Chaotic Homeomorphisms of Rn, Lifted from Torus Homeomorphisms

We establish the existence of self-homeomorphisms of Rⁿ, n 2, which are chaotic in the sense of Devaney, preserve volumeand are spatially periodic. Moreover, we show that in the spaceof volume-preserving homeomorphisms of the n-torus with meanrotation zero, those with chaotic lifts to Rⁿ are dense, withrespect to the uniform topology. An application is given forfixed points of 2-dimensional torus homeomorphisms (Conley–Zehnder–FranksTheorem). 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 54H20.     

RIGIDITY OF PERIODIC DIFFEOMORPHISMS OF HOMOTOPY K3 SURFACES

In this paper, we show that homotopy K3 surfaces do not admita periodic diffeomorphism of odd prime order 3 acting triviallyon cohomology. This gives a negative answer for period 3 toProblem 4.124 in Kirby's problem list. In addition, we givean obstruction in terms of the rationality and the sign of thespin numbers to the non-existence of a periodic diffeomorphismof odd prime order acting trivially on cohomology of homotopyK3 surfaces. The main strategy is to calculate the Seiberg–Witteninvariant for the trivial spin^c structure in the presence ofsuch a Z_p-symmetry in two ways: (1) the new interpretation ofthe Seiberg–Witten invariants of Furuta and Fang, and(2) the theorem of Morgan and Szabó on the Seiberg–Witteninvariant of homotopy K3 surfaces for the trivial Spin^c structure.As a consequence, we derive a contradiction for any periodicdiffeomorphism of prime order 3 acting trivially on cohomologyof homotopy K3 surfaces.     

On the Structure of Minimal Left Ideals in the Largest Compactification of a Locally Compact Group

This paper is centred around a single question: can a minimalleft ideal L in G^LUC, the largest semi-group compactificationof a locally compact group G, be itself algebraically a group?Our answer is no (unless G is compact). In deriving this conclusion,we obtain for nearly all groups the stronger result that nomaximal subgroup in L can be closed. A feature of our work isthat completely different techniques are required for the connectedand totally disconnected cases. For the former, we can relyon the extensive structure theory of connected, non-compact,locally compact groups to derive the solution from the commutativecase, using some reduction lemmas. The latter directly involvestopological dynamics; we construct a compact space and an actionof G on it which has pathological properties. We obtain otherresults as tools towards our main goal or as consequences ofour methods. Thus we find an extension to earlier work on therelationship between minimal left ideals in G^LUC and H^LUC whenH is a closed subgroup of G with G/H compact. We show that thedistal compactification of G is finite if and only if the almostperiodic compactification of G is finite. Finally, we use ourmethods to show that there is no finite subset of G^LUC invariantunder the right action of G when G is an almost connected groupor an IN-group.     

Weakly Almost Periodic Functions on N with a Negative Base

Weakly almost periodic compactifications have been seriouslystudied for over 30 years. In the pioneering papers of de Leeuwand Glicksberg [4] and [5], the approach adopted was operator-theoretic.The current definition is more likely to be created from theperspective of universal algebra (see [1, Chapter 3]). For adiscrete group or semigroup S, the weakly almost periodic compactificationwS is the largest compact semigroup which (i) contains S asa dense subsemigroup, and (ii) has multiplication continuousin each variable separately (where largest means that any othercompact semigroup with the properties (i) and (ii) is a quotientof wS). A third viewpoint is to envisage wS as the Gelfand spaceof the C*-algebra of bounded weakly almost periodic functionson S (for the definition of such functions, see below). In this paper, we are concerned only with the simplest semigroup(N, +). The three approaches described above give three methodsof obtaining information about wN. An early striking resultabout wN, that it contains more than one idempotent, was obtainedby T. T. West using operator theory [13]. He considered theweak operator closure of the semigroup {T, T², T³, ...} of iteratesof a single operator T on the Hilbert space L²(µ) fora particular measure µ on [0, 1]. Brown and Moran, ina series of papers culminating in [2], used sophisticated techniquesfrom harmonic analysis to produce measures µ that permittedthe detection of further structure in wN; in particular, theyfound 2^cdistinct idempotents. However, for many years, no otherway of showing the existence of more than one idempotent inwN was found. The breakthrough came in 1991, and it was made by Ruppert [11].In his paper, he created a direct construction of a family ofweakly almost periodic functions which could detect 2^c differentidempotents in wN. His method was very ingenious (he used aunique variant of the p-adic expansion of integers) and rathercomplicated. Our main aim in this paper is to construct weaklyalmost periodic functions which are easy to describe and soappear more ‘natural’ than Ruppert's. We also showthat there are enough functions of our type to distinguish 2^cidempotentsin wN.     

Existence results for rational normal curves

In this paper we study existence of rational normal curves inⁿ passing through p points and intersecting l codimension-twolinear spaces in n – 1 points each. If p + l = n + 3 andthe points and the linear spaces are general, then one expectsthe curve to exist, but this is not always the case. For p >0, our main result precisely describes in which cases the curveexists and in which it does not exist. Moreover, when thereis existence we also show that the curve is unique.     

