Heuristic Rejection in Interval Global Optimization

Based on the investigation carried out in Ref. 1, this paper incorporates new studies about the properties of inclusion functions on subintervals while a branch-and-bound algorithm is solving global optimization problems. It is found that the relative place of the global minimum value within the inclusion function value of the objective function at the current interval indicates mostly whether the given interval is close to a minimizer point. This information is used in a heuristic interval rejection rule that can save a considerable amount of computation. Illustrative examples are discussed and an extended numerical study shows the advantages of the new approach.     

Curvature Conditions for Immersions of Submanifolds and Applications

Some curvature conditions about the geodesics emanating from a submanifold are obtained. These conditions are used to to study the topological and geometric properties of the ambient spaces which admit some minimal submanifolds.     

Local solution for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation with periodic conditions

In this article we prove a local existence and uniqueness theorem for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation (u _t +u _xxx +uu _x ) _x −u _yy =0) in the Sobolev spaces of orders≥3, with initial values in the same spaces, and periodic boundary conditions. This theorem improves previous results based upon the application of singular perturbation techniques.     

The bestL 2-approximation by finite sums of functions with separable variables

Summary We consider the problem of the best approximation of a given functionh L ² (X × Y) by sums _k=1 ⁿ f _k f _k, with a prescribed numbern of products of arbitrary functionsf _k L ² (X) andg _k L ² (Y). As a co-product we develop a new proof of the Hilbert—Schmidt decomposition theorem for functions lying inL ² (X × Y).     

Fluctuating hydrodynamics and principal oscillation pattern analysis

Principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis was recently introduced into climatology to analyze multivariate time series x_i(t) produced by systems whose dynamics are described by a linear Markov process x=Bx + . The matrixB gives the deterministic feedback and is a white noise vector with covariances (t) _j (t*Q _ij (t–t. The POP method is applied to data from a direct simulation Monte Carlo program. The system is a dilute gas with 50,000 particles in a Rayleigh-Bénard configuration. The POP analysis correctly reproduces the linearized Navier-Stokes equations (in the matrixB) and the stochastic fluxes (in the matrixQ) as given by Landau-Lifschitz fluctuating hydrodynamics. Using this method, we find the Landau-Lifschitz theory to be valid both in equilibrium and near the critical point of Rayleigh-Bénard convection.     

Sufficiency and fuzziness in random experiments

In previous papers, the consequences of the “presence of fuzziness” in the experimental information on which statistical inferences are based were discussed. Thus, the intuitive assertion «fuzziness entails a loss of information» was formalized, by comparing the information in the “exact case” with that in the “fuzzy case”. This comparison was carried out through different criteria to compare experiments (in particular, that based on the “pattern” one, Blackwell's sufficiency criterion). Our purpose now is slightly different, in the sense that we try to compare two “fuzzy cases”. More precisely, the question we are interested in is the following: how will different “degrees of fuzziness” in the experimental information affect the sufficiency? In this paper, a study of this question is carried out by constructing an alternative criterion (equivalent to sufficiency under comparability conditions), but whose interpretation is more intuitive in the fuzzy case. The study is first developed for Bernoulli experiments, and the coherence with the axiomatic requirements for measures of fuzziness is also analyzed in such a situation. Then it is generalized to other random experiments and a simple example is examined.     

Stability of a class of transformations of distribution-valued processes and stochastic evolution equations

Stability of a class of linear transformations of distribution-valued stochastic processes is studied. Two types of applications to convergence of solutions of stochastic evolution equations are given. One of them, for the case of continuous limits, simplifies the tightness problem considerably due to a recent result of Aldous.Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados.     

Discontinuities in the specific heat of magnesium and associated latent heat at pressure-induced structural phase transitions using a local first principles pseudopotential

After a successful application of a local first principles pseudopotential to the study of the structural pressure-induced phase transition for magnesium, I now use the same local first principles type of pseudopotential, to study the specific heat as function of the pressure, at 300 K, in the region around the predicted phase transitions. I found that the specific presents two discontinuities, one for each transition of phase. These discontinuities are associated to the existence of latent heat at each transition, which has not been yet reported experimentally.     

Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance study of transport properties of fluid catalytic cracking catalysts

Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR) has been applied to study molecular diffusion in industrial fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and in USY zeolite for a broad range of molecular displacements and temperatures. The results of this study have been used to elucidate the relevance of molecular transport on various displacements for the rate of molecular exchange between catalyst particles and their surroundings. It turned out that this rate, which may determine the overall rate and selectivity of FCC process, is primarily related to the diffusion mode associated with displacements larger than the size of zeolite crystals located in the particles but smaller than the size of the particles. This conclusion has been confirmed by comparative studies of the catalytic performance of different FCC catalysts.