On the complexity of the gradient of a rational function

The Baur-Strassen method implies L(?f) ? 4L(f), where L(f) is the complexity of computing a rational function f by arithmetic circuits, and ?f is the gradient of f. We show that L(? f) ? 3L(f) + n, where n is the number of variables in f. In addition, the depth of a circuit for the gradient is estimated.     

Composition limits and separating examples for some boolean function complexity measures

Block sensitivity (bs(f)), certificate complexity (C(f)) and fractional certificate complexity (C*(f)) are three fundamental combinatorial measures of complexity of a boolean function f. It has long been known that bs(f) ≤ C*(f) ≤ C(f) = O(bs(f)²). We provide an infinite family of examples for which C(f) grows quadratically in C*(f) (and also bs(f)) giving optimal separations between these measures. Previously the biggest separation known was \(C(f) = C*(f)^{\log _{4,5} 5}\). We also give a family of examples for which C*(f)= Ω (bs(f)^3/2).These examples are obtained by composing boolean functions in various ways. Here the composition fog of f with g is obtained by substituting for each variable of f a copy of g on disjoint sets of variables. To construct and analyse these examples we systematically investigate the behaviour under function composition of these measures and also the sensitivity measure s(f). The measures s(f), C(f) and C*(f) behave nicely under composition: they are submultiplicative (where measure m is submultiplicative if m(fog) ≤ m(f)m(g)) with equality holding under some fairly general conditions. The measure bs(f) is qualitatively different: it is not submultiplicative. This qualitative difference was not noticed in the previous literature and we correct some errors that appeared in previous papers. We define the composition limit of a measure m at function f, m ^lim(f) to be the limit as k grows of m(f ^(k))^1/k , where f ^(k) is the iterated composition of f with itself k-times. For any function f we show that bs ^lim(f) = (C*)^lim(f) and characterize s ^lim(f); (C*)^lim(f), and C ^lim(f) in terms of the largest eigenvalue of a certain set of 2×2 matrices associated with f.     

Membership of distributions of polynomials in the Nikolskii–Besov class

The main result of this paper asserts that the distribution density of any non-constant polynomial f(ξ₁,ξ₂,...) of degree d in independent standard Gaussian random variables ξ₁ (possibly, in infinitely many variables) always belongs to the Nikol’skii–Besov space B^1/d (R¹) of fractional order 1/d (see the definition below) depending only on the degree of the polynomial. A natural analog of this assertion is obtained for the density of the joint distribution of k polynomials of degree d, also with a fractional order that is independent of the number of variables, but depends only on the degree d and the number of polynomials. We also give a new simple sufficient condition for a measure on R^k to possess a density in the Nikol’skii–Besov class B^α(R)^k. This result is applied for obtaining an upper bound on the total variation distance between two probability measures on R^k via the Kantorovich distance between them and a certain Nikol’skii–Besov norm of their difference. Applications are given to estimates of distributions of polynomials in Gaussian random variables.     

Behavior of the Fourier–Walsh coefficients of a corrected function

We prove that, given a sequence {ak}_k=1^∞ with a_k ↓ 0 and {ak}_k=1^∞ ? l₂, reals 0 < ε < 1 and p ∈ [1, 2], and f ∈ L^p(0, 1), we can find f ∈ L^p(0, 1) with mes{f ≠ f < ε whose nonzero Fourier–Walsh coefficients c_k(f) are such that |c_k(f)| = a_k for k ∈ spec(f).     

Lower bounds on the signed total k-domination number of graphs

Let G be a graph with vertex set V(G). For any integer k ≥ 1, a signed total k-dominating function is a function f: V(G) → {?1, 1} satisfying ∑_x∈N(v)f(x) ≥ k for every v ∈ V(G), where N(v) is the neighborhood of v. The minimum of the values ∑_v∈V(G)f(v), taken over all signed total k-dominating functions f, is called the signed total k-domination number. In this note we present some new sharp lower bounds on the signed total k-domination number of a graph. Some of our results improve known bounds.     

