On the computation of the hull number of a graph

Let G be a graph. If u,v∈V(G), a u-vshortest path of G is a path linking u and v with minimum number of edges. The closed interval I[u,v] consists of all vertices lying in some u-v shortest path of G. For S⊆V(G), the set I[S] is the union of all sets I[u,v] for u,v∈S. We say that S is a convex set if I[S]=S. The convex hull of S, denoted I_h[S], is the smallest convex set containing S. A set S is a hull set of G if I_h[S]=V(G). The cardinality of a minimum hull set of G is the hull number of G, denoted by hn(G). In this work we prove that deciding whether hn(G)≤k is NP-complete.We also present polynomial-time algorithms for computing hn(G) when G is a unit interval graph, a cograph or a split graph.     

Bijective linear maps on semimodules spanned by Boolean matrices of fixed rank

Let M_m,n(B) be the semimodule of all m×n Boolean matrices where B is the Boolean algebra with two elements. Let k be a positive integer such that 2?k?min(m,n). Let B(m,n,k) denote the subsemimodule of M_m,n(B) spanned by the set of all rank k matrices. We show that if T is a bijective linear mapping on B(m,n,k), then there exist permutation matrices P and Q such that T(A)=PAQ for all A∈B(m,n,k) or m=n and T(A)=PA^tQ for all A∈B(m,n,k). This result follows from a more general theorem we prove concerning the structure of linear mappings on B(m,n,k) that preserve both the weight of each matrix and rank one matrices of weight k². Here the weight of a Boolean matrix is the number of its nonzero entries.     

Rate of convergence in a class of singular perturbations

Let V_?, W_?, W and X be Hilbert spaces (0 < ? ? 1) with V_? ? W_? ? W ? X algebraically and topologically, each space being dense in the one that follows it. For each t? [0, T] let a_?(t; u, v), b_?(t; u, v) and b(t; u, v) be continuous sesqui-linear forms on V_?, W_? and W, respectively, which satisfy certain ellipticity conditions. Consider the two equations a_?(t; u_?, v) + b_?(t; u_?, v) = 〈f_?, v〉 (v?V_?) and (u′, v)_x + b(t; u, v) = 〈f, v〉 (v?W). Estimates are obtained on the rate of convergence of u_? to u, assuming a_?(t; u, v) → (u, v)_x and b_?(t; u, v) → b(t; u, v) in an appropriate sense. These results are then applied to singular perturbation of a class of parabolic boundary value problems.     

On oscillation of solutions of higher order forced functional differential inequalities

Oscillation criteria for the class of forced functional differential inequalities x(t){L_nx(t) + f(t, x(t), x[g₁(t)],…, x[g_m(t)]) ? h(t)} ? 0, for n even, and x(t){L_nx(t) ? f(t, x(t), x[g₁(t)],…, x[g_m(t)]) ? h(t)} ? 0, for n odd, are established.     

Euclidean ramsey theorems. I

The general Ramsey problem can be described as follows: Let A and B be two sets, and R a subset of A × B. For a?A denote by R(a) the set {b?B | (a, b) ?R}. R is called r-Ramsey if for any r-part partition of B there is some a?A with R(a) in one part. We investigate questions of whether or not certain R are r-Ramsey where B is a Euclidean space and R is defined geometrically.     

[r,s,t]-Coloring of K n,n

Let G=(V(G),E(G)) be a simple graph. Given non-negative integers r,s, and t, an [r,s,t]-coloring of G is a mapping c from V(G)∪E(G) to the color set {0,1,…,k?1} such that |c(v _i )?c(v _j )|≥r for every two adjacent vertices v _i ,v _j , |c(e _i )?c(e _j )|≥s for every two adjacent edges e _i ,e _j , and |c(v _i )?c(e _j )|≥t for all pairs of incident vertices and edges, respectively. The [r,s,t]-chromatic number χ _r,s,t (G) of G is defined to be the minimum k such that G admits an [r,s,t]-coloring. We determine χ _r,s,t (K _n,n ) in all cases.     

Taylor series and divisibility

LetA be an augmentedK-algebra; defineT:A →A ?k _kA byT(a)=1?a ?a?1,a ∈A. We prove, under some conditions, thatg is in the subalgebraK[f] ofA generated byf if and only ifT(g) is in the principal ideal generated byT(f) inA?k _kA. WhenA=K[[X]],T(f) is a multiple ofT(X) if and only iff belongs to the ringL obtained by localizingK[X] at (X).     

