Quasilinear degenerate evolution equations in Banach spaces

The quasilinear degenerate evolution equation of parabolic type 0< t T considered in a Banach space X is written, putting Mv = u, in the from 0< t T, where A(u)=L(u)M^–1 are multivalued linear operators in X for u K, K being a bounded ball ||u||_Z<R in another Banach space Z continuously embedded in X. Existence and uniqueness of the local solution for the related Cauchy problem are given. The results are applied to quasilinear elliptic-parabolic equations and systems.     

Ethics in OR/MS: Past,present and future

The pervasiveness and impact on society and on every day human life of technology has led to a growing awareness that science and technology cannot be considered above or beyond the realm of value judgements and hence of ethics. This is especially true for Operations Research / Management Science (OR/MS), that particular science which is concerned with methodologies for scientifically deciding how to design and operate man-machine systems in an optimal way, usually under conditions requiring the allocation of scarce resources. Here we try to give a historical account of the growing interest for ethics within the OR/MS community from its birth to present days. Starting from attempts to define models and codes of ethical behaviour in our profession, the OR/MS community has arrived at more fundamental questions about the ethical responsibility it faces in a world of growing inequalities and in which the ever greater stress that human activities impose on the environment puts at risk the very survival of human kind.     

Dynamic uniqueness for stochastic chains with unbounded memory

We say that a probability kernel exhibits dynamic uniqueness (DU) if all the stochastic chains starting from a fixed past coincide on the future tail $\sigma$-algebra. Our first theorem is a set of properties that are pairwise equivalent to DU which allow us to understand how it compares to other more classical concepts. In particular, we prove that DU is equivalent to a weak-${?}^2$ summability condition on the kernel. As a corollary to this theorem, we prove that the Bramson–Kalikow and the long-range Ising models both exhibit DU if and only if their kernels are ${?}^2$ summable. Finally, if we weaken the condition for DU, asking for coincidence on the future $\sigma$-algebra for almost every pair of pasts, we obtain a condition that is equivalent to $\beta$-mixing (weak-Bernoullicity) of the compatible stationary chain. As a consequence, we show that a modification of the weak-${?}^2$ summability condition on the kernel is equivalent to the $\beta$-mixing of the compatible stationary chain.     

Essential dimension of finite groups in prime characteristic

Let F be a field of characteristic $p>0$ and G be a smooth finite algebraic group over F. We compute the essential dimension ${\mathrm{ed}}_F(G;p)$ of G at p. That is, we show that

${\mathrm{ed}}_F(G;p)=\{\begin{array}{cc}1,\hfill & \text{if}p\text{divides}|G|,\text{and}\hfill \\ 0,\hfill & \text{otherwise.}\hfill \end{array}$

     

Direct and inverse problems for degenerate differential equations

We are concerned with a general abstract equation that allows to handle various degenerate first and second order differential equations in Banach spaces. We indicate sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of a solution. Periodic conditions are assumed to improve previous approaches on the abstract problem to work on \((-\infty ,\infty )\). Related inverse problems are discussed, too. All general results are applied to some systems of partial differential equations. Inverse problems for degenerate evolution integro-differential equations might be described, too.     

Using the pointwise dimension to filter time series

This paper provides an insight into dimension analysis from time series. In particular, we propose a procedure based on the pointwise dimension in order to extract, for each embedding dimension, the subset of points in the phase space (and the corresponding ones in the time series) which give rise to the scaling behaviour. We may consider the output time series as the result of a filtering process, based on correlations of points in the phase-space domain. Furthermore, the procedure gives the statistics of points which determine the scaling behaviour.     

A non-linear model for the dynamics of open cross-section thin-walled beams—Part I: formulation

A non-linear one-dimensional model of inextensional, shear undeformable, thin-walled beam with an open cross-section is developed. Non-linear in-plane and out-of-plane warping and torsional elongation effects are included in the model. By using the Vlasov kinematical hypotheses, together with the assumption that the cross-section is undeformable in its own plane, the non-linear warping is described in terms of the flexural and torsional curvatures. Due to the internal constraints, the displacement field depends on three components only, two transversal translations of the shear center and the torsional rotation. Three non-linear differential equations of motion up to the third order are derived using the Hamilton principle. Taking into account the order of magnitude of the various terms, the equations are simplified and the importance of each contribution is discussed. The effect of symmetry properties is also outlined. Finally, a discrete form of the equations is given, which is used in Part II to study dynamic coupling phenomena in conditions of internal resonance.