A local search approach to a circle cutting problem arising in the motor cycle industry

This paper is concerned with the development of a customized circle packing algorithm for a manufacturer of sprockets for the motor cycle industry. Practical constraints mean that the problem differs somewhat from those tackled elsewhere in the literature. In particular, the layouts need to conform to a given structure. This is achieved by using a local search algorithm with an appropriate starting solution and a series of neighbourhoods designed to preserve the layout structure. Empirical evidence based on real data shows that the quality of the resulting solutions closely matches that of cutting patterns currently produced by human experts. Computation times average around 20–30?s per order as compared to several hours for an equivalent manual solution.     

Controllability of Functional Integro-Differential Inclusions with an Unbounded Delay

In this paper, a sufficient condition is established for the controllability of neutral functional integro-differential inclusions with an unbounded delay in Banach spaces. The approach used is a fixed-point theorem for condensing maps due to Martelli and the theory of analytic semigroup of linear operators. Communicated by F. Zirilli Research supported by NNSF of China, by the Teaching and Research Award Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Education of China, and by the Qing Lan Talent Engineering Fund QL-05-164 of Lanzhou Jiaotong University. The authors are grateful to Professor F. Zirilli and two anonymous referees for valuable suggestions improving this paper.     

Game theoretic analysis of the bargaining process over a long-term replenishment contract

This paper presents supplier–buyer models to describe the bargaining process between a supplier and a buyer over a long-term replenishment contract. Two different models are developed: one for the situation where the supplier has superior bargaining power over the buyer, and the other for the reverse situation. For each model, a method is derived that employs game theory-based analysis to determine the best strategy for each agent. A computational experiment is conducted to estimate the efficiency of the methods and to determine the economic implications of the results. The result indicates that each algorithm is very efficient compared to other strategies. We also verify that the solutions derived from each model are Nash equilibrium. Significantly improved outcomes are obtained for both agents by agreeing to the terms generated by the algorithms over the terms selected in the usual manner.     

The double exponential map and covariant derivation

We study the double exponential map which is a composition of a special form of two exponential maps on a manifold with connection. We relate this map and the composition of covariant derivations as well as the composition of pseudodifferential operators on these manifolds.     

Tunneling radiation of a Gibbons-Maeda dilaton black hole

We use the Parikh-Wilczek method to treat Hawking radiation as a tunneling process across the event horizon and calculate the emission rate of a Gibbons-Maeda dilaton black hole. We show that if self-gravitation is taken into account, then the radiation deviates from the purely thermal spectrum, and the corrected spectrum is consistent with an underlying unitary theory. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 151, No. 1, pp. 172–175, April, 2007.     

On quadratic differentials on multiply connected domains that are perfect squares

The paper considers the problem on extremal decomposition of a multiply connected domain G ⊂ ℂ in the case where the associated quadratic differential is a perfect square. It is shown that in the case considered, the value of the functional for this extremal decomposition is the least one in a certain class of decompositions. Bibliography: 10 titles. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of G. M. Goluzin’s birthday __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 337, 2006, pp. 113–133.     

Homogenization of the periodic magnetic Schrödinger operator with degenerate lower edge of the spectrum

Homogenization of the periodic magnetic Schrödinger operator with degenerate lower edge of the spectrum is considered. The standard problem of homogenization leads to a degenerate limiting operator. To obtain more precise information, one needs a certain modification of the problem considered. Bibliography: 10 titles.     

Asymptotic and boundary integral formulae for the computational reconstruction of small conductivity imperfections

In this paper we investigate the electrostatic problem of determining conductivity profiles from the knowledge of boundary currents and voltages. We obtain an improved estimate for the voltage potential of a two-dimensional conductor having finitely many circular inclusions and piecewise constant conductivity profile. We derive an asymptotic expansion for the voltage potential in terms of the reference voltage potential and the location, size, and conductivity of the inhomogeneities. This representation is used to formulate the nonlinear least squares problem for estimating the location and size of the inhomogeneities. Required boundary data for the voltage potential are generated numerically by solving a system of integral equations. Computational experiments are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our identification procedure.