Optimal Wloc2,2-regularity,Pohozhaevʼs identity,and nonexistence of weak solutions to some quasilinear elliptic equations

We begin by establishing a sharp (optimal) $W_{\mathrm{loc}}^{2,2}$-regularity result for bounded weak solutions to a nonlinear elliptic equation with the p-Laplacian, ${\mathrm{\Delta }}_{p}u\stackrel{\mathrm{def}}{=}\mathrm{div}({|\mathrm{?}u|}^{p?2}\mathrm{?}u)$, $1<p<\infty$. We develop very precise, optimal regularity estimates on the ellipticity of this degenerate (for $2<p<\infty$) or singular (for $1<p<2$) problem. We apply this regularity result to prove Pohozhaev?s identity for a weak solution $u\in W^{1,p}(\Omega )$ of the elliptic Neumann problem(P)$?{\mathrm{\Delta }}_{p}u+W^{\prime }(u)=f(x)\text{in}\Omega ;?u/?\nu =0\text{on}?\Omega .$ Here, Ω is a bounded domain in ${\mathbb{R}}^N$ whose boundary ?Ω is a $C^2$-manifold, $\nu \equiv \nu (x_0)$ denotes the outer unit normal to ?Ω at $x_0\in ?\Omega$, $x=(x_1,\dots ,x_N)$ is a generic point in Ω, and $f\in L^{\infty }(\Omega )\cap W^{1,1}(\Omega )$. The potential $W:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}$ is assumed to be of class $C^1$ and of the typical double-well shape of type $W(s)={|1?{|s|}^{\beta }|}^{\alpha }$ for $s\in \mathbb{R}$, where $\alpha ,\beta >1$ are some constants. Finally, we take an advantage of the Pohozhaev identity to show that problem (P) with $f\equiv 0$ in Ω has no phase transition solution $u\in W^{1,p}(\Omega )$ ($1<p?N$), such that $?1?u?1$ in Ω with $u\equiv ?1$ in ${\Omega }_{?1}$ and $u\equiv 1$ in ${\Omega }_1$, where both ${\Omega }_{?1}$ and ${\Omega }_1$ are some nonempty subdomains of Ω. Such a scenario for u is possible only if $N=1$ and ${\Omega }_{?1}$, ${\Omega }_1$ are finite unions of suitable subintervals of the open interval $\Omega ?{\mathbb{R}}^1$.     

Optimal investment and reinsurance of an insurer with model uncertainty

We introduce a novel approach to optimal investment–reinsurance problems of an insurance company facing model uncertainty via a game theoretic approach. The insurance company invests in a capital market index whose dynamics follow a geometric Brownian motion. The risk process of the company is governed by either a compound Poisson process or its diffusion approximation. The company can also transfer a certain proportion of the insurance risk to a reinsurance company by purchasing reinsurance. The optimal investment–reinsurance problems with model uncertainty are formulated as two-player, zero-sum, stochastic differential games between the insurance company and the market. We provide verification theorems for the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman–Isaacs (HJBI) solutions to the optimal investment–reinsurance problems and derive closed-form solutions to the problems.     

On risk minimizing portfolios under a Markovian regime-switching Black-Scholes economy

We consider a risk minimization problem in a continuous-time Markovian regime-switching financial model modulated by a continuous-time, observable and finite-state Markov chain whose states represent different market regimes. We adopt a particular form of convex risk measure, which includes the entropic risk measure as a particular case, as a measure of risk. The risk-minimization problem is formulated as a Markovian regime-switching version of a two-player, zero-sum stochastic differential game. One important feature of our model is to allow the flexibility of controlling both the diffusion process representing the financial risk and the Markov chain representing macro-economic risk. This is novel and interesting from both the perspectives of stochastic differential game and stochastic control. A verification theorem for the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) solution of the game is provided and some particular cases are discussed.     

Bond pricing under a Markovian regime-switching jump-augmented Vasicek model via stochastic flows

In this article, we shall explore the state of art of stochastic flows to derive an exponential affine form of the bond price when the short rate process is governed by a Markovian regime-switching jump-diffusion version of the Vasicek model. We provide the flexibility that the market parameters, including the mean-reversion level, the volatility rate and the intensity of the jump component switch over time according to a continuous-time, finite-state Markov chain. The states of the chain may be interpreted as different states of an economy or different stages of a business cycle. We shall provide a representation for the exponential affine form of the bond price in terms of fundamental matrix solutions of linear matrix differential equations.     