The program iteration method in a game problem of guidance

Let a sequence of d-dimensional vectors n _k = (n _k ¹ , n _k ² ,..., n _k ^d ) with positive integer coordinates satisfy the condition n _k ^j = α _j m _k +O(1), k ∈ ?, 1 ≤ j ≤ d, where α ₁ > 0,..., α _d > 0 and {m _k } _k=1 ^∞ is an increasing sequence of positive integers. Under some conditions on a function φ: [0,+∞) → [0,+∞), it is proved that, if the sequence of Fourier sums \({S_{{m_k}}}\) (g, x) converges almost everywhere for any function g ∈ φ(L)([0, 2π)), then, for any d ∈ ? and f ∈ φ(L)(ln⁺ L) ^d?1([0, 2π) ^d ), the sequence \({S_{{n_k}}}\) (f, x) of rectangular partial sums of the multiple trigonometric Fourier series of the function f and the corresponding sequences of partial sums of all conjugate series converge almost everywhere.     

Estimates for sums of moduli of blocks in trigonometric Fourier series

We consider the following two problems. Problem 1: what conditions on a sequence of finite subsets A _k ? ? and a sequence of functions λ _k : A _k → ? provide the existence of a number C such that any function f ∈ L ₁ satisfies the inequality ‖U _A,Λ(f)‖ _p ≤ C‖f‖₁ and what is the exact constant in this inequality? Here, \(U_{\mathcal{A},\Lambda } \left( f \right)\left( x \right) = \sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^\infty {\left| {\sum\nolimits_{m \in A_k } {\lambda _k \left( m \right)c_m \left( f \right)e^{imx} } } \right|}\) and c _m (f) are Fourier coefficients of the function f ∈ L ₁. Problem 2: what conditions on a sequence of finite subsets A _k ? ? guarantee that the function \(\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^\infty {\left| {\sum\nolimits_{m \in A_k } {c_m \left( h \right)e^{imx} } } \right|}\) belongs to L _p for every function h of bounded variation?     

On Templeman averages and variation functions

Let S be a countable semigroup acting in a measure-preserving fashion (g ? T _g ) on a measure space (Ω, A, µ). For a finite subset A of S, let |A| denote its cardinality. Let (A _k ) _k=1 ^∞ be a sequence of subsets of S satisfying conditions related to those in the ergodic theorem for semi-group actions of A. A. Tempelman. For A-measureable functions f on the measure space (Ω, A, μ) we form for k ≥ 1 the Templeman averages \(\pi _k (f)(x) = \left| {A_k } \right|^{ - 1} \sum\nolimits_{g \in A_k } {T_g f(x)}\) and set V _q f(x) = (Σ _k≥1|π _k+1(f)(x) ? π _k (f)(x)|q)^1/q when q ∈ (1, 2]. We show that there exists C > 0 such that for all f in L ¹(Ω, A, µ) we have µ({x ∈ Ω: V _q f(x) > λ}) ≤ C(∫_Ω | f | dµ/λ). Finally, some concrete examples are constructed.     

Stability of Cubic and Quartic Functional Equations in Non-Archimedean Spaces

We prove generalized Hyers-Ulam–Rassias stability of the cubic functional equation f(kx+y)+f(kx?y)=k[f(x+y)+f(x?y)]+2(k ³?k)f(x) for all \(k\in \Bbb{N}\) and the quartic functional equation f(kx+y)+f(kx?y)=k ²[f(x+y)+f(x?y)]+2k ²(k ²?1)f(x)?2(k ²?1)f(y) for all \(k\in \Bbb{N}\) in non-Archimedean normed spaces.     

Large strings of consecutive smooth integers

In this note we improve an algorithm from a recent paper by Bauer and Bennett for computing a function of Erdös that measures the minimal gap size f(k) in the sequence of integers at least one of whose prime factors exceeds k. This allows us to compute values of f(k) for larger k and obtain new values of f(k).     

