Causality and time dependence in quantum tunneling

Quantal penetration through a (stationary) one-dimensional potential barrier is considered as a time evolution of an initially prepared wave packet. The large-time asymptotics of the process is concerned. Locality of the potential imposes certain analytical properties of the interaction amplitudes in the energy representation. The results are presented in terms of development of the phase-space (Wigner's) quasi-distribution. The phase-space evolution kernel is constructed, and it is shown that in the presence of a positive potential no part of the distribution is transported faster than the free particle. For the case of a small initial momentum uncertainty, the deformation of the coordinate density is considered, including a possible advance of its maximum, which would not mean any noncausal signal transport. Supported by G. I. F.     

Quasi-invariant domain constants

Five domain constants are studied in our paper, all related to the hyperbolic geometry in hyperbolic plane regions which are uniformly perfect (in Pommerenke’s terminology). Relations among these domain constants are obtained, from which bounds are derived for the variance ratio of each constant under conformal mappings of the regions, and we also show that each constant may be used to characterize uniformly perfect regions. The authors wish to thank the University of California, San Diego for its hospitality during the 1988–89 academic year when this research was begun. Supported by the Landau Center for Mathematical Research in Analysis. Research partially supported by NSF Grant No. DMS-8801439.     

Vehicle routing via column generation

This paper explores an approximate method for solving a routing problem in a four-level distribution which has “double-ended” demand. Routes are represented as columns in a linear program and column generation is used to improve the solution by generating new routes. The generation of new routes is based on an LP sub-problem. Its solution is rounded down to integer values to insure its feasibility as a route for inclusion in the restricted master problem. Finally, an illustrative problem is solved.     

Aharonov invariants and univalent functions

Several properties of a certain series of differential operators which are invariant under the Möbius group (Aharonov invariants) are proved, and in terms of this series new conditions for univalence and quasiconformal extendability of meromorphic functions are established.     

Some extensions of weakly mixing flows

Using a technique of R. Ellis we prove the existence of many weakly mixing (w.m.) flows which are distal extensions of a given w.m. flow. Then we indicate two w.m. minimal flows whose product has a minimal non-w.m. subflow. This work was done under the helpful supervision of Professor H. Furstenberg as a part of the author’s Ph.D. thesis to be submitted to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.