Two classes of hyperplanes of dual polar spaces without subquadrangular quads

Let Π be one of the following polar spaces: (i) a nondegenerate polar space of rank n−1?2 which is embedded as a hyperplane in Q(2n,K); (ii) a nondegenerate polar space of rank n?2 which contains Q(2n,K) as a hyperplane. Let Δ and DQ(2n,K) denote the dual polar spaces associated with Π and Q(2n,K), respectively. We show that every locally singular hyperplane of DQ(2n,K) gives rise to a hyperplane of Δ without subquadrangular quads. Suppose Π is associated with a nonsingular quadric Q⁻(2n+?,K) of PG(2n+?,K), ?∈{−1,1}, described by a quadratic form of Witt-index , which becomes a quadratic form of Witt-index when regarded over a quadratic Galois extension of K. Then we show that the constructed hyperplanes of Δ arise from embedding.     

Intriguing Sets of Points of Q(2n, 2) \Q +(2n ? 1, 2)

Intriguing sets of vertices have been studied for several classes of strongly regular graphs. In the present paper, we study intriguing sets for the graphs Γ _n , n ≥ 2, which are defined as follows. Suppose Q(2n, 2), n?≥ 2, is a nonsingular parabolic quadric of PG(2n, 2) and Q ⁺(2n ? 1, 2) is a nonsingular hyperbolic quadric obtained by intersecting Q(2n, 2) with a suitable nontangent hyperplane. Then the collinearity relation of Q(2n, 2) defines a strongly regular graph Γ _n on the set Q(2n, 2) \ Q ⁺(2n ? 1, 2). We describe some classes of intriguing sets of Γ _n and classify all intriguing sets of Γ₂ and Γ₃.     

A Property of Isometric Mappings Between Dual Polar Spaces of Type {DQ (2n, {\mathbb K})}

Let f be an isometric embedding of the dual polar space ${\Delta = DQ(2n, {\mathbb K})}Let f be an isometric embedding of the dual polar space D = DQ(2n, \mathbb K){\Delta = DQ(2n, {\mathbb K})} into D￠ = DQ(2n, \mathbb K￠){\Delta^\prime = DQ(2n, {\mathbb K}^\prime)}. Let P denote the point-set of Δ and let e￠: D￠? S￠ @ PG(2ⁿ - 1, \mathbb K￠){e^\prime : \Delta^\prime \rightarrow {\Sigma^\prime} \cong {\rm PG}(2^n - 1, {{\mathbb K}^\prime})} denote the spin-embedding of Δ′. We show that for every locally singular hyperplane H of Δ, there exists a unique locally singular hyperplane H′ of Δ′ such that f(H) = f(P) ?H￠{f(H) = f(P) \cap H^\prime}. We use this to show that there exists a subgeometry S @ PG(2ⁿ - 1, \mathbb K){\Sigma \cong {\rm PG}(2^n - 1, {\mathbb K})} of Σ′ such that: (i) e￠°f (x) ? S{e^\prime \circ f (x) \in \Sigma} for every point x of D; (ii) e : = e￠°f{\Delta; ({\rm ii})\,e := e^\prime \circ f} defines a full embedding of Δ into Σ, which is isomorphic to the spin-embedding of Δ.     

Semidefinite descriptions of low-dimensional separable matrix cones

Let K⊂E, K^′⊂E^′ be convex cones residing in finite-dimensional real vector spaces. An element y in the tensor product E⊗E^′ is K⊗K^′-separable if it can be represented as finite sum , where x_l∈K and for all l. Let S(n), H(n), Q(n) be the spaces of n×n real symmetric, complex Hermitian and quaternionic Hermitian matrices, respectively. Let further S₊(n), H₊(n), Q₊(n) be the cones of positive semidefinite matrices in these spaces. If a matrix A∈H(mn)=H(m)⊗H(n) is H₊(m)⊗H₊(n)-separable, then it fulfills also the so-called PPT condition, i.e. it is positive semidefinite and has a positive semidefinite partial transpose. The same implication holds for matrices in the spaces S(m)⊗S(n), H(m)⊗S(n), and for m?2 in the space Q(m)⊗S(n). We provide a complete enumeration of all pairs (n,m) when the inverse implication is also true for each of the above spaces, i.e. the PPT condition is sufficient for separability. We also show that a matrix in Q(n)⊗S(2) is Q₊(n)⊗S₊(2)- separable if and only if it is positive semidefinite.     