Some variations on Tverberg’s theorem

Define T(d, r) = (d + 1)(r - 1) + 1. A well known theorem of Tverberg states that if n ≥ T(d, r), then one can partition any set of n points in R^d into r pairwise disjoint subsets whose convex hulls have a common point. The numbers T(d, r) are known as Tverberg numbers. Reay added another parameter k (2 ≤ k ≤ r) and asked: what is the smallest number n, such that every set of n points in R^d admits an r-partition, in such a way that each k of the convex hulls of the r parts meet. Call this number T(d, r, k). Reay conjectured that T(d, r, k) = T(d, r) for all d, r and k. In this paper we prove Reay’s conjecture in the following cases: when k ≥ [d+3/2], and also when d < rk/r-k - 1. The conjecture also holds for the specific values d = 3, r = 4, k = 2 and d = 5, r = 3, k = 2.     

On the Complexity and Depth of Embedded in Boolean Cube Circuits That Implement Boolean Functions

A class of circuits of functional elements over the standard basis of the conjunction, disjunction, and negation elements is considered. For each circuit Σ in this class, its depth D(Σ) and dimension R(Σ) equal to the minimum dimension of the Boolean cube allowing isomorphic embedding Σ are defined. It is established that for n = 1, 2,… and an arbitrary Boolean function f of n variables there exists a circuit Σ_f for implementing this function such that R(Σ_f) ? n ? log₂ log₂n + O(1) and D(Σ_f) ? 2n ? 2 log₂ log₂n + O(1). It is proved that for n = 1, 2,… almost all functions of n variables allow implementation by circuits of the considered type, whose depth and dimension differ from the minimum values of these parameters (for all equivalent circuits) by no more than a constant and asymptotically no more than by a factor of 2, respectively.     

Distance domination of generalized de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs

Let G = (V,A) be a digraph and k ≥ 1 an integer. For u, v ∈ V, we say that the vertex u distance k-dominate v if the distance from u to v at most k. A set D of vertices in G is a distance k-dominating set if each vertex of V D is distance k-dominated by some vertex of D. The distance k-domination number of G, denoted by γ _k (G), is the minimum cardinality of a distance k-dominating set of G. Generalized de Bruijn digraphs G _B (n, d) and generalized Kautz digraphs G _K (n, d) are good candidates for interconnection networks. Denote Δ _k := (∑ _j=0 ^k d ^j )^?1. F. Tian and J. Xu showed that ?nΔ _k ? γ _k (G _B (n, d)) ≤?n/d ^k? and ?nΔ _k ? ≤ γ _k (G _K (n, d)) ≤ ?n/d ^k ?. In this paper, we prove that every generalized de Bruijn digraph G _B (n, d) has the distance k-domination number ?nΔ _k ? or ?nΔ _k ?+1, and the distance k-domination number of every generalized Kautz digraph G _K (n, d) bounded above by ?n/(d ^k?1+d ^k )?. Additionally, we present various sufficient conditions for γ _k (G _B (n, d)) = ?nΔ _k ? and γ _k (G _K (n, d)) = ?nΔ _k ?.     

Planar Posets,Dimension, Breadth and the Number of Minimal Elements

In recent years, researchers have shown renewed interest in combinatorial properties of posets determined by geometric properties of its order diagram and topological properties of its cover graph. In most cases, the roots for the problems being studied today can be traced back to the 1970’s, and sometimes even earlier. In this paper, we study the problem of bounding the dimension of a planar poset in terms of the number of minimal elements, where the starting point is the 1977 theorem of Trotter and Moore asserting that the dimension of a planar poset with a single minimal element is at most 3. By carefully analyzing and then refining the details of this argument, we are able to show that the dimension of a planar poset with t minimal elements is at most 2t + 1. This bound is tight for t = 1 and t = 2. But for t ≥ 3, we are only able to show that there exist planar posets with t minimal elements having dimension t + 3. Our lower bound construction can be modified in ways that have immediate connections to the following challenging conjecture: For every d ≥ 2, there is an integer f(d) so that if P is a planar poset with dim(P) ≥ f(d), then P contains a standard example of dimension d. To date, the best known examples only showed that the function f, if it exists, satisfies f(d) ≥ d + 2. Here, we show that lim _d→∞ f(d)/d ≥ 2.     

