Vibrational resonance in biological nonlinear maps

We investigate vibrational resonance in two different nonlinear maps driven by a biharmonic force: the Bellows and the Rulkov map. These two maps possess dynamical features of particular interest for the study of these phenomena. In both maps, the resonance occurs at the low-frequency of the biharmonic signal as the amplitude of the high-frequency signal is varied. We also consider an array of unidirectionally coupled maps with the forcing signal applied to the first unit. In this case, a signal propagation with several interesting features above a critical value of the coupling strength is found, while the response amplitude of the ith unit is greater than the first one. This response evolves in a sigmoidal fashion with the system number i, meaning that at some point the amplitudes saturate. The unidirectional coupling acts as a low-pass filter for distant units. Moreover, the analysis of the mean residence time of the trajectory in a given region of the phase space unveils a multiresonance mechanism in the coupled map system. These results point at the relevance of the discrete-time models for the study of resonance phenomena, since analyses and simulations are much easier than for continuous-time models.     

Noncommutative Jordan C*-algebras

We introduce noncommutative JB*-algebras which generalize both B*-algebras and JB*-algebras and set up the bases for a representation theory of noncommutative JB*-algebras. To this end we define noncommutative JB*-factors and study the factor representations of a noncommutative JB*-algebra. The particular case of alternative B*-factors is discussed in detail and a Gelfand-Naimark theorem for alternative B*-algebras is given.     

On nonoscillating integrals for computing inhomogeneous Airy functions

Integral representations are considered of solutions of the inhomogeneous Airy differential equation . The solutions of these equations are also known as Scorer functions. Certain functional relations for these functions are used to confine the discussion to one function and to a certain sector in the complex plane. By using steepest descent methods from asymptotics, the standard integral representations of the Scorer functions are modified in order to obtain nonoscillating integrals for complex values of . In this way stable representations for numerical evaluations of the functions are obtained. The methods are illustrated with numerical results.

     

Computing Complex Airy Functions by Numerical Quadrature

Integral representations are considered of solutions of the Airy differential equation w –zw=0 for computing Airy functions for complex values of z. In a first method contour integral representations of the Airy functions are written as non-oscillating integrals for obtaining stable representations, which are evaluated by the trapezoidal rule. In a second method an integral representation is evaluated by using generalized Gauss–Laguerre quadrature; this approach provides a fast method for computing Airy functions to a predetermined accuracy. Comparisons are made with well-known algorithms of Amos, designed for computing Bessel functions of complex argument. Several discrepancies with Amos' code are detected, and it is pointed out for which regions of the complex plane Amos' code is less accurate than the quadrature algorithms. Hints are given in order to build reliable software for complex Airy functions.     

On the 2-adic valuation of the cardinality of elliptic curves over finite extensions of $$\mathbb {F}_{\varvec{q}} $$

In this paper we study the difference between the 2-adic valuations of the cardinalities \( \# E( \mathbb {F}_{q