A note on acyclic edge coloring of complete bipartite graphs

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph is a proper edge coloring such that there are no bichromatic (2-colored) cycles. The acyclic chromatic index of a graph is the minimum number k such that there is an acyclic edge coloring using k colors and is denoted by a^′(G). Let Δ=Δ(G) denote the maximum degree of a vertex in a graph G. A complete bipartite graph with n vertices on each side is denoted by K_n,n. Alon, McDiarmid and Reed observed that a^′(K_p−1,p−1)=p for every prime p. In this paper we prove that a^′(K_p,p)≤p+2=Δ+2 when p is prime. Basavaraju, Chandran and Kummini proved that a^′(K_n,n)≥n+2=Δ+2 when n is odd, which combined with our result implies that a^′(K_p,p)=p+2=Δ+2 when p is an odd prime. Moreover we show that if we remove any edge from K_p,p, the resulting graph is acyclically Δ+1=p+1-edge-colorable.     

Power integral bases for Selmer-like number fields

The Selmer trinomials are the trinomials f(X)∈{Xn−X−1,Xn+X+1|n>1 is an integer} over Z. For these trinomials we show that the ideal C=(f(X),f^′(X))Z[X] has height two and contains the linear polynomial (n−1)X+n. We then give several necessary and sufficient conditions for D[X]/(f(X)D[X]) to be a regular ring, where f(X) is an arbitrary polynomial over a Dedekind domain D such that its ideal C has height two and contains a product of primitive linear polynomials. We next specialize to the Selmer-like trinomials bXn+cX+d and bXn+cXn−1+d over D and give several more such necessary and sufficient conditions (among them is that C is a radical ideal). We then specialize to the Selmer trinomials over Z and give quite a few more such conditions (among them is that the discriminant Disc(Xn−X−1)=±(nn−(1−n)ⁿ⁻¹) of Xn−X−1 is square-free (respectively Disc(Xn+X+1)=±(nn+(1−n)ⁿ⁻¹) of Xn+X+1 is square-free)). Finally, we show that nn+(1−n)ⁿ⁻¹ is never square-free when n≡2 (mod 3) and n>2, but, otherwise, both are very often (but not always) square-free.     

On symplectic polar spaces over non-perfect fields of characteristic 2

Given a field 𝕂 of characteristic 2 and an integer n ≥ 2, let W(2n ? 1, 𝕂) be the symplectic polar space defined in PG(2n ? 1, 𝕂) by a non-degenerate alternating form of V(2n, 𝕂) and let Q(2n, 𝕂) be the quadric of PG(2n, 𝕂) associated to a non-singular quadratic form of Witt index n. In the literature it is often claimed that W(2n ? 1, 𝕂) ? Q(2n, 𝕂). This is true when 𝕂 is perfect, but false otherwise. In this article, we modify the previous claim in order to obtain a statement that is correct for any field of characteristic 2. Explicitly, we prove that W(2n ? 1, 𝕂) is indeed isomorphic to a non-singular quadric Q, but when 𝕂 is non-perfect the nucleus of Q has vector dimension greater than 1. So, in this case, Q(2n, 𝕂) is a proper subgeometry of W(2n ? 1, 𝕂). We show that, in spite of this fact, W(2n ? 1, 𝕂) can be embedded in Q(2n, 𝕂) as a subgeometry and that this embedding induces a full embedding of the dual DW(2n ? 1, 𝕂) of W(2n ? 1, 𝕂) into the dual DQ(2n, 𝕂) of Q(2n, 𝕂).     

On a ramification bound of torsion semi-stable representations over a local field

Let p be a rational prime, k be a perfect field of characteristic p, W=W(k) be the ring of Witt vectors, K be a finite totally ramified extension of Frac(W) of degree e and r be a non-negative integer satisfying r<p−1. In this paper, we prove the upper numbering ramification group for j>u(K,r,n) acts trivially on the pn-torsion semi-stable GK-representations with Hodge-Tate weights in {0,…,r}, where u(K,0,n)=0, u(K,1,n)=1+e(n+1/(p−1)) and u(K,r,n)=1−p−n+e(n+r/(p−1)) for 1<r<p−1.     