Maximum nullity of outerplanar graphs and the path cover number

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with V={1,2,…,n}. Define S(G) as the set of all n×n real-valued symmetric matrices A=[a_ij] with a_ij≠0,i≠j if and only if ij∈E. By M(G) we denote the largest possible nullity of any matrix A∈S(G). The path cover number of a graph G, denoted P(G), is the minimum number of vertex disjoint paths occurring as induced subgraphs of G which cover all the vertices of G.There has been some success with relating the path cover number of a graph to its maximum nullity. Johnson and Duarte [5], have shown that for a tree T,M(T)=P(T). Barioli et al. [2], show that for a unicyclic graph G,M(G)=P(G) or M(G)=P(G)-1. Notice that both families of graphs are outerplanar. We show that for any outerplanar graph G,M(G)?P(G). Further we show that for any partial 2-path G,M(G)=P(G).     

Weak solution of (r, (x, u(x)) u′(x))′ = (Fu)′(x) with r(0, u(0))u′(0) = ku(0), r(L, u(L))u′ (L) = hu(L) and k, h are suitable elements of [0, ∞]

We consider weak solutions to the nonlinear boundary value problem (r, (x, u(x)) u′(x))′ = (Fu)′(x) with r(0, u(0)) u′(0) = ku(0), r(L, u(L)) u′(L) = hu(L) and k, h are suitable elements of [0, ∞]. In addition to studying some new boundary conditions, we also relax the constraints on r(x, u) and (Fu)(x). r(x, u) > 0 may have a countable set of jump discontinuities in u and r(x, u)^?1?L_q((0, L) × (0, p)). F is an operator from a suitable set of functions to a subset of L_p(0, L) which have nonnegative values. F includes, among others, examples of the form (Fu)(x) = (1 ? H(x ? x₀)) u(x₀), (Fu)(x) = ∫_x^Lf(y, u(y)) dy where f(y, u) may have a countable set of jump discontinuities in u or F may be chosen so that (Fu)′(x) = ? g(x, u(x)) u′(x) ? q(x) u(x) ? f(x, u(x)) where q is a distributional derivative of an L₂(0, L) function.     

The fractional chromatic number, the Hall ratio, and the lexicographic product

Let χ_f denote the fractional chromatic number and ρ the Hall ratio, and let the lexicographic product of G and H be denoted GlexH. Main results: (i) ρ(GlexH)≤χ_f(G)ρ(H); (ii) if ρ(G)=χ_f(G) then ρ(GlexH)=ρ(G)ρ(H) for all H; (iii) χ_f−ρ is unbounded. In addition, the question of how big χ_f/ρ can be is discussed.     

Labeling bipartite permutation graphs with a condition at distance two

An L(p,q)-labeling of a graph G is an assignment f from vertices of G to the set of non-negative integers {0,1,…,λ} such that |f(u)−f(v)|≥p if u and v are adjacent, and |f(u)−f(v)|≥q if u and v are at distance 2 apart. The minimum value of λ for which G has L(p,q)-labeling is denoted by λ_p,q(G). The L(p,q)-labeling problem is related to the channel assignment problem for wireless networks.In this paper, we present a polynomial time algorithm for computing L(p,q)-labeling of a bipartite permutation graph G such that the largest label is at most (2p−1)+q(bc(G)−2), where bc(G) is the biclique number of G. Since λ_p,q(G)≥p+q(bc(G)−2) for any bipartite graph G, the upper bound is at most p−1 far from optimal.     

A closure concept in factor-critical graphs

A graph G is called n-factor-critical if the removal of every set of n vertices results in a~graph with a~1-factor. We prove the following theorem: Let G be a~graph and let x be a~locally n-connected vertex. Let {u,v} be a~pair of vertices in V(G)−{x} such that uv∉E(G), x∈N_G(u)∩N_G(v), and N_G(x)⊂N_G(u)∪N_G(v)∪{u,v}. Then G is n-factor-critical if and only if G+uv is n-factor-critical.     

Coincidences of projections and linear n-valued maps of tori

We prove that the Nielsen fixed point number N(φ) of an n-valued map φ:X?X of a compact connected triangulated orientable q-manifold without boundary is equal to the Nielsen coincidence number of the projections of the graph of φ, a subset of X×X, to the two factors. For certain q×q integer matrices A, there exist “linear” n-valued maps Φn,A,σ:Tq?Tq of q-tori that generalize the single-valued maps fA:Tq→Tq induced by the linear transformations TA:Rq→Rq defined by TA(v)=Av. By calculating the Nielsen coincidence number of the projections of its graph, we calculate N(Φn,A,σ) for a large class of linear n-valued maps.     

A note on random walk in random scenery

We consider a random walk in random scenery {Xn=η(S₀)+?+η(Sn),n∈N}, where a centered walk {Sn,n∈N} is independent of the scenery {η(x),x∈Zd}, consisting of symmetric i.i.d. with tail distribution P(η(x)>t)∼exp(−cαtα), with 1?α<d/2. We study the probability, when averaged over both randomness, that {Xn>ny} for y>0, and n large. In this note, we show that the large deviation estimate is of order exp(−ca(ny)), with a=α/(α+1).     

