Algebras, Projective Geometry, Mathematical Logic, and Constructing the World: Intersections in the Philosophy of Mathematics of A. N. Whitehead

A. N. Whitehead (1861–1947) contributed notably to the foundations of pure and applied mathematics, especially from the late 1890s to the mid 1920s. An algebraist by mathematical tendency, he surveyed several algebras in his book Universal Algebra (1898). Then in the 1900s he joined Bertrand Russell in an attempt to ground many parts of mathematics in the newly developing mathematical logic. In this connection he published in 1906 a long paper on geometry, space and time, and matter. The main outcome of the collaboration was a three-volume work, Principia Mathematica (1910–1913): he was supposed to write a fourth volume on parts of geometries, but he abandoned it after much of it was done. By then his interests had switched to educational issues, and especially to space and time and relativity theory, where his earlier dependence upon logic was extended to an ontology of events and to a general notion of “process,” especially in human experience. These innovations led to somewhat revised conceptions of logic and of the philosophy of mathematics. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).A. N. Whitehead (1861–1947) contribuiu de forma marcante para os Fundamentos da Matemática Pura e Aplicada, especialmente entre o fim da década de 1890 e meados da década de 1920. Sendo um algebrista na sua vertente matemática, fez um levantamento de diversas álgebras no seu livro Universal Algebra (1898). Pouco depois de 1900 juntou-se a Bertrand Russell numa tentativa para basear várias partes da matemática sobre a lógica matemática, que se começava então a desenvolver. Nesse âmbito publicou em 1906 um longo artigo sobre geometria, espaço e tempo, e matéria. O principal resultado da colaboração foi um trabalho em três volumes, Principia Mathematica (1910–1913): estava previsto que Whitehead escrevesse um quarto volume sobre aspectos das geometrias, mas abandonou-o depois de uma boa parte já estar escrita. Por essa altura os seus interesses tinham-se voltado para questões educacionais; especialmente para o espaço e o tempo e para a teoria da relatividade, onde a sua anterior dependência da lógica se estendeu a uma ontologia de acontecimentos e a uma noção geral de “processo” especialmente na experiência humana. Estas inovações levaram a concepções um pouco revistas da lógica e da filosofia da matemática. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).MSC 1991 subject classifications: 00A30; 01A60; 03-03; 03A05.     

B-splines and Hermite–Padé approximants to the exponential function

This paper is the continuation of a work initiated in [P. Sablonnière, An algorithm for the computation of Hermite–Padé approximations to the exponential function: divided differences and Hermite–Padé forms. Numer. Algorithms 33 (2003) 443–452] about the computation of Hermite–Padé forms (HPF) and associated Hermite–Padé approximants (HPA) to the exponential function. We present an alternative algorithm for their computation, based on the representation of HPF in terms of integral remainders with B-splines as Peano kernels. Using the good properties of discrete B-splines, this algorithm gives rise to a great variety of representations of HPF of higher orders in terms of HPF of lower orders, and in particular of classical Padé forms. We give some examples illustrating this algorithm, in particular, another way of constructing quadratic HPF already described by different authors. Finally, we briefly study a family of cubic HPF.     

A countable Fréchet–Urysohn space of uncountable character

We shall construct a countable Fréchet–Urysohn α₄ not α₃ space X such that all finite powers of X are Fréchet–Urysohn.     

Les débuts de l'histoire des mathématiques sur les scènes internationales et le cas de l'entreprise encyclopédique de Felix Klein et Jules Molk

At the beginning of the 20th century, the history of mathematics first appeared on different international scenes as a result of different initiatives of mathematicians, historians, and philosophers. By studying the way in which historians of mathematics took advantage of these opportunities, we have sought the contours, the lines of force, and the equilibria of this process of the internationalization of the history of mathematics on an institutional as well as intellectual plane.This search was focused through the study of the German- and French-language editions of the Encyklopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaften, which is one of the most remarkable examples dating from this period of an international collaboration for mathematics and its history. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.Au début du vingtième siècle l'histoire des mathématiques fait ses débuts sur différentes scènes internationales à l'occasion de différentes initiatives de mathématiciens, d'historiens, de philosophes. En étudiant la façon dont les historiens des mathématiques se saisirent de ces opportunités, nous avons cherché à comprendre les contours, les lignes de force, les équilibres de ce processus d'internationalisation de l'histoire des mathématiques, tant sur le plan institutionnel qu'intellectuel.Cette enquête a été précisée par l'étude des éditions en langues allemande et française de l'Encyklopä-die der mathematischen Wissenschaften qui est un des exemples les plus marquant de cette période d'une collaboration internationale, tant pour les mathématiques que leur histoire. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.MSC subject classifications: 01A60, 01A74.     