On an Extremal Problem for Poset Dimension

Let f(n) be the largest integer such that every poset on n elements has a 2-dimensional subposet on f(n) elements. What is the asymptotics of f(n)? It is easy to see that f(n) = n ^1/2. We improve the best known upper bound and show f(n) = O (n ^2/3). For higher dimensions, we show \(f_{d}(n)=\O \left (n^{\frac {d}{d + 1}}\right )\), where f _d (n) is the largest integer such that every poset on n elements has a d-dimensional subposet on f _d (n) elements.     

On the sum of the L1 influences of bounded functions

Let f: {-1, 1}ⁿ → [-1, 1] have degree d as a multilinear polynomial. It is well-known that the total influence of f is at most d. Aaronson and Ambainis asked whether the total L₁ influence of f can also be bounded as a function of d. Ba?kurs and Bavarian answered this question in the affirmative, providing a bound of O(d³) for general functions and O(d²) for homogeneous functions. We improve on their results by providing a bound of d² for general functions and O(d log d) for homogeneous functions. In addition, we prove a bound of d/(2p) + o(d) for monotone functions, and provide a matching example.     

On criteria of estimation of the errors of cubature formulas

The paper considers cubature formulas for calculating integrals of functions f(X), X = (x ₁, …, x _n ) which are defined on the n-dimensional unit hypercube K ⁿ = [0, 1] ⁿ and have integrable mixed derivatives of the kind \(\partial _{\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\alpha _1 \alpha _n } \\ {x_1 , \ldots , x_n } \\ \end{array} } f(X)\), 0 ≤ α _j ≤ 2. We estimate the errors R[f] = \(\smallint _{K^n } \) f(X)dX ? Σ _{k = 1} ^N c _k f(X(k)) of cubature formulas (c _k > 0) as functions of the weights c _k of nodes X(k) and properties of integrable functions. The error is estimated in terms of the integrals of the derivatives of f over r-dimensional faces (r≤n) of the hypercube K ⁿ : |R(f)| ≤ \(\sum _{\alpha _j } \) G(α _j )\(\int_{K^r } {\left| {\partial _{\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\alpha _1 \alpha _n } \\ {x_1 , \ldots , x_n } \\ \end{array} } f(X)} \right|} \) dX _r , where coefficients G(α _j ) are criteria which depend only on parameters c _k and X(k). We present an algorithm to calculate these criteria in the two- and n-dimensional cases. Examples are given. A particular case of the criteria is the discrepancy, and the algorithm proposed is a generalization of those used to compute the discrepancy. The results obtained can be used for optimization of cubature formulas as functions of c _k and X(k).     

Equicontinuity of maps on a dendrite with finite branch points

Let(T, d) be a dendrite with finite branch points and f be a continuous map from T to T. Denote byω(x,f) and P(f) the ω-limit set of x under f and the set of periodic points of,respectively. Write Ω(x,f) = {y| there exist a sequence of points x_k E T and a sequence of positive integers n_1 n_2 … such that lim_(k→∞)x_k=x and lim_(k→∞)f~(n_k)(x_k) =y}. In this paper, we show that the following statements are equivalent:(1) f is equicontinuous.(2) ω(x, f) = Ω(x,f) for any x∈T.(3) ∩_(n=1)~∞f~n(T) = P(f),and ω(x,f)is a periodic orbit for every x ∈ T and map h : x→ω(x,f)(x ET)is continuous.(4) Ω(x,f) is a periodic orbit for any x∈T.     

On Ranks of Polynomials

Let V be a vector space over a field k, P : V → k, d ≥?3. We show the existence of a function C(r, d) such that rank(P) ≤ C(r, d) for any field k, char(k) > d, a finite-dimensional k-vector space V and a polynomial P : V → k of degree d such that rank(?P/?t) ≤ r for all t ∈ V ??0. Our proof of this theorem is based on the application of results on Gowers norms for finite fields k. We don’t know a direct proof even in the case when k = ?.     

Finite p-Groups with Few Non-major k-Maximal Subgroups

A subgroup of index p ^k of a finite p-group G is called a k-maximal subgroup of G. Denote by d(G) the number of elements in a minimal generator-system of G and by δ _k (G) the number of k-maximal subgroups which do not contain the Frattini subgroup of G. In this paper, the authors classify the finite p-groups with δ_d(G)(G) ≤ p² and δ_d(G)?1(G) = 0, respectively.