An improvement of the Nevanlinna-Gundersen theorem

A well-known result of Nevanlinna states that for two nonconstant meromorphic functions f and g on the complex plane C and for four distinct values aj∈C∪{∞}, if νf−aj=νg−aj for all 1?j?4, then g is a Möbius transformation of f. In 1983, Gundersen generalized the result of Nevanlinna to the case where the above condition is replaced by: min{νf−aj,1}=min{νg−aj,1} for j=1,2 and νf−aj=νg−aj for j=3,4. In this paper, we prove that the theorem of Gundersen remains valid to the case where min{νf−aj,1}=min{νg−aj,1} for j=1,2, and min{νf−aj,2}=min{νg−aj,2} for j=3,4. Furthermore, we work on the case where {aj} are small functions.     

Large solutions for an elliptic system of quasilinear equations

In this paper we consider the quasilinear elliptic system Δpu=uavb, Δpv=ucve in a smooth bounded domain Ω⊂RN, with the boundary conditions u=v=+∞ on ∂Ω. The operator Δp stands for the p-Laplacian defined by Δpu=div(|∇u|^p−2∇u), p>1, and the exponents verify a,e>p−1, b,c>0 and (a−p+1)(e−p+1)?bc. We analyze positive solutions in both components, providing necessary and sufficient conditions for existence. We also prove uniqueness of positive solutions in the case (a−p+1)(e−p+1)>bc and obtain the exact blow-up rate near the boundary of the solution. In the case (a−p+1)(e−p+1)=bc, infinitely many positive solutions are constructed.     

Strong commutativity preserving maps in prime rings with involution

Let A be a prime ring of characteristic not 2, with center Z(A) and with involution *. Let S be the set of symmetric elements of A. Suppose that f:S→A is an additive map such that [f(x),f(y)]=[x,y] for all x,y∈S. Then unless A is an order in a 4-dimensional central simple algebra, there exists an additive map μ:S→Z(A) such that f(x)=x+μ(x) for all x∈S or f(x)=-x+μ(x) for all x∈S.     

Max-min of polynomials and exponential diophantine equations

In this paper we study the maximum-minimum value of polynomials over the integer ring Z. In particular, we prove the following: Let F(x,y) be a polynomial over Z. Then, maxx∈Z(T)miny∈Z|F(x,y)|=o(T1/2) as T→∞ if and only if there is a positive integer B such that maxx∈Zminy∈Z|F(x,y)|?B. We then apply these results to exponential diophantine equations and obtain that: Let f(x,y), g(x,y) and G(x,y) be polynomials over Q, G(x,y)∈(Q[x,y]−Q[x])∪Q, and b a positive integer. For every α in Z, there is a y in Z such that f(α,y)+g(α,y)bG(α,y)=0 if and only if for every integer α there exists an h(x)∈Q[x] such that f(x,h(x))+g(x,h(x))bG(x,h(x))≡0, and h(α)∈Z.     

An improvement of Montel's criterion

Let F be a family of holomorphic functions in a domain D, and let a(z), b(z) be two holomorphic functions in D such that a(z)?b(z), and a(z)?a^′(z) or b(z)?b^′(z). In this paper, we prove that: if, for each f∈F, f(z)−a(z) and f(z)−b(z) have no common zeros, f^′(z)=a(z) whenever f(z)=a(z), and f^′(z)=b(z) whenever f(z)=b(z) in D, then F is normal in D. This result improves and generalizes the classical Montel's normality criterion, and the related results of Pang, Fang and the first author. Some examples are given to show the sharpness of our result.     

Hereditarily polaroid operators, SVEP and Weyl's theorem

A Banach space operator T∈B(X) is hereditarily polaroid, T∈HP, if every part of T is polaroid. HP operators have SVEP. It is proved that if T∈B(X) has SVEP and R∈B(X) is a Riesz operator which commutes with T, then T+R satisfies generalized a-Browder's theorem. If, in particular, R is a quasi-nilpotent operator Q, then both T+Q and T^∗+Q^∗ satisfy generalized a-Browder's theorem; furthermore, if Q is injective, then also T+Q satisfies Weyl's theorem. If A∈B(X) is an algebraic operator which commutes with the polynomially HP operator T, then T+N is polaroid and has SVEP, f(T+N) satisfies generalized Weyl's theorem for every function f which is analytic on a neighbourhood of σ(T+N), and f^∗(T+N) satisfies generalized a-Weyl's theorem for every function f which is analytic on, and constant on no component of, a neighbourhood of σ(T+N).