On a minimization problem with a mass constraint involving a potential vanishing on two curves

We study a singular perturbation type minimization problem with a mass constraint over a domain in ℝ ^N , involving a potential vanishing on two curves in the plane. We demonstrate how the behavior of the minimizers depends on the geometry of the domain and, more precisely, on its isoperimetric profile.     

Geodesics and almost geodesic cycles in random regular graphs

A geodesic in a graph G is a shortest path between two vertices of G. For a specific function e(n) of n, we define an almost geodesic cycle C in G to be a cycle in which for every two vertices u and v in C, the distance d_G(u, v) is at least d_C(u, v)?e(n). Let ω(n) be any function tending to infinity with n. We consider a random d‐regular graph on n vertices. We show that almost all pairs of vertices belong to an almost geodesic cycle C with e(n) = log_d?1log_d?1n+ ω(n) and |C| = 2log_d?1n+ O(ω(n)). Along the way, we obtain results on near‐geodesic paths. We also give the limiting distribution of the number of geodesics between two random vertices in this random graph. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J Graph Theory 66:115‐136, 2011     

The structure of ions and zwitterionic lipids regulates the charge of dipolar membranes

In pure water, zwitterionic lipids form lamellar phases with an equilibrium water gap on the order of 2 to 3 nm as a result of the dominating van der Waals attraction between dipolar bilayers. Monovalent ions can swell those neutral lamellae by a small amount. Divalent ions can adsorb onto dipolar membranes and charge them. Using solution X-ray scattering, we studied how the structure of ions and zwitterionic lipids regulates the charge of dipolar membranes. We found that unlike monovalent ions that weakly interact with all of the examined dipolar membranes, divalent and trivalent ions adsorb onto membranes containing lipids with saturated tails, with an association constant on the order of ～10 M(-1). One double bond in the lipid tail is sufficient to prevent divalent ion adsorption. We suggest that this behavior is due to the relatively loose packing of lipids with unsaturated tails that increases the area per lipid headgroup, enabling their free rotation. Divalent ion adsorption links two lipids and limits their free rotation. The ion-dipole interaction gained by the adsorption of the ions onto unsaturated membranes is insufficient to compensate for the loss of headgroup free-rotational entropy. The ion-dipole interaction is stronger for cations with a higher valence. Nevertheless, polyamines behave as monovalent ions near dipolar interfaces in the sense that they interact weakly with the membrane surface, whereas in the bulk their behavior is similar to that of multivalent cations. Advanced data analysis and comparison with theory provide insight into the structure and interactions between ion-induced regulated charged interfaces. This study models biologically relevant interactions between cell membranes and various ions and the manner in which the lipid structure governs those interactions. The ability to monitor these interactions creates a tool for probing systems that are more complex and forms the basis for controlling the interactions between dipolar membranes and charged proteins or biopolymers for encapsulation and delivery applications.     

Simple random walk on the uniform infinite planar quadrangulation: subdiffusivity via pioneer points

We study the pioneer points of the simple random walk on the uniform infinite planar quadrangulation (UIPQ) using an adaptation of the peeling procedure of Angel (Geom Funct Anal 13:935–974, 2003) to the quadrangulation case. Our main result is that, up to polylogarithmic factors, n ³ pioneer points have been discovered before the walk exits the ball of radius n in the UIPQ. As a result we verify the KPZ relation Knizhnik et al. (Modern Phys Lett A 3:819–826, 1988) in the particular case of the pioneer exponent and prove that the walk is subdiffusive with exponent less than 1/3. Along the way, new geometric controls on the UIPQ are established.     

Sums and products along sparse graphs

In their seminal paper from 1983, Erdős and Szemerédi showed that any n distinct integers induce either n ^1+ɛ distinct sums of pairs or that many distinct products, and conjectured a lower bound of n ^2−o(1). They further proposed a generalization of this problem, in which the sums and products are taken along the edges of a given graph G on n labeled vertices. They conjectured a version of the sum-product theorem for general graphs that have at least n ^1+ɛ edges.     

A Counter Example to Cercignani’s Conjecture for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> Dimensional Kac Model

Kac’s d dimensional model gives a linear, many particle, binary collision model from which, under suitable conditions, the celebrated Boltzmann equation, in its spatially homogeneous form, arise as a mean field limit. The ergodicity of the evolution equation leads to questions about the relaxation rate, in hope that such a rate would pass on the Boltzmann equation as the number of particles goes to infinity. This program, starting with Kac and his one dimensional ‘Spectral Gap Conjecture’ at 1956, finally reached its conclusion in the Maxwellian case in a series of papers by authors such as Janvresse, Maslen, Carlen, Carvalho, Loss and Geronimo, but the hope to get a limiting relaxation rate for the Boltzmann equation with this linear method was already shown to be unrealistic (although the problem is still important and interesting due to its connection with the linearized Boltzmann operator). A less linear approach, via a many particle version of Cercignani’s conjecture, is the grounds for this paper. In our paper, we extend recent results by the author from the one dimensional Kac model to the d dimensional one, showing that the entropy-entropy production ratio, Γ _N , still yields a very strong dependency in the number of particles of the problem when we consider the general case.     

Asymptotic Behavior of Minimizers for the Ginzburg-Landau Functional with Weight. Part I

(Accepted July 23, 1996)     

Theorems of ergodic type for ρ-nonexpansive mappings in the Hilbert ball

Summary We present two types of ergodic theorems for contractive iterations in the Hilbert ball. Both explicit and implicit iterations are discussed.     

The approximate fixed point property in Banach and hyperbolic spaces

A geometrical characterization is given for those convex subsets of a Banach space (more generally a hyperbolic space) which possess the approximate fixed point property for nonexpansive mappings.