Existence of global weak solutions for a phase–field model of a vesicle moving into a viscous incompressible fluid

We consider in this article a model of vesicle moving into a viscous incompressible fluid. The vesicle is described through a phase–field equation and through a transport equation modeling the local incompressibility of its membrane. The equations for the fluid are the classical Navier–Stokes equations with a force resulting from the presence of the vesicle. Our main result states the existence of weak solutions for the corresponding system. The proof is based on compactness/monotonicity arguments. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bonding and impedance matching of acoustic transducers using silver epoxy

Silver epoxy was selected to bond transducer plates on glass substrates. The properties and thickness of the bonding medium affect the electrical input impedance of the transducer. Thus, the thickness of the silver epoxy bonding layer was used as a design parameter to optimize the structure for the transducer input impedance to match the 50 Ω output impedance of most radio frequency (RF) generators. Simulation and experimental results show that nearly perfect matching is achieved without using any matching circuit. At the matching condition, the transducer operates at a frequency band a little bit below the half-wavelength resonant frequency of the piezoelectric plate. In experiments, lead titanate (PT) piezoelectric plates were employed. Both full-size, 11.5 mm × 2 mm × 0.4 mm, and half-size, 5.75 mm × 2 mm × 0.4 mm, can be well matched using optimal silver epoxy thickness. The transducer assemblies demonstrate high efficiency. The conversion loss from electrical power to acoustic power in soda-lime glass is 4.3 dB. This loss is low considering the fact that the transducers operate at off-resonance by 12%. With proper choice of silver epoxy thickness, the transducer can be matched at the fundamental, the 3rd and 5th harmonic frequencies. This leads to the possible realization of triple-band transducers. Reliability was assessed with thermal cycling test according to Telcordia GR-468-Core recommendation. Of the 30 transducer assemblies tested, none broke until 2900 cycles and 27 have sustained beyond 4050 cycles.     

Positivity and Negativity of Solutions to a Schrödinger Equation in ℝ N

Weak L ² -solutions u of the Schrödinger equation, –u + q(x) u – u = f(x) in L ² , are represented by a Fourier series using spherical harmonics in order to prove the following strong maximum and anti-maximum principles in (N 2): Let ₁ denote the positive eigenfunction associated with the principal eigenvalue ₁ of the Schrödinger operator . Assume that the potential q(x) is radially symmetric and grows fast enough near infinity, and f is a `sufficiently smooth' perturbation of a radially symmetric function, f 0 and 0 f / C const a.e. in . Then u is ₁-positive for - < < ₁ (i.e., u c ₁ with c const > 0) and ₁-negative for ₁ < < ₁ + (i.e., u –c₁ with c const > 0), where > 0 is a number depending on f. The constant c > 0 depends on both and f.     

Constrained minimax approximation and optimal preconditioned for Toeplitz matrices

A good preconditioner is extremely important in order for the conjugate gradients method to converge quickly. In the case of Toeplitz matrices, a number of recent studies were made to relate approximation of functions to good preconditioners. In this paper, we present a new result relating the quality of the Toeplitz preconditionerC for the Toeplitz matrixT to the Chebyshev norm (f– g)/f, wheref and g are the generating functions forT andC, respectively. In particular, the construction of band-Toeplitz preconditioners becomes a linear minimax approximation problem. The case whenf has zeros (but is nonnegative) is especially interesting and the corresponding approximation problem becomes constrained. We show how the Remez algorithm can be modified to handle the constraints. Numerical experiments confirming the theoretical results are presented.     

Weak Solutions for the Motion of a Self-propelled Deformable Structure in a Viscous Incompressible Fluid

We consider the three-dimensional motion of a self-propelled deformable structure into a viscous incompressible fluid. The deformation of the solid is given whereas its position is unknown. Such a system could model the propulsion of fish-like swimmers. The equations of motion of the fluid are the Navier-Stokes equations and the equations for the structure are deduced from Newton’s laws. The corresponding system is a free boundary problem and the main result of the paper is the existence of weak solutions for this problem.