Rates of Recurrence for Zq and Rq Extensions of Subshifts of Finite Type

In this note we give new asymptotic formulae for certain countingfunctions associated to the periodic behaviour of Z^q and R^qextensions of subshifts of finite type. In the case of the Z^qextensions, these strengthen previous estimates of Marcus andTuncel [9]. For both types of extension, our results complementthe central limit type results of Lalley [6]. Our proof requiresthe application of ideas from thermodynamic formalism. Whilstdeveloping this approach, in Section 2, we take the opportunityto present a counter-example to a related conjecture of Coelho-Filho[2].     

Renormalized energy of interacting Ginzburg-Landau vortex filaments

We consider the Ginzbug–Landau energy in a cylinder in³, and a canonical approximation for critical points with anassembly of n2 periodic vortex lines near the axis of the cylinder.We find a formula for the energy which, up to a large additiveconstant and to leading order, is the action functional of then-body problem with a logarithmic potential in ², the axis variableplaying the role of time. A special family of rotating helicoidalcritical points of the functional is found to be non-degenerateup to the invariances of the problem, and therefore persistentunder small perturbations. Our analysis suggests the presenceof very complex stationary configurations for vortex filaments,potentially also involving intersecting filaments.     

Circle Actions and Morse Theory on Quaternion-Kahler Manifolds

In this paper we study quaternion-Kähler manifolds endowedwith an isometric S¹-action. We consider the corresponding momentmap µ and prove that the only compact quaternion-Kählermanifold with positive scalar curvature which admits an isometriccircle action free on µ^–1(0) is the quaternionicprojective space HPⁿ.     

Diophantine analysis and torsion on elliptic curves

In a recent paper of Bennett and the author, it was shown thatthe elliptic curve defined by y² = x³ + Ax + B, where A andB are integers, has no rational points of finite order if Ais sufficiently large relative to B (at least if one assumesthe abc Conjecture of Masser and Oesterlé). In the presentarticle we show, perhaps surprisingly, that the rational torsionon the above curve is also quite restricted if B is sufficientlylarge relative to A. In particular, we demonstrate that forany > 0 there is a constant c such that if A and B are integerssatisfying |B| > c |A|⁶⁺, then the elliptic curve definedabove has no rational torsion points, other than a possiblepoint of order 2 (again making use of the abc Conjecture insome cases). We then extend this by proving similar resultsfor elliptic curves admitting non-trivial -isogenies, ellipticcurves written in other forms, and elliptic curves over certainnumber fields. Curiously, the results on isogenies lead to twounexpected irrationality measures for certain algebraic numbers.     

The Canonical Decomposition of the Poset of a Hammock

In the Auslander-Reiten quiver of a representation-directedalgebra several hammocks occur naturally; they begin at theprojective cover of a simple module E and end in the correspondinginjective hull. It is known that hammocks are Auslander-Reitenquivers of posets, so there is a poset corresponding to eachsimple module; it describes the set of modules having E as acomposition factor. In this paper we show that this poset Sdecomposes canonically into a coideal S⁺ and an ideal S^–which can easily be described by vectorspace-categories correspondingto a one-point extension or a one-point coextension, respectively.In addition, we describe the simple modules for which S⁺ andS^– are not comparable, and also those for which S⁺ S^–. We also show how to use the results in order to prove for certainposets that they do not occur as posets corresponding to simplemodules.     

Connected Lie Groups that Act Freely on a Product of Linear Spheres

In this note we prove that a compact connected Lie group G admitsa free action on some product of linear spheres if and onlyif it is isomorphic to (T^k x SU(2)^l)/Z for some k and l andfor some central elementary abelian 2-subgroup Z with Z SU(2)M^l= 1.     

On the denominators of rational points on elliptic curves

Let x(P) = A_P/B²_P denote the x-coordinate of the rational pointP on an elliptic curve in Weierstrass form. We consider whenB_P can be a perfect power or a prime. Using Faltings' theorem,we show that for a fixed f > 1, there are only finitely manyrational points P with B_P equal to an fth power. Where descentvia an isogeny is possible, we show that there are only finitelymany rational points P with B_P equal to a prime, that thesepoints are bounded in number in an explicit fashion, and thatthey are effectively computable. Finally, we prove a strongerversion of this result for curves in homogeneous form.     

The Existence of Periodic and Subharmonic Solutions of Subquadratic Second Order Difference Equations

By critical point theory, a new approach is provided to studythe existence of periodic and subharmonic solutions of the secondorder difference equation where f C(R x R^m, R^m), f(t+M,z)+f(t,z) for any (t, z)R x R^mand M is a positive integer. This is probably the first timecritical point theory has been applied to deal with the existenceof periodic solutions of difference systems.     