Ordering connected graphs having small degree distances

The concept of degree distance of a connected graph G is a variation of the well-known Wiener index, in which the degrees of vertices are also involved. It is defined by D^′(G)=∑_x∈V(G)d(x)∑_y∈V(G)d(x,y), where d(x) and d(x,y) are the degree of x and the distance between x and y, respectively. In this paper it is proved that connected graphs of order n≥4 having the smallest degree distances are K_1,n−1,BS(n−3,1) and K_1,n−1+e (in this order), where BS(n−3,1) denotes the bistar consisting of vertex disjoint stars K_1,n−3 and K_1,1 with central vertices joined by an edge.     

Partitions of natural numbers with the same representation functions

For a set A of nonnegative integers the representation functions R₂(A,n), R₃(A,n) are defined as the number of solutions of the equation n=a+a^′,a,a^′∈A with a<a^′, a?a^′, respectively. Let D(0)=0 and let D(a) denote the number of ones in the binary representation of a. Let A₀ be the set of all nonnegative integers a with even D(a) and A₁ be the set of all nonnegative integers a with odd D(a). In this paper we show that (a) if R₂(A,n)=R₂(N?A,n) for all n?2N−1, then R₂(A,n)=R₂(N?A,n)?1 for all n?12N²−10N−2 except for A=A₀ or A=A₁; (b) if R₃(A,n)=R₃(N?A,n) for all n?2N−1, then R₃(A,n)=R₃(N?A,n)?1 for all n?12N²+2N. Several problems are posed in this paper.     

The Independence Number for De Bruijn networks and Kautz networks

Let D be a directed graph; the (l,ω)-Independence Number of graph D, denoted by α_l,ω(D), is an important performance parameter for interconnection networks. De Bruijn networks and Kautz networks, denoted by B(d,n) and K(d,n) respectively, are versatile and efficient topological structures of interconnection networks. For l=1,2,…,n, this paper shows that α_l,d−1(B(d,n))=dⁿ,α_l,d−1(K(d,n))=α_l,d(K(d,n))=dⁿ+dⁿ⁻¹ if d≥3 and n≤d−2. In particular, the paper shows the exact value of the Independence Number for B(d,1) and B(d,2) for any d. For the generalized situation, the paper obtains a lower bound α_l,d−1(B(d,n))≥d² if n≥3 and d≥5.     

A spectrum result on minimal blocking sets with respect to the planes of PG(3, q), q odd

This article presents a spectrum result on minimal blocking sets with respect to the planes of PG(3, q), q odd. We prove that for every integer k in an interval of, roughly, size [q ²/4, 3q ²/4], there exists such a minimal blocking set of size k in PG(3, q), q odd. A similar result on the spectrum of minimal blocking sets with respect to the planes of PG(3, q), q even, was presented in Rößing and Storme (Eur J Combin 31:349–361, 2010). Since minimal blocking sets with respect to the planes in PG(3, q) are tangency sets, they define maximal partial 1-systems on the Klein quadric Q ⁺(5, q), so we get the same spectrum result for maximal partial 1-systems of lines on the Klein quadric Q ⁺(5, q), q odd.     

On elliptic curves y=x−nx with rank zero

In this paper we determine all elliptic curves E_n:y²=x³−n²x with the smallest 2-Selmer groups S_n=Sel₂(E_n(Q))={1} and S_n′=Sel₂(E_n′(Q))={±1,±n}(E_n′:y²=x³+4n²x) based on the 2-descent method. The values of n for such curves E_n are described in terms of graph-theory language. It is well known that the rank of the group E_n(Q) for such curves E_n is zero, the order of its Tate-Shafarevich group is odd, and such integers n are non-congruent numbers.     

