Discrete isoperimetric and Poincaré-type inequalities

We study some discrete isoperimetric and Poincaré-type inequalities for product probability measures μ ⁿ on the discrete cube {0, 1} ⁿ and on the lattice Z ⁿ . In particular we prove sharp lower estimates for the product measures of boundaries of arbitrary sets in the discrete cube. More generally, we characterize those probability distributions μ on Z which satisfy these inequalities on Z ⁿ . The class of these distributions can be described by a certain class of monotone transforms of the two-sided exponential measure. A similar characterization of distributions on R which satisfy Poincaré inequalities on the class of convex functions is proved in terms of variances of suprema of linear processes. Received: 30 April 1997 / Revised version: 5 June 1998     

On neighbouring matrices with quadratic elementary divisors

Summary Algorithms are presented which compute theQR factorization of an order-n Toeplitz matrix inO(n ²) operations. The first algorithm computes onlyR explicitly, and the second computes bothQ andR. The algorithms are derived from a well-known procedure for performing the rank-1 update ofQR factors, using the shift-invariance property of the Toeplitz matrix. The algorithms can be used to solve the Toeplitz least-squares problem, and can be modified to solve Toeplitz systems inO(n) space.     

Anneaux d'holomorphie et Positivstellensatz archimédien

In this paper we obtain some new Positivstellensatz for rings satisfying some archimedean properties. We also study the properties of the real holomorphy ring introduced recently by Becker and Powers. An application of these results in functional analysis is the resolution of the moment problem for some compact sets in R ⁿ . Re?cu le 20 janviers 1998 / Version revisée: le 2 April 1998     

THE REGULARITY DEGREE AND EPIMORPHISMS IN THE CATEGORY OF COMMUTATIVE RINGS

Elements of the universal (von Neumann) regular ring T(R) of a commutative semiprime ring R can be expressed as a sum of products of elements of R and quasi-inverses of elements of R. The maximum number of terms required is called the regularity degree, an invariant for R measuring how R sits in T(R). It is bounded below by 1 plus the Krull dimension of R. For rings with finitely many primes and integral extensions of noetherian rings of dimension 1, this number is precisely the regularity degree.

For each n ≥ 1, one can find a ring of regularity degree n + 1. This shows that an infinite product of epimorphisms in the category of commutative rings need not be an epimorphism.

Finite upper bounds for the regularity degree are found for noetherian rings R of finite dimension using the Wiegand dimension theory for Patch R. These bounds apply to integral extensions of such rings as well.     

On the curvatures of bounded complete spacelike hypersurfaces in the Lorentz–Minkowski space

In this paper we characterize the spacelike hyperplanes in the Lorentz–Minkowski space L ^{n +1} as the only complete spacelike hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature which are bounded between two parallel spacelike hyperplanes. In the same way, we prove that the only complete spacelike hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature in L ^{n +1} which are bounded between two concentric hyperbolic spaces are the hyperbolic spaces. Finally, we obtain some a priori estimates for the higher order mean curvatures, the scalar curvature and the Ricci curvature of a complete spacelike hypersurface in L ^{n +1} which is bounded by a hyperbolic space. Our results will be an application of a maximum principle due to Omori and Yau, and of a generalization of it. Received: 5 July 1999     

ON THE STRUCTURE OF MINIMAL R n ACTIONS

Abstract

In this paper we study several concepts and models which are relevant in describing both the topological and dynamical structure of a typical R ⁿ flow. Some of these ideas originated in our earlier papers, and those of other authors, and we here attempt to synthesise these concepts. We start with shear—a notion which describes how little equicontinuity the flow contains. We move to R ⁿ suspensions which depend on particular R ⁿ cocycles and easily obtain a crude representation of the flow as a tower—a partial suspension over a base flow which contains the shear. Rudolph's deep theory of suspension models is modified to provide a new suspension model which incorporates the shear as the base of the tower. Finally we investigate towers in the context of a special class of automorphisms to see when these objects are themselves suspensions.     

What do multistep methods approximate?