Principe de Hartogs dans les variétés CR

Let M be a CR manifold. The main results of this paper are the following:

When M is real analytic, a semi-global Hartogs extension phenomenon occurs for real analytic CR functions if and only if M is nowhere strictly pseudoconvex and .

When M is a standard manifold, the Hartogs–Bochner extension phenomenon occurs for non-CR-confined domains if and only if M is nowhere strictly pseudoconvex and dim_CRM2.

If M is a smooth submanifold of foliated by complex curves, a semi-global Hartogs–Bochner extension phenomenon occurs for smooth non-CR-confined domains if and only if dim_CRM2.

If M is a real analytic nowhere strictly pseudoconvex manifold and if Ω is a sufficiently small domain in M, a hyperfunction which is real analytic in a neighborhood of bΩ and CR in a neighborhood of is in fact real analytic on Ω.

On the Domain of Divergence of Hermite–Fejér Interpolating Polynomials

Recently, the study of the behavior of the Hermite–Fejér interpolants in the complex plane was initiated by L. Brutman and I. Gopengauz (1999, Constr. Approx.15, 611–617). It was shown that, for a broad class of interpolatory matrices on [−1, 1], the sequence of polynomials induced by Hermite–Fejér interpolation to f(z)≡z diverges everywhere in the complex plane outside the interval of interpolation [−1, 1]. In this note we amplify this result and prove that the divergence phenomenon takes place without any restriction on the interpolatory matrices.     

Some properties of the Bézier–Kantorovich type operators

The aim of this paper is to present estimates for the rate of pointwise convergence of the Bézier–Kantorovich modification of the discrete Feller operators in some classes of measurable functions bounded on an interval I, in particular, for functions of bounded pth power variation on I. Our theorems generalize and extend the recent results of Zeng and Piriou (J. Approx. Theory 95(1998) 369; 104(2000) 330) for the kantorovichians of the Bernstein–Bézier operators in the class of functions of bounded variation in the Jordan sense on [0,1].     

Quadratic Hermite–Padé polynomials associated with the exponential function

The asymptotic behavior of quadratic Hermite–Padé polynomials associated with the exponential function is studied for n→∞. These polynomials are defined by the relation

(*)

p_n(z)+q_n(z)e^z+r_n(z)e^2z=O(z³ⁿ⁺²) as z→0,

where O(·) denotes Landau's symbol. In the investigation analytic expressions are proved for the asymptotics of the polynomials, for the asymptotics of the remainder term in (*), and also for the arcs on which the zeros of the polynomials and of the remainder term cluster if the independent variable z is rescaled in an appropriate way. The asymptotic expressions are defined with the help of an algebraic function of third degree and its associated Riemann surface. Among other possible applications, the results form the basis for the investigation of the convergence of quadratic Hermite–Padé approximants, which will be done in a follow-up paper.     

On Extremal Permutations AvoidingωN = NN − 1 . . . 1

Dedicated to the memory of Marcel–Paul Schützenberger Cet article présente une étude des permutations qui évitent le motif de la permutation maximaleω_N = NN − 1 . . . 1. Après avoir donné les définitions classiques, nous montrons que l’ensemble de ces permutations est un idéal pour l’ordre de Bruhat faible et faisons l’étude de ses éléments maximaux. Nous exhibons alors un algorithme pour calculer ces éléments et nous montrons que ceux-ci peuvent être obtenus à partir d’un automate. Nous terminons en donnant des estimations asymptotiques de leur nombre. This paper presents a study of permutations avoiding the patternω_N = NN − 1 . . . 1. After recalling the basic definitions, we prove that this set of permutations is an ideal for the weak Bruhat order and begin the study of its maximal elements. We then present an algorithm that generates these elements and find out that they can be obtained from an automaton. Finally, we give some asymptotics about their number.     

