Algebraic curves and maximal arcs

A lower bound on the minimum degree of the plane algebraic curves containing every point in a large point-set of the Desarguesian plane PG(2,q) is obtained. The case where is a maximal (k,n)-arc is considered in greater depth. Research supported by the Italian Ministry MURST, Strutture geometriche, combinatoria e loro applicazioni.     

Convergence and finite determination of formal CR mappings

It is shown that a formal mapping between two real-analytic hypersurfaces in complex space is convergent provided that neither hypersurface contains a nontrivial holomorphic variety. For higher codimensional generic submanifolds, convergence is proved e.g. under the assumption that the source is of finite type, the target does not contain a nontrivial holomorphic variety, and the mapping is finite. Finite determination (by jets of a predetermined order) of formal mappings between smooth generic submanifolds is also established.

     

Extremal polynomials on arcs of the circle with zeros on these arcs

The paper gives a solution of an extremal problem of finding monic polynomial least deviating from zero on several arcs of the unit circle, under some restrictions on the location of zeros and additional conditions on mutual position of the arcs. The extremal polynomial is represented in the terms of density of harmonic measure. The work is done under the financial support of RFFI (Project 07-01-00167) and the President of RF Grant (Project NSh-2970.2008.1).     

Existence of finite test-sets for k-power-freeness of uniform morphisms

A challenging problem is to find an algorithm to decide whether a morphism is k-power-free. When k?3, we provide such an algorithm for uniform morphisms showing that in such a case, contrarily to the general case, there exist finite test-sets for k-power-freeness.     

Maximum distance separable codes and arcs in projective spaces

Given any linear code C over a finite field GF(q) we show how C can be described in a transparent and geometrical way by using the associated Bruen-Silverman code.Then, specializing to the case of MDS codes we use our new approach to offer improvements to the main results currently available concerning MDS extensions of linear MDS codes. We also sharply limit the possibilities for constructing long non-linear MDS codes. Our proofs make use of the connection between the work of Rédei [L. Rédei, Lacunary Polynomials over Finite Fields, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1973. Translated from the German by I. Földes. [18]] and the Rédei blocking sets that was first pointed out over thirty years ago in [A.A. Bruen, B. Levinger, A theorem on permutations of a finite field, Canad. J. Math. 25 (1973) 1060-1065]. The main results of this paper significantly strengthen those in [A. Blokhuis, A.A. Bruen, J.A. Thas, Arcs in PG(n,q), MDS-codes and three fundamental problems of B. Segre—Some extensions, Geom. Dedicata 35 (1-3) (1990) 1-11; A.A. Bruen, J.A. Thas, A.Blokhuis, On M.D.S. codes, arcs in PG(n,q) with q even, and a solution of three fundamental problems of B. Segre, Invent. Math. 92 (3) (1988) 441-459].     

Towards the generalized purely wild inertia conjecture for product of alternating and symmetric groups

We obtain new evidence for the Purely Wild Inertia Conjecture posed by Abhyankar and for its generalization. We show that this generalized conjecture is true for any product of simple Alternating groups in odd characteristics, and for any product of certain Symmetric or Alternating groups in characteristic two. We also obtain important results towards the realization of the inertia groups which can be applied to more general set up. We further show that the Purely Wild Inertia Conjecture is true for any product of perfect quasi p-groups (groups generated by their Sylow p-subgroups) if the conjecture is established for individual groups.     

Tame characters and ramification of finite flat group schemes

In this paper, for a complete discrete valuation field K of mixed characteristic (0,p) and a finite flat group scheme G of p-power order over OK, we determine the tame characters appearing in the Galois representation in terms of the ramification theory of Abbes and Saito, without any restriction on the absolute ramification index of K or the embedding dimension of G.     

Identification of non-optimal arcs for the travelling salesman problem

Conditions are presented for the identification of (directed) arcs for the traveling salesman problem, that can be eliminated with at least one optimal solution remaining. The conditions are not based on lower or upper bounds; the presence of an identified arc in a solution implies that the solution is not 3-optimal. An example illustrates how to use the conditions.     

Generalised dual arcs and Veronesean surfaces, with applications to cryptography

We start by defining generalised dual arcs, the motivation for defining them comes from cryptography, since they can serve as a tool to construct authentication codes and secret sharing schemes. We extend the characterisation of the tangent planes of the Veronesean surface in PG(5,q), q odd, described in [J.W.P. Hirschfeld, J.A. Thas, General Galois Geometries, Oxford Math. Monogr., Clarendon Press/Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1991], as a set of q²+q+1 planes in PG(5,q), such that every two intersect in a point and every three are skew. We show that a set of q²+q planes generating PG(5,q), q odd, and satisfying the above properties can be extended to a set of q²+q+1 planes still satisfying all conditions. This result is a natural generalisation of the fact that a q-arc in PG(2,q), q odd, can always be extended to a (q+1)-arc. This extension result is then used to study a regular generalised dual arc with parameters (9,5,2,0) in PG(9,q), q odd, where we obtain an algebraic characterisation of such an object as being the image of a cubic Veronesean.     

