A model for the plane to plane variations in catalytic activity seen during nitric oxide decomposition on platinum

Previous work has shown that the reactivity of platinum for nitric oxide decomposition varies significantly with the geometry of the exposed surface of the platinum. Here, the available data are compared to the predictions of a model, which is based on conservation of orbital symmetry and a simplified picture of the band structure of the surface. The model predicts that the (100) face of platinum should be more active than either the (111) or the (110). The (410) should be more active still. These predictions agree with recent experiment. The model makes several other predictions which need to be tested experimentally. These results suggest that symmetry conservation methods, similar to the ones developed by Woodward and Hoffmann for organic reactions, could yield many valuable insights into the relative activity of various catalyst structures.     

ON THE EXTERIOR SOLUTIONS OF A CHARGED MASS POINT IN GAUGE THEORIES OF GRAVITATION

In a case of spherically symtric and static field, exterior solutions of a charged mass point for the nine-parameter R+R² gravitational theories are investigated. We obtain results as follows: in the case of coupling constant (zP-2r+s)=0, solution without torsion is the Reissner-Nordstrom metric; otherwise there is no solution with vanishing torsion.     

Stochastic approximation algorithm for minimax problems

A stochastic approximation algorithm for minimax optimization problems is analyzed. At each iterate, it performs one random experiment, based on which it computes a direction vector. It is shown that, under suitable conditions, it a.s. converges to the set of points satisfying necessary optimality conditions. The algorithm and its analysis bring together ideas from stochastic approximation and nondifferentiable optimization.     

A strange pigeon-hole principle

Using Ramsey theory, we establish the following pigeon-hole type principle: From a large number of random variables (functions, vectors, etc.) one can always select two, X and Y, such that P(X < Y) 1/2. We apply the principle for a poset problem.     

Stochastic algorithms with armijo stepsizes for minimization of functions

Stochastic algorithms for optimization problems, where function evaluations are done by Monte Carlo simulations, are presented. At each iteratex _i, they draw a predetermined numbern(i) of sample points from an underlying probability space; based on these sample points, they compute a feasible-descent direction, an Armijo stepsize, and the next iteratex _i+1. For an appropriate optimality function , corresponding to an optimality condition, it is shown that, ifn(i) , then (x _i) 0, whereJ is a set of integers whose upper density is zero. First, convergence is shown for a general algorithm prototype: then, a steepest-descent algorithm for unconstrained problems and a feasible-direction algorithm for problems with inequality constraints are developed. A numerical example is supplied.     

Second-order necessary optimality conditions for domain optimization problems of the Neumann type

In this paper, we treat a domain optimization problem in which the boundary-value problem is a Neumann problem. In the case where the domain is in a three-dimensional Euclidean space, the first-order and the second-order necessary conditions which the optimal domain must satisfy are derived under a constraint which is the generalization of the requisite of constant volume.Portions of this paper were presented at the 13th IFIP Conference on System Modelling and Optimization, Tokyo, Japan, 1987.     

Density estimation and adaptive control of markov processes: Average and discounted criteria

We consider a class of discrete-time Markov control processes with Borel state and action spaces, and ^d i.i.d. disturbances with unknown distribution . Under mild semi-continuity and compactness conditions, and assuming that is absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure, we establish the existence of adaptive control policies which are (1) optimal for the average-reward criterion, and (2) asymptotically optimal in the discounted case. Our results are obtained by taking advantage of some well-known facts in the theory of density estimation. This approach allows us to avoid restrictive conditions on the state space and/or on the system's transition law imposed in recent works, and on the other hand, it clearly shows the way to other applications of nonparametric (density) estimation to adaptive control.Research partially supported by The Third World Academy of Sciences under Research Grant No. MP 898-152.     

Service stage Petri net models with product form solution

A class of service stage Petri net models whose equilibrium probabilities satisfy local balance equations is presented. Examples of their applicability include bus oriented multiprocessor interconnections, the classical dining philosophers problem and the alternating bit protocol. The natural topological space for embedding the state transition lattice for this class of SSPN is shown to be a multidimensional toroidal manifold.     

The Choquet-Deny convolution equation μ=μ*σ for probability measures on Abelian semigroups

In this note, we characterize the regular probability measures satisfying the Choquet-Deny convolution equation =* on Abelian topological semigroups for a given probability measure .