The Rényi–Ulam pathological liar game with a fixed number of lies

The q-round Rényi–Ulam pathological liar game with k lies on the set [n]{1,…,n} is a 2-player perfect information zero sum game. In each round Paul chooses a subset A[n] and Carole either assigns 1 lie to each element of A or to each element of [n]A. Paul wins if after q rounds there is at least one element with k or fewer lies. The game is dual to the original Rényi–Ulam liar game for which the winning condition is that at most one element has k or fewer lies. Define to be the minimum n such that Paul can win the q-round pathological liar game with k lies and initial set [n]. For fixed k we prove that is within an absolute constant (depending only on k) of the sphere bound, ; this is already known to hold for the original Rényi–Ulam liar game due to a result of J. Spencer.     

Functional inequalities on arbitrary Riemannian manifolds

For any connected (not necessarily complete) Riemannian manifold, we construct a probability measure of type , where dx is the Riemannian volume measure and V is a function C^∞-smooth outside a closed set of zero volume, satisfying Poincaré–Sobolev type functional inequalities. In particular, V is C^∞-smooth on the whole manifold when the Poincaré and the super-Poincaré inequalities are considered. The Sobolev inequality for infinite measures are also studied.     

Comparaison des deux composantes d''un subordinateur bivarié, puis étude de l''enveloppe supérieure d''un processus de Lévy

Soit (Y,Z) un subordinateur bivarié. Nous donnons une condition suffisante pour que Y_t/Z_t converge vers zéro quand t tend vers 0 ou +∞. Ceci généralise partiellement des résultats de Bertoin et de Kesten–Erickson.Soit X un processus de Lévy et S_t=sup{X_s: st}. Soit f une fonction sous-additive. En appliquant le résultat précédent au subordinateur bivarié d'échelle, nous donnons des conditions nécéssaires et suffisantes pour que et égalent 0 ou +∞.Let (Y,Z) be a bivariate subordinator. Generalizing theorems of Bertoin and Kesten–Erickson, we give a sufficient condition for Y_t/Z_t to converge to 0 when t tends either to 0 or +∞.Let X be a Lévy process. Denote by S_t=sup{X_s: st} and let f be any sub-additive function. Applying our first result to the bivariate ladder process, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for and to be either 0 or +∞.     

Legendre modified moments for Euler's constant

Polynomial moments are often used for the computation of Gauss quadrature to stabilize the numerical calculation of the orthogonal polynomials, see [W. Gautschi, Computational aspects of orthogonal polynomials, in: P. Nevai (Ed.), Orthogonal Polynomials-Theory and Practice, NATO ASI Series, Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, vol. 294. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1990, pp. 181–216 [6]; W. Gautschi, On the sensitivity of orthogonal polynomials to perturbations in the moments, Numer. Math. 48(4) (1986) 369–382 [5]; W. Gautschi, On generating orthogonal polynomials, SIAM J. Sci. Statist. Comput. 3(3) (1982) 289–317 [4]] or numerical resolution of linear systems [C. Brezinski, Padé-type approximation and general orthogonal polynomials, ISNM, vol. 50, Basel, Boston, Stuttgart, Birkhäuser, 1980 [3]]. These modified moments can also be used to accelerate the convergence of sequences to a real or complex numbers if the error satisfies some properties as done in [C. Brezinski, Accélération de la convergence en analyse numérique, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol. 584. Springer, Berlin, New York, 1977; M. Prévost, Padé-type approximants with orthogonal generating polynomials, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 9(4) (1983) 333–346]. In this paper, we use Legendre modified moments to accelerate the convergence of the sequence H_n-log(n+1) to the Euler's constant γ. A formula for the error is given. It is proved that it is a totally monotonic sequence. At last, we give applications to the arithmetic property of γ.     