Summary Standard analysis of multistep methods for ODE's assumes the application of an initialization routine that generates the starting points. Here ak-step method is considered directly as a mappingR ^kn R ⁿ . It is shown to approximate a mapping which is expressible directly in terms of the flow of the vector field. Some useful properties of that mapping are shown and for strictly stable methods these are applied to the question of invariant circles near a hyperbolic periodic solution.     

On almost everywhere convergence

Suppose thatf is an element ofL ²(R ⁿ ) whose orbit under the action ofSO(n) spans a finite-dimensional subspace. Then the spherical partial sums of the inverse Fourier transform off converge almost everywhere.     

Nice decompositions of R n entirely into nice sets are mostly impossible

While there are several interesting examples of partitions of R ³ into elements which individually are geometrically nice — circles or segments — the partitions themselves fail to be nice, in the sense of forming continuous or upper semicontinuous decompositions. We show that this is no accident: R ³ has no continuous decomposition into circles, and no open subset of R ⁿ has an upper semicontinuous decomposition into convex compact nonsingleton sets.     

Gleason's problem for harmonic Bergman and Bloch functions on half-spaces

On the setting of the half-spaceR ^n–1×R ₊, we investigate Gleason's problem for harmonic Bergman and Bloch functions. We prove that Gleason's problem for the harmonicL ^p -Bergman space is solvable if and only ifp>n. We also prove that Gleason's problem for the harmonic (little) Bloch space is solvable.     

Blow-up rings and rational singularities

Let A be a normal local ring which is essentially finite type over a field of characteristic zero. Let I⊂A be an ideal such that the Rees algebra R _A (I) is Cohen–Macaulay and normal. In this paper we address the question: “When does R _A (I) have rational singularities?” In particular, we study the connection between rational singularities of R _A (I) and the adjoint ideals of the powers I ⁿ (n∋ℕ). Received: 25 May 1998 / Revised version: 20 August 1998     

Identifiability at the boundary for first-order terms

Let Ω be a domain in R ⁿ whose boundary is C ¹ if n≥3 or C ^1,β if n=2. We consider a magnetic Schrödinger operator L _{W , q} in Ω and show how to recover the boundary values of the tangential component of the vector potential W from the Dirichlet to Neumann map for L _{W , q} . We also consider a steady state heat equation with convection term Δ+2W·? and recover the boundary values of the convection term W from the Dirichlet to Neumann map. Our method is constructive and gives a stability result at the boundary.     

Laplace approximations for sums of independent random vectors

Let X _i , i∈N, be i.i.d. B-valued random variables, where B is a real separable Banach space. Let Φ be a mapping B→R. Under a central limit theorem assumption, an asymptotic evaluation of Z _n = E (exp (n Φ (∑ _{i =1} ⁿ X _i /n))), up to a factor (1 + o(1)), has been gotten in Bolthausen [1]. In this paper, we show that the same asymptotic evaluation can be gotten without the central limit theorem assumption. Received: 19 September 1997 / Revised version:22 April 1999     

Two Extensions to Finsler's Recurring Theorem

Finsler's theorem asserts the equivalence of (i) and (ii) for pairs of real quadratic forms f and g on R ⁿ : (i) f( ξ ) >0 for all ξ≠ 0 with g( ξ ) =0; (ii) f-λ g>0 for some λ∈ R. We prove two extensions: 1. We admit a vector-valued quadratic form g: R ⁿ → R ^k , for which we show that (i) implies that f-λ . . . g>0 on an ( n-k+1 ) -dimensional subspace Y R ⁿ for some λ∈ R ^k . 2. In the nonstrict version of Finsler's theorem for indefinite g we replace R ⁿ by a real vector space X . Accepted 22 February 1998     

Fast block Toeplitz orthogonalization

Summary Algorithms are presented which compute theQR factorization of a block-Toeplitz matrix inO(n) ² block-operations, wheren is the block-order of the matrix and a block-operation is a multiplication, inversion or a set of Householder operations involving one or two blocks. The algorithms are in general analogous to those presented in the scalar Toeplitz case in a previous paper, but the basic operation is the Householder transform rather than the Givens transform, and the computation of the Householder coefficients and other working matrices requires special treatment. Two algorithms are presented-the first computes onlyR explicitly and the second computes bothQ andR.     

