On universal subsets of Banach spaces

We prove that to most of the known hypercyclic operators A on separable Banach spaces there exist compact (compact convex, compact connected) subsets K of E such that each compact (compact convex, compact connected) subset of E can be approximated with respect to Hausdorff's distance by for suitable . Received July 8, 1997, in final form October 17, 1997     

Coincidences of maps into homogeneous spaces

Let f,g:X→M be maps between two closed connected orientable n-manifolds where M=G/K is the homogeneous space of left cosets of a compact connected Lie group G by a finite subgroup K. In this note, we obtain a simple formula for the Lefschetz coincidence number L(f,g) in terms of topological degree, generalizing some previously known formulas for fixed points. Our approach, by means of Nielsen root theory, also allows us to give a simpler and more geometric proof of the fact that all coincidence classes of f and g have coincidence index of the same sign. Received: 3 March 1998 / Revised version: 29 June 1998     

A finite set of generators for the Kauffman bracket skein algebra

If F is a compact orientable surface it is known that the Kauffman bracket skein module of has a multiplicative structure. Our central result is the construction of a finite set of knots which generate the module as an algebra. We can then define an integer valued invariant of compact orientable 3-manifolds which characterizes . Received November 27, 1995; in final form September 29, 1997     

Harmonic maps with singular boundary value from complex hyperbolic spaces into rank one symmetric spaces

In this paper we consider the Dirichlet problem at infinity of proper harmonic maps from noncompact complex hyperbolic space to a rank one symmetric space N of noncompact type with singular boundary data . Under some conditions on f, we show that the Dirichlet problem at infinity admits a harmonic map which assumes the boundary data f continuously. Received: March 11, 1999 / Accepted April 23, 1999     

Third order nonoscillatory central scheme for hyperbolic conservation laws

Summary. A third-order accurate Godunov-type scheme for the approximate solution of hyperbolic systems of conservation laws is presented. Its two main ingredients include: 1. A non-oscillatory piecewise-quadratic reconstruction of pointvalues from their given cell averages; and 2. A central differencing based on staggered evolution of the reconstructed cell averages. This results in a third-order central scheme, an extension along the lines of the second-order central scheme of Nessyahu and Tadmor \cite{NT}. The scalar scheme is non-oscillatory (and hence – convergent), in the sense that it does not increase the number of initial extrema (– as does the exact entropy solution operator). Extension to systems is carried out by componentwise application of the scalar framework. In particular, we have the advantage that, unlike upwind schemes, no (approximate) Riemann solvers, field-by-field characteristic decompositions, etc., are required. Numerical experiments confirm the high-resolution content of the proposed scheme. Thus, a considerable amount of simplicity and robustness is gained while retaining the expected third-order resolution. Received April 10, 1996 / Revised version received January 20, 1997     

Well-posed absorbing layer for hyperbolic problems

Summary. The perfectly matched layer (PML) is an efficient tool to simulate propagation phenomena in free space on unbounded domain. In this paper we consider a new type of absorbing layer for Maxwell's equations and the linearized Euler equations which is also valid for several classes of first order hyperbolic systems. The definition of this layer appears as a slight modification of the PML technique. We show that the associated Cauchy problem is well-posed in suitable spaces. This theory is finally illustrated by some numerical results. It must be underlined that the discretization of this layer leads to a new discretization of the classical PML formulation. Received May 5, 2000 / Published online November 15, 2001     

A dual graph-norm refinement indicator for finite volume approximations of the Euler equations

Summary. We generalise and apply a refinement indicator of the type originally designed by Mackenzie, Süli and Warnecke in [15] and [16] for linear Friedrichs systems to the Euler equations of inviscid, compressible fluid flow. The Euler equations are symmetrized by means of entropy variables and locally linearized about a constant state to obtain a symmetric hyperbolic system to which an a posteriori error analysis of the type introduced in [15] can be applied. We discuss the details of the implementation of the refinement indicator into the DLR--Code which is based on a finite volume method of box type on an unstructured grid and present numerical results. Received May 15, 1995 / Revised version received April 17, 1996     

A third-order semi-discrete genuinely multidimensional central scheme for hyperbolic conservation laws and related problems

Summary. We construct a new third-order semi-discrete genuinely multidimensional central scheme for systems of conservation laws and related convection-diffusion equations. This construction is based on a multidimensional extension of the idea, introduced in [17] – the use of more precise information about the local speeds of propagation, and integration over nonuniform control volumes, which contain Riemann fans. As in the one-dimensional case, the small numerical dissipation, which is independent of , allows us to pass to a limit as . This results in a particularly simple genuinely multidimensional semi-discrete scheme. The high resolution of the proposed scheme is ensured by the new two-dimensional piecewise quadratic non-oscillatory reconstruction. First, we introduce a less dissipative modification of the reconstruction, proposed in [29]. Then, we generalize it for the computation of the two-dimensional numerical fluxes. Our scheme enjoys the main advantage of the Godunov-type central schemes –simplicity, namely it does not employ Riemann solvers and characteristic decomposition. This makes it a universal method, which can be easily implemented to a wide variety of problems. In this paper, the developed scheme is applied to the Euler equations of gas dynamics, a convection-diffusion equation with strongly degenerate diffusion, the incompressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. These numerical experiments demonstrate the desired accuracy and high resolution of our scheme. Received February 7, 2000 / Published online December 19, 2000     