Problèmes linéaires dans le Compendy de la praticque des nombres de Barthélemy de Romans et Mathieu Préhoude (1471): Une approche nouvelle basée sur des sources proches du Liber abbaci de Léonard de Pise

The Compendy de la praticque des nombres (1471) is one of a number of commercial arithmetics produced in southern France during the medieval period. Its interest and originality rest in its treatment of problem-solving. The author of the text limited his treatment to an in-depth analysis of only a few types of problems, not treating particular cases but rather emphasizing general methods. The sources from which he drew were very close to the Liber abbaci of Leonardo Fibonacci and many of them were new to the southern French arithmetic tradition. Thus, the Compendy sheds new light on the transmission of arithmetic thought into Europe. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.Le Compendy de la praticque des nombres (1471) est un traité qui appartient au groupe des arithmétiques commerciales du Sud de la France. L'intérêt et l'originalité du texte résident dans la partie consacrée à la résolution de problèmes. L'auteur sélectionne quelques types de problèmes seulement, auxquels il consacre une longue étude, délaissant les cas particuliers pour privilégier les méthodes. Ce faisant, il utilise de nouvelles sources, proches du “Liber abbaci” de Léonard de Pise, étrangères aux autres arithmétiques françaises de la même famille. Le Compendy nous apporte ainsi un éclairage nouveau sur la transmission de l'algorisme. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.MSC subject classifications: 01A35; 01A40.     

On the Convergence of Bounded J-Fractions on the Resolvent Set of the Corresponding Second Order Difference Operator

We study connections between continued fractions of type J and spectral properties of second order difference operators with complex coefficients. It is known that the convergents of a bounded J-fraction are diagonal Padé approximants of the Weyl function of the corresponding difference operator and that a bounded J-fraction converges uniformly to the Weyl function in some neighborhood of infinity. In this paper we establish convergence in capacity in the unbounded connected component of the resolvent set of the difference operator and specify the rate of convergence. Furthermore, we show that the absence of poles of Padé approximants in some subdomain implies already local uniform convergence. This enables us to verify the Baker–Gammel–Wills conjecture for a subclass of Weyl functions. For establishing these convergence results, we study the ratio and the nth root asymptotic behavior of Padé denominators of bounded J-fractions and give relations with the Green function of the unbounded connected component of the resolvent set. In addition, we show that the number of “spurious” Padé poles in this set may be bounded.     

The weak type inequality for the maximal operator of the Marcinkiewicz–Fejér means of the two-dimensional Walsh–Fourier series

The main aim of this paper is to prove that the maximal operator σ^* of the Marcinkiewicz–Fejér means of the two-dimensional Walsh–Fourier series is bounded from the Hardy space H_2/3 to the space weak-L_2/3.     

Fréchet differentiability for a damped sine-Gordon equation

We consider a damped sine-Gordon equation with a variable diffusion coefficient. The goal is to derive necessary conditions for the optimal set of parameters minimizing the objective function J. First, we show that the solution map is continuous under a weak assumption on the topology of the admissible set P. Then the solution map is shown to be weakly Gâteux differentiable on P, implying the Gâteux differentiability of the objective function. Finally we show the Fréchet differentiability of J. The optimal set of parameters is shown to satisfy a bang–bang control law.     

Changing canons of mathematical and physical intelligibility in the later 17th century

Learning to use the new calculus in the late 17th century meant looking at quantities and configurations, and the relationships among them, in fundamentally new ways. In part, as Leibniz argued implicitly in his articles, the new concepts lay along lines established by Viète, Fermat, Descartes, and other “analysts” in their development of algebraic geometry and the theory of equations. But in part too, those concepts drew intuitive support from the new mechanics that they were being used to explicate and that was rapidly becoming the primary area of their application. So it was that the world machine that emerged from the Scientific Revolution could be both mechanically intelligible and mathematically transcendental.     

An efficient Fréchet differentiable high breakdown multivariate location and dispersion estimator

A good robust functional should, if possible, be efficient at the model, smooth, and have a high breakdown point. M-estimators can be made efficient and Fréchet differentiable by choosing appropriate ψ-functions but they have a breakdown point of at most 1/(p + 1) in p dimensions. On the other hand, the local smoothness of known high breakdown functionals has not been investigated. It is known that Rousseeuw's minimum volume ellipsoid estimator is not differentiable and that S-estimators based on smooth functions force a trade-off between efficiency and breakdown point. However, by using a two-step M-estimator based on the minimum volume ellipsoid we show that it is possible to obtain a highly efficient, Fréchet differentiable estimator whilst still retaining the breakdown point. This result is extended to smooth S-estimators.