On Sylow Subgraphs of Vertex-Transitive Self-Complementary Graphs

One of the basic facts of group theory is that each finite groupcontains a Sylow p-subgroup for each prime p which divides theorder of the group. In this note we show that each vertex-transitiveself- complementary graph has an analogous property. As a consequenceof this fact, we obtain that each prime divisor p of the orderof a vertex-transitive self-complementary graph satisfies thecongruence p^m 1(mod 4), where p^m is the highest power of pwhich divides the order of the graph. 1991 Mathematics SubjectClassification 05C25, 20B25.     

A multigrid-type method for thin plate spline interpolation on a circle

We consider the problem of thin plate spline interpolation ton equally spaced points on a circle, where the number of datapoints is sufficiently large for work of O(n³ to be unacceptable.We develop an iterative multigrid-type method, each iterationcomprising ngrid stages, and n being an integer multiple of2^ngrid–1. We let the first grid, V₁ be the full set ofdata points, V say, and each subsequent (coarser) grid, V_k,k=2, 3,...,ngrid, contain exactly half of the data points ofthe preceding (finer) grid, these data points being equallyspaced. At each stage of the iteration, we correct our current approximationto the thin plate spline interpolant by an estimate of the interpolantto the current residuals on V_k, where the correction is constructedfrom Lagrange functions of interpolation on small local subsetsof p data points in V_k. When the coarsest grid is reached, however,then the interpolation problem is solved exactly on its q=n/2^ngrid–1points. The iterative process continues until the maximum residualdoes not exceed a specified tolerance. Each iteration has the effect of premultiplying the vector ofresiduals by an n x n matrix R, and thus convergence will dependupon the spectral radius, (R), of this matrix. We investigatethe dependence of the spectral radius on the values of n, p,and q. In all the cases we have considered, we find (R) <<1, and thus rapid convergence is assured.     

On v-Distal Flows on 3-Manifolds

In [2], H. Furstenberg studied a distal action of a locallycompact group G on a compact metric space X, and establisheda structure theorem. As a consequence, he showed that if G isabelian, then a simply connected space X does not admit a minimaldistal G-action. In this paper we concern ourselves with a nonsingular flow = {^t} on a closed 3-manifold M. Recall that is called distalif for any distinct two points x, y M, the distance d(^tx, ^ty)is bounded away from 0. The distality depends strongly uponthe time parametrization. For example, there exists a time parametrizationof a linear irrational flow on T² which yields a nondistal flow[4, 6]. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 58F25, 57R30.     

On spurious asymptotic numerical solutions of explicit Runge-Kutta methods

The bifurcation diagram associated with the logistic equationⁿ⁺¹ = aⁿ(1 – ⁿ) is by now well known, as is its equivalenceto solving the ordinary differential equation (ODE) u' = u(1– u) by the explicit Euler difference scheme. It has alsobeen noted by Iserles that other popular difference schemesmay not only exhibit period doubling and chaotic phenomena butalso possess spurious fixed points. We investigate, both analyticallyand computationally, Runge-Kutta schemes applied to the equationu'=f(u), for f(u) = u{1 – u) and f(u) = au(1 – u)(b– u), contrasting their behaviour with the explicit Eulerscheme. We determine and provide a local analysis of bifurcationsto spurious fixed points and periodic orbits. In particularwe show that these may appear below the linearised stabilitylimit of the scheme, and may consequently lead to erroneouscomputational results. Major part of the material was published as an internal report-NASATechnical Memorandum 102919, April 1990, also as Universityof Reading Numerical Analysis Report 3/90, March 1990. This work was performed whilst a visiting scientist at NASAAmes Research Center, Moffett Field. CA 94035 USA. Staff Scientist, Fluid Dynamics Division.     

Zero-Sets of Quaternionic and Octonionic Analytic Functions with Central Coefficients

We prove that the zero set of any quaternionic (or octonionic)analytic function f with central (that is, real) coefficientsis the disjoint union of codimension two spheres in R⁴ or R⁸(respectively) and certain purely real points. In particular,for polynomials with real coefficients, the complete root-setis geometrically characterisable from the lay-out of the rootsin the complex plane. The root-set becomes the union of a finitenumber of codimension 2 Euclidean spheres together with a finitenumber of real points. We also find the preimages f^–1for any quaternion (or octonion) A. We demonstrate that this surprising phenomenon of complete spheresbeing part of the solution set is very markedly a special ‘real’phenomenon. For example, the quaternionic or octonionic Nthroots of any non-real quaternion (respectively octonion) turnout to be precisely N distinct points. All this allows us todo some interesting topology for self-maps of spheres.     

Optimal policy for a general repair replacement model: average reward case

For a general repair replacement model, we study two types ofreplacement policy.Replacement policy T replaces the systemat time T since the installation or last replacement, whilereplacement policy N replaces the system at the time of Nthfailure. Let T^* and N^* be the optimal among all policies T andN respectively. Under the expected average reward criterion,then we show that the optimal policy N^* is at least as goodas the optimal policy T^*. Furthermore, for a monotone processmodel, we determine the optimal policy N^* explicitly throughtwo different approaches.