On Bateman's method for second kind integral equations

Summary Under suitable conditions, we prove the convergence of the Bateman method for integral equations defined over bounded domains inR ^d ,d1. The proof makes use of Hilbert space methods, and requires the integral operator to be non-negative definite. For one-dimensional integral equations over finite intervals, estimated rates of convergence are obtained which depend on the smoothness of the kernel, but are independent of the inhomogeneous term. In particular, for aC kernel andn reasonably spaced Bateman points, the convergence is shown to be faster than any power of 1/n. Numerical calculations support this result.     

Self-Affine Sets and Graph-Directed Systems

   Abstract. A self-affine set in R ⁿ is a compact set T with A(T)= ∪ _{d∈ D} (T+d) where A is an expanding n× n matrix with integer entries and D ={d ₁ , d ₂ ,···, d _N } ⊂ Z ⁿ is an N -digit set. For the case N = | det(A)| the set T has been studied in great detail in the context of self-affine tiles. Our main interest in this paper is to consider the case N > | det(A)| , but the theorems and proofs apply to all the N . The self-affine sets arise naturally in fractal geometry and, moreover, they are the support of the scaling functions in wavelet theory. The main difficulty in studying such sets is that the pieces T+d, d∈ D, overlap and it is harder to trace the iteration. For this we construct a new graph-directed system to determine whether such a set T will have a nonvoid interior, and to use the system to calculate the dimension of T or its boundary (if T ^o ≠  ). By using this setup we also show that the Lebesgue measure of such T is a rational number, in contrast to the case where, for a self-affine tile, it is an integer.     

On Martos' and Chaehes-Coopeb's approach vis-a-vis

In this paper a linear fractional programming problem is studied in presence of “singular-points”. It is proved that “singular points”, if present, exist at an extreme point of S: = {x ? R ⁿ | Ax = b, x ≧0}

It is also shown that a “singular point” is adjacent to an optimal point of S and a characterization of a non-basic vector is obtained, whose entry into the optimal basis in Martos' approach yields the “singular point”.     

On a computational method for the second fundamental tensor and its application to bifurcation problems

Summary An algorithm is presented for the computation of the second fundamental tensorV of a Riemannian submanifoldM ofR ⁿ . FromV the riemann curvature tensor ofM is easily obtained. Moreover,V has a close relation to the second derivative of certain functionals onM which, in turn, provides a powerful new tool for the computational determination of multiple bifurcation directions. Frequently, in applications, thed-dimensional manifoldM is defined implicitly as the zero set of a submersionF onR ⁿ . In this case, the principal cost of the algorithm for computingV(p) at a given pointpM involves only the decomposition of the JacobianDF(p) ofF atp and the projection ofd(d+1) neighboring points ontoM by means of a local iterative process usingDF(p). Several numerical examples are given which show the efficiency and dependability of the method.Dedicated to R. S. Varga on the occasion of his sixtieth birthdayThis work was in part supported by the National Science Foundation (DCR-8309926) and the Office of Naval Research (N-00014-80-C09455). The second author began some of the work while visiting the University of Heidelberg/Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt Senior U.S. Scientist     

Turbulence Phenomena in Real Analysis

The purpose of this paper is first to show that if X is any locally compact but not compact perfect Polish space and stands for the one-point compactification of X, while E^X is the equivalence relation which is defined on the Polish group C(X,R₊*) by where f, g are in C(X,R₊*), then E^X is induced by a turbulent Polish group action. Second we show that given any if we identify the n-dimensional unit sphere Sⁿ with the one-point compactification of Rⁿ via the stereographic projection, while E_n,r is the equivalence relation which is defined on the Polish group C^r(Rⁿ,R₊*) by where f, g are in C^r(Rⁿ,R₊*), then E_n,r is also induced by a turbulent Polish group action. Dedicated to my sister Alexandra and to her daughter Marianthi.