A simplification of the Kovarik formula

Let P,Q be two idempotents on a Hilbert space. Z.V. Kovarik (Z.V. Kovarik, Similarity and interpolation between projectors, Acta Sci. Math. (Szeged) 39 (1977) 341-351) showed that when P+Q−I is invertible, the formula K(P,Q)=P⁻²(P+Q−I)Q gives the only idempotent such that R(K)=R(P), N(K)=N(Q), where N(T) and R(T) denote the nullspace and the range of a bounded linear operator T on a Hilbert space, respectively. This formula was later extended to the context of Banach algebras and used in 1983 by J. Esterle to show that two homotopic idempotents may always be connected by a polynomial idempotent valued path. In the present paper, we give a simplification of Kovarik's original formula and one natural generalization of it.     

On squares in Lucas sequences

Let P and Q be non-zero integers. The Lucas sequence {Un(P,Q)} is defined by U₀=0, U₁=1, Un=PUn−1−QUn−2 (n?2). The question of when Un(P,Q) can be a perfect square has generated interest in the literature. We show that for n=2,…,7, Un is a square for infinitely many pairs (P,Q) with gcd(P,Q)=1; further, for n=8,…,12, the only non-degenerate sequences where gcd(P,Q)=1 and Un(P,Q)=□, are given by U₈(1,−4)=²¹², U₈(4,−17)=⁶²⁰², and U₁₂(1,−1)=¹²².     

Global solutions of the fast diffusion equation with gradient absorption terms

We investigate the existence of nonnegative weak solutions to the problem ut=Δ(um)−p|∇u| in Rn×(0,∞) with ⁺(1−2/n)<m<1. It will be proved that: (i) When 1<p<2, if the initial datum u₀∈D(Rn) then there exists a solution; (ii) When 1<p<(2+mn)/(n+1), if the initial datum u₀(x) is a bounded and nonnegative measure then the solution exists; (iii) When (2+mn)/(n+1)?p<2, if the initial datum is a Dirac mass then the solution does not exist. We also study the large time behavior of the L¹-norm of solutions for 1<p?(2+mn)/(n+1), and the large time behavior of t1/β‖u(⋅,t)−Ec(⋅,t)L^∞_‖ for (2+mn)/(n+1)<p<2.     

Degree sum conditions for oriented forests in digraphs

Let F be an oriented forest with n vertices and m arcs and D be a digraph without loops and multiple arcs. In this note we prove that D contains a subdigraph isomorphic to F if D has at least n vertices and min{d⁺(u)+d⁺(v),d⁻(u)+d⁻(v),d⁺(u)+d⁻(v)}≥2m−1 for every pair of vertices u,v∈V(D) with uv∉A(D). This is a common generalization of two results of Babu and Diwan, one on the existence of forests in graphs under a degree sum condition and the other on the existence of oriented forests in digraphs under a minimum degree condition.     

Lower bounds on covering codes via partition matrices

Let Kq(n,R) denote the minimal cardinality of a q-ary code of length n and covering radius R. Let σq(n,s;r) denote the minimal cardinality of a q-ary code of length n, which is s-surjective with radius r. In order to lower-bound Kq(n,n−2) and σq(n,s;s−2) we introduce partition matrices and their transversals. Our approach leads to a short new proof of a classical bound of Rodemich on Kq(n,n−2) and to the new bound Kq(n,n−2)?3q−2n+2, improving the first iff 5?n<q?2n−4. We determine Kq(q,q−2)=q−2+σ₂(q,2;0) if q?10. Moreover, we obtain the new powerful recursive bound Kq+1(n+1,R+1)?min{2(q+1),Kq(n,R)+1}.     

The Jacobian problem as a system of ordinary differential equations

LetP=x ⁿ +P _n?1(y)x ^n?1+…+P ₀(y),Q=x ^m +Q _m?2(y)x ^m?2+…+Q ₀(y) belong toK[x, y], whereK is a field of characteristic zero. The main result of this paper is the following: Assume thatP _x Q _y ?P _y Q _x =1. Then:*

1. K[Q _m?2(y), …,Q ₀(y)]=K[y],
2. K[P, Q]=K[x, y] ifQ=x ^m +Q _k (y)x ^k +Q _r (y)x ^r

     

Oscillation of neutral differential equation with positive and negative coefficients

In this paper, we provide oscillation properties of every solution of the neutral differential equation with positive and negative coefficients

[x(t)−R(t)x(t−r)^]′+P(t)x(t−τ)−Q(t)x(t−σ)=0,