Topological collapsings and cylindrical neighborhoods in 3-manifolds

We introduce the concept of topological collapsing as a topological abstraction of polyhedral ones. Then we use this concept to characterize the cylindrical neighborhoods of a closed X in a locally compact separable metric space M such that M - X is a 3-manifold. We also prove the following criterion of existence: X has cylindrical neighborhoods in M iff there is a neighborhood N of X in M which is topologically collapsible onto X respecting Bd(M - X).     

Galois closure of essentially finite morphisms

Let X be a reduced connected k-scheme pointed at a rational point x∈X(k). By using tannakian techniques we construct the Galois closure of an essentially finite k-morphism f:Y→X satisfying the condition H⁰(Y,O_Y)=k; this Galois closure is a torsor dominating f by an X-morphism and universal for this property. Moreover, we show that is a torsor under some finite group scheme we describe. Furthermore we prove that the direct image of an essentially finite vector bundle over Y is still an essentially finite vector bundle over X. We develop for torsors and essentially finite morphisms a Galois correspondence similar to the usual one. As an application we show that for any pointed torsor f:Y→X under a finite group scheme satisfying the condition H⁰(Y,O_Y)=k, Y has a fundamental group scheme π₁(Y,y) fitting in a short exact sequence with π₁(X,x).     

Homogeneity and the disjoint arcs property

Some previous results of the author towards a classification of homogeneous metric continua are improved. The disjoint arcs property is fully revealed in this context. In particular, closed -manifolds, , are characterized as those homogeneous continua which do not have the disjoint arcs property.

     

Integer valued polynomials and Lubin-Tate formal groups

If R is an integral domain and K is its field of fractions, we let Int(R) stand for the subring of K[x] which maps R into itself. We show that if R is the ring of integers of a p-adic field, then Int(R) is generated, as an R-algebra, by the coefficients of the endomorphisms of any Lubin-Tate group attached to R.     

Ramification of a finite flat group scheme over a local field

In this paper, we analyze ramification in the sense of Abbes-Saito of a finite flat group scheme over the ring of integers of a complete discrete valuation field of mixed characteristic (0,p). We deduce that its Galois representation depends only on its reduction modulo explicitly computed p-power. We also give a new proof of a theorem of Fontaine on ramification of a finite flat Galois representation, and extend it to the case where the residue field may be imperfect.     

Combining very large scale and ILP based neighborhoods for a two-level location problem

In this paper we tackle a generalization of the Single Source Capacitated Facility Location Problem in which two sets of facilities, called intermediate level and upper level facilities, have to be located; the dimensioning of the intermediate set, the assignment of clients to intermediate level facilities, and of intermediate level facilities to upper level facilities, must be optimized, as well. Such problem arises, for instance, in telecommunication network design: in fact, in hierarchical networks the traffic arising at client nodes often have to be routed through different kinds of facility nodes, which provide different services. We propose a heuristic approach, based on very large scale neighborhood search to tackle the problem, in which both ad hoc algorithms and general purpose solvers are applied to explore the search space. We report on experimental results using datasets from the capacitated location literature. Such results show that the approach is promising and that Integer Linear Programming based neighborhoods are significantly effective.     

Existence and generic stability of solutions for multiclass multicriteria traffic equilibrium problems with capacity constraints of arcs

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we introduce the multiclass multicriteria traffic equilibrium problem with capacity constraints of arcs and its equilibrium principle. Using Fan–Browder's fixed points theorem and Fort's lemma to prove the existence and generic stability results of multiclass multicriteria traffic equilibrium flows with capacity constraints of arcs.     

A formal system for fuzzy reasoning

A formal system for fuzzy reasoning is described which is capable of dealing rationally with evidence which may be inconsistent and/or involve degrees of belief. The basic idea is that the meaning of each formal sentence should be given by a certain commitment or bet associated with it. Each item of evidence is first expressed in the form of such a (hypothetical) bet, which is then written as a formal sentence in a language related to ?ukasiewicz logic. The sentences may be weighted to express the relative reliability of the various informants. A sentence is considered to “follow” from the evidence if the bet it represents can be offered by a speaker without fear of loss, on the assumption that the bets representing various items of evidence have been offered to him. A detailed account, illustrated by concrete examples, is given of the procedures by which an arbitrary sentence in common language can be translated into a formal sentence. The treatment of inconsistency, degrees of belief, and weights is illustrated by a practical example which is solved in full. It is shown that in most practical cases the computations involved in the process of formal reasoning reduce to a problem in linear programming. In the last section the relation between this system and the procedures advocated by Zadeh is examined. It is shown that, subject to certain modifications in formulas, there is general agreement in the region of overlap.     

Subgraphs in vertex neighborhoods of Kr‐free graphs

In a K_r‐free graph, the neighborhood of every vertex induces a K_{r ? 1}‐free subgraph. The K_r‐free graphs with the converse property that every induced K_{r ? 1}‐free subgraph is contained in the neighborhood of a vertex are characterized, based on the characterization in the case r ? 3 due to Pach [ 8 ]. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 47: 29–38, 2004     

An analogue of a theorem of Szüsz for formal Laurent series over finite fields

About 40 years ago, Szüsz proved an extension of the well-known Gauss-Kuzmin theorem. This result played a crucial role in several subsequent papers (for instance, papers due to Szüsz, Philipp, and the author). In this note, we provide an analogue in the field of formal Laurent series and outline applications to the metric theory of continued fractions and to the metric theory of diophantine approximation.