 1, let \(\mathcal{A}\) = \(\mathcal{A}\)(P) (cf. [4], [5], [13]) be the unique subset of ? such that Σ _n≥0 p(\(\mathcal{A}\), n)z ⁿ ≡ P(z) (mod 2), where p(\(\mathcal{A}\), n) is the number of partitions of n with parts in \(\mathcal{A}\). Let p be an odd prime and P ? \(\mathbb{F}_2 \)[z] be some irreducible polynomial of order p, i.e., p is the smallest positive integer such that P(z) divides 1 + z ^p in \(\mathbb{F}_2 \)[z]. In this paper, we prove that if m is an odd positive integer, the elements of \(\mathcal{A}\) = \(\mathcal{A}\)(P) of the form 2 ^k m are determined by the 2-adic expansion of some root of a polynomial with integer coefficients. This extends a result of F. Ben Saïd and J.-L. Nicolas [6] to all primes p.