The minimal number of roots of surface mappings and quadratic equations in free groups

Let be a continuous mapping between orientable closed surfaces of genus h and g and let c denote the constant map with . Let be the minimal number of roots of f' among all maps f' homotopic to f, i.e. . We prove that where and denotes the Euler characteristic. In addition, certain quadratic equations in free groups closely related to the coincidence problem are solved. Received January 26, 1999; in final form November 8, 1999 / Published online February 5, 2001     

Equations in free groups and coincidence of mappings on surfaces

Let be a continuous map and a constant map between closed orientable surfaces of genus h,g, respectively. By definition the pair (f,c) has the Wecken property if f can be deformed into a map such that every coincidence classes of (f',c) is essential and consists of exactly one point. The main result is that (f,c) has the Wecken property if and only if where . Certain quadratic equations in free groups closely related to the coincidence problem are solved. Received January 26, 1999; in final form December 10, 1999 / Published online March 12, 2001     

On the stability of the unsmoothed Fourier method for hyperbolic equations

Summary. It has been a long open question whether the pseudospectral Fourier method without smoothing is stable for hyperbolic equations with variable coefficients that change signs. In this work we answer this question with a detailed stability analysis of prototype cases of the Fourier method. We show that due to weighted -stability, the -degree Fourier solution is algebraically stable in the sense that its amplification does not exceed . Yet, the Fourier method is weakly -unstable in the sense that it does experience such amplification. The exact mechanism of this weak instability is due the aliasing phenomenon, which is responsible for an amplification of the Fourier modes at the boundaries of the computed spectrum. Two practical conclusions emerge from our discussion. First, the Fourier method is required to have sufficiently many modes in order to resolve the underlying phenomenon. Otherwise, the lack of resolution will excite the weak instability which will propagate from the slowly decaying high modes to the lower ones. Second -- independent of whether smoothing was used or not, the small scale information contained in the highest modes of the Fourier solution will be destroyed by their amplification. Happily, with enough resolution nothing worse can happen. Received December 14, 1992/Revised version received March 1, 1993     

Large deviations for small noise diffusions with discontinuous statistics

This paper proves the large deviation principle for a class of non-degenerate small noise diffusions with discontinuous drift and with state-dependent diffusion matrix. The proof is based on a variational representation for functionals of strong solutions of stochastic differential equations and on weak convergence methods. Received: 26 May 1998 / Revised version: 24 February 1999     

On positivity preserving finite volume schemes for Euler equations

Summary. We consider the positivity preserving property of first and higher order finite volume schemes for one and two dimensional Euler equations of gas dynamics. A general framework is established which shows the positivity of density and pressure whenever the underlying one dimensional first order building block based on an exact or approximate Riemann solver and the reconstruction are both positivity preserving. Appropriate limitation to achieve a high order positivity preserving reconstruction is described. Received May 20, 1994     

Absolute torsion and eta-invariant

In a recent joint work with V. Turaev [6], we defined a new concept of combinatorial torsion which we called absolute torsion. Compared with the classical Reidemeister torsion, it has the advantage of having a well-determined sign. Also, the absolute torsion is defined for arbitrary orientable flat vector bundles, and not only for unimodular ones, as is classical Reidemeister torsion. In this paper I show that the sign behavior of the absolute torsion, under a continuous deformation of the flat bundle, is determined by the eta-invariant and the Pontrjagin classes. This result has a twofold significance. Firstly, it justifies the definition of the absolute torsion by establishing a relation to the well-known geometric invariants of manifolds. Viewed differently, the result of this paper allows to express (partially) the eta-invariant, which is defined using analytic tools, in terms of the absolute torsion, having a purely topological definition. The result may find applications in studying the spectral flow by methods of combinatorial topology. Received January 11, 1999; in final form August 16, 1999     

Analysis of finite difference schemes for unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in vorticity formulation

Summary. In this paper, we provide stability and convergence analysis for a class of finite difference schemes for unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in vorticity-stream function formulation. The no-slip boundary condition for the velocity is converted into local vorticity boundary conditions. Thom's formula, Wilkes' formula, or other local formulas in the earlier literature can be used in the second order method; while high order formulas, such as Briley's formula, can be used in the fourth order compact difference scheme proposed by E and Liu. The stability analysis of these long-stencil formulas cannot be directly derived from straightforward manipulations since more than one interior point is involved in the formula. The main idea of the stability analysis is to control local terms by global quantities via discrete elliptic regularity for stream function. We choose to analyze the second order scheme with Wilkes' formula in detail. In this case, we can avoid the complicated technique necessitated by the Strang-type high order expansions. As a consequence, our analysis results in almost optimal regularity assumption for the exact solution. The above methodology is very general. We also give a detailed analysis for the fourth order scheme using a 1-D Stokes model. Received December 10, 1999 / Revised version received November 5, 2000 / Published online August 17, 2001