Partitions of a graph into paths with prescribed endvertices and lengths

For a graph G, let σ₂(G) denote the minimum degree sum of a pair of nonadjacent vertices. We conjecture that if |V(G)| = n = Σ^k_{i = 1} a_i and σ₂(G) ≥ n + k − 1, then for any k vertices v₁, v₂,…, v_k in G, there exist vertex‐disjoint paths P₁, P₂,…, P_k such that |V(P_i)| = a_i and v_i is an endvertex of P_i for 1 ≤ i ≤ k. In this paper, we verify the conjecture for the cases where almost all a_i ≤ 5, and the cases where k ≤ 3. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 34: 163–169, 2000     

Permanence and Positive Periodic Solutions for Kolmogorov Competing Species Systems

We prove the existence of periodic solutions in a compact attractor of (R⁺)ⁿ for the Kolmogorov system x′_i = x_if_i(t, x₁, …, x_n), i = l, …, n in the competitive case. Extension to differential delay equations are con- sidered too. Applications are given to Lotka-Volterra systems with periodic coefficients.     

An asymptotic version of a conjecture by Enomoto and Ota

In 2000, Enomoto and Ota [J Graph Theory 34 (2000), 163–169] stated the following conjecture. Let G be a graph of order n, and let n₁, n₂, …, n_k be positive integers with \begin{eqnarray*}\sum\nolimits_{{{i}} = {{1}}}^{{{k}}} {{n}}_{{{i}}} = {{n}}\end{eqnarray*}. If σ₂(G)≥n+ k?1, then for any k distinct vertices x₁, x₂, …, x_k in G, there exist vertex disjoint paths P₁, P₂, …, P_k such that |P_i|=n_i and x_i is an endpoint of P_i for every i, 1≤i≤k. We prove an asymptotic version of this conjecture in the following sense. For every k positive real numbers γ₁, …, γ_k with \begin{eqnarray*}\sum\nolimits_{{{i}} = {{1}}}^{{{k}}} \gamma_{{{i}}} = {{1}}\end{eqnarray*}, and for every ε>0, there exists n₀ such that for every graph G of order n≥n₀ with σ₂(G)≥n+ k?1, and for every choice of k vertices x₁, …, x_k∈V(G), there exist vertex disjoint paths P₁, …, P_k in G such that \begin{eqnarray*}\sum\nolimits_{{{i}} = {{1}}}^{{{k}}} |{{P}}_{{{i}}}| = {{n}}\end{eqnarray*}, the vertex x_i is an endpoint of the path P_i, and (γ_i?ε)n<|P_i|<(γ_i + ε)n for every i, 1≤i≤k. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 64: 37–51, 2010     

A limit theorem for matrix-solutions of Hamiltonian systems

The following limit theorem on Hamiltonian systems (resp. corresponding Riccati matrix equations) is shown: Given(N, N)-matrices,A, B, C andn ∈ {1,…, N} with the following properties:A and kemelB(x) are constant, rank(I, A, …, A ^n?1) B(x)≠N,B(x)∈C _n(R), andB(x)(A ^T)^j-1 C(x)∈C _n-j(R) forj=1, …, n. Then \(\mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to x_0 } \eta _1^T \left( x \right)V\left( x \right)U^{ - 1} \left( x \right)\eta _2 \left( x \right) = d_1^T \left( {x_0 } \right)U\left( {x_0 } \right)d_2 \) forx ₀∈R, whenever the matricesU(x), V(x) are a conjoined basis of the differential systemU′=AU + BV, V′=CU?A ^TV, and whenever η_i(x)∈R ^N satisfy η_i(x ₀)=U(x ₀)d _i ∈ imageU(x ₀) η′_i-Aη_ni(x) ∈ imageB(x),B(x)(η′_i(x)-Aη_i(x)) ∈C _n-1 R fori=1,2.     

Z-cyclic triplewhist tournaments when the number of players involves primes of the form 8u + 5

When the number of players, v, in a whist tournament, Wh(v), is ≡ 1 (mod 4) the only instances of a Z-cyclic triplewhist tournament, TWh(v), that appear in the literature are for v = 21,29,37. In this study we present Z-cyclic TWh(v) for all v ∈ T = {v = 8u + 5: v is prime, 3 ≤ u ≤ 249}. Additionally, we establish (1) for all v ∈ T there exists a Z-cyclic TWh(vⁿ) for all n ≥ 1, and (2) if v_i ∈ T, i = 1,…,n, there exists a Z-cyclic TWh(v… v) for all ?_i ≥ 1. It is believed that these are the first instances of infinite classes of Z-cyclic TWh(v), v ≡ 1 (mod 4). © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Phase reconstruction from magnitude of band-limited multidimensional signals

In this paper, the problem of phase reconstruction from magnitude of multidimensional band-limited functions is considered. It is shown that any irreducible band-limited function f(z₁…,z_n), z_i ? $\text{C}$, i=1, …, n, is uniquely determined from the magnitude of f(x₁…,x_n): | f(x₁…,x_n)|, x_i ? $\text{R}$, i=1,…, n, except for (1) linear shifts: ^{i(α1z1+…+α_n2n+β}), β, α_i?$\text{R}$, i=1,…, n; and (2) conjugation: $\text{f}{}^1\text{(z}{}_1{}^1\text{,…,z}{}_{\mathrm{n}}{}^1\text{)}$.     

Adjacency preserving functions on symmetric elements and linear preservers of non-zero decomposable symmetric tensors

Let A be a non-empty set and m be a positive integer. Let ≡ be the equivalence relation defined on A ^m such that (x ₁, …, x _m ) ≡ (y ₁, …, y _m ) if there exists a permutation σ on {1, …, m} such that y _σ(i) = x _i for all i. Let A ^(m) denote the set of all equivalence classes determined by ≡. Two elements X and Y in A ^(m) are said to be adjacent if (x ₁, …, x _m?1, a) ∈ X and (x ₁, …, x _m?1, b) ∈ Y for some x ₁, …, x _m?1 ∈ A and some distinct elements a, b ∈ A. We study the structure of functions from A ^(m) to B ⁽ⁿ⁾ that send adjacent elements to adjacent elements when A has at least n + 2 elements and its application to linear preservers of non-zero decomposable symmetric tensors.     

A symmetry relationship for a class of partitions

Let S(n, k, v) denote the number of vectors (a₀,…, a_n?1) with nonnegative integer components that satisfy a₀ + … + a_{n ? 1} = k and Σ_i=0^n?1ia_i ≡ v (mod n). Two proofs are given for the relation S(n, k, v) = S(k, n, v). The first proof is by algebraic enumeration while the second is by combinatorial construction.     

Graph decompositions without isolated vertices III

Let G be a graph of order n, and n = Σ^k_i=1 a_i be a partition of n with a_i ≥ 2. In this article we show that if the minimum degree of G is at least 3k−2, then for any distinct k vertices v₁,…, v_k of G, the vertex set V(G) can be decomposed into k disjoint subsets A₁,…, A_k so that |A_i| = a_i,v_iisA_i is an element of A_i and “the subgraph induced by A_i contains no isolated vertices” for all i, 1 ≥ i ≥ k. Here, the bound on the minimum degree is sharp. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An approximation technique for nonlinear integral operations

Approximation results for J. S. Mac Nerney's theory of nonlinear integral operations are established. For the nonlinear product integral _xΠ^y (1 + V)P, approximations of the form Π_{i = 1}ⁿ [1 + L_q(x_i?1, x_i)]P are considered, where L₁(u, v)P = ∝_u^vVP and L_q(u, v)P = ∝_u^vV(r, s)[1 + L_q?1(s, v)]P for q = 2, 3,…. Error bounds are obtained for the difference between the product integral and the preceding product.     

On the number of positive solutions of elliptic systems

The paper deals with the existence, multiplicity and nonexistence of positive radial solutions for the elliptic system div(|?|^{p –2}?) + λk_i (|x |) fⁱ (u₁, …,u_n) = 0, p > 1, R₁ < |x | < R₂, u_i (x) = 0, on |x | = R₁ and R₂, i = 1, …, n, x ∈ ?^N , where k_i and fⁱ, i = 1, …, n, are continuous and nonnegative functions. Let u = (u₁, …, u_n), φ (t) = |t |^{p –2}t, fⁱ₀ = lim_{‖ u ‖→0}((fⁱ ( u ))/(φ (‖ u ‖))), fⁱ_∞= lim_{‖ u ‖→∞}((fⁱ ( u ))/(φ (‖ u ‖))), i = 1, …, n, f = (f¹, …, fⁿ), f ₀ = ∑ⁿ _{i =1} fⁱ ₀ and f _∞ = ∑ⁿ _{i =1} fⁱ _∞. We prove that either f ₀ = 0 and f _∞ = ∞ (superlinear), or f ₀ = ∞and f _∞ = 0 (sublinear), guarantee existence for all λ > 0. In addition, if fⁱ ( u ) > 0 for ‖ u ‖ > 0, i = 1, …, n, then either f ₀ = f _∞ = 0, or f ₀ = f _∞ = ∞, guarantee multiplicity for sufficiently large, or small λ, respectively. On the other hand, either f₀ and f_∞ > 0, or f₀ and f_∞ < ∞ imply nonexistence for sufficiently large, or small λ, respectively. Furthermore, all the results are valid for Dirichlet/Neumann boundary conditions. We shall use fixed point theorems in a cone. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Asymptotic properties of least squares estimators for discrete compound distributions

Let (X, Λ) be a pair of random variables, where Λ is an Ω (a compact subset of the real line) valued random variable with the density functiong(Θ: α) andX is a real-valued random variable whose conditional probability function given Λ=Θ is P {X=x|Θ} withx=x ₀, x₁, …. Based onn independent observations ofX, x ⁽ⁿ⁾, we are to estimate the true (unknown) parameter vectorα=(α ₁, α₂, ...,α_m) of the probability function ofX, P_α(X=∫_ΩP{X=x|Θ}g(Θ:α)dΘ. A least squares estimator of α is any vector \(\hat \alpha \left( {X^{\left( n \right)} } \right)\) which minimizes $$n^{ - 1} \sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {\left( {P_\alpha \left( {x_i } \right) - fn\left( {x_i } \right)} \right)^2 } $$ wherex ⁽ⁿ⁾=(x₁, x₂,…,x _n) is a random sample ofX andf _n(x_i)=[number ofx _i inx ⁽ⁿ⁾]/n. It is shown that the least squares estimators exist as a unique solution of the normal equations for all sufficiently large sample size (n) and the Gauss-Newton iteration method of obtaining the estimator is numerically stable. The least squares estimators converge to the true values at the rate of \(O\left( {\sqrt {2\log \left( {{{\log n} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\log n} n}} \right. \kern-0em} n}} \right)} } \right)\) with probability one, and has the asymptotically normal distribution.     

Coin flipping from a cosmic source: On error correction of truly random bits

We study a problem related to coin flipping, coding theory, and noise sensitivity. Consider a source of truly random bits x ∈ {0, 1}ⁿ, and k parties, who have noisy version of the source bits yⁱ ∈ {0, 1}ⁿ, when for all i and j, it holds that P [y = x_j] = 1 ? ?, independently for all i and j. That is, each party sees each bit correctly with probability 1 ? ?, and incorrectly (flipped) with probability ?, independently for all bits and all parties. The parties, who cannot communicate, wish to agree beforehand on balanced functions f_i: {0, 1}ⁿ → {0, 1} such that P [f₁(y¹) = … = f_k(y^k)] is maximized. In other words, each party wants to toss a fair coin so that the probability that all parties have the same coin is maximized. The function f_i may be thought of as an error correcting procedure for the source x. When k = 2,3, no error correction is possible, as the optimal protocol is given by f_i(yⁱ) = y. On the other hand, for large values of k, better protocols exist. We study general properties of the optimal protocols and the asymptotic behavior of the problem with respect to k, n, and ?. Our analysis uses tools from probability, discrete Fourier analysis, convexity, and discrete symmetrization. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2005     

Uniform approximation by some Hermite interpolating splines

In this paper some upper bound for the error ∥ s-f ∥_∞ is given, where f ε C¹[a,b], but s is a so-called Hermite spline interpolant (HSI) of degree 2q ?1 such that f(x_i) = s(x_i), f′(rmx_i) = s′(x_i), s^(j) (x_i) = 0 (i = 0, 1, …, n; j = 2, 3, …, q ?1; n > 0, q > 0) and the knots x_i are such that a = x₀ < x₁ < … < x_n = b. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of convex HSI are given and upper error bound for approximation of the function fε C¹[a, b] by convex HSI is also given.     

An application of L-functions of imaginary quadratic fields

Let F₁(x, y),…, F_2h+1(x, y) be the representatives of equivalent classes of positive definite binary quadratic forms of discriminant ?q (q is a prime such that q ≡ 3 mod 4) with integer coefficients, then the number of integer solutions of F_i(x, y) = n (i = 1,…, 2h + 1) can be calculated for each natural number n using L-functions of imaginary quadratic field $\text{Q}$((?q)^1/2).     

Maximizing the probability of correctly ordering random variables using linear predictors

Let (T₁, x₁), (T₂, x₂), …, (T_n, x_n) be a sample from a multivariate normal distribution where T_i are (unobservable) random variables and x_i are random vectors in R^k. If the sample is either independent and identically distributed or satisfies a multivariate components of variance model, then the probability of correctly ordering {T_i} is maximized by ranking according to the order of the best linear predictors {E(T_i|x_i)}. Furthermore, it orderings are chosen according to linear functions {b′x_i} then the conditional probability of correct order given (T_i = t₁; i = 1, …, n) is maximized when b′x_i is the best linear predictor. Examples are given to show that linear predictors may not be optimal and that using a linear combination other that the best linear predictor may give a greater probability of correctly ordering {T_i} if {(T_i, x_i)} are independent but not identically distributed, or if the distributions are not normal.     

ANEW RELATION-COMBINING THEOREM AND ITS APPLICATION

Let ?ⁿ denote the set of all formulas ?x₁…?x_n[P(x₁, …,x_n) = 0], where P is a polynomial with integer coefficients. We prove a new relation-combining theorem from which it follows that if ?ⁿ is undecidable over N, then ?²ⁿ⁺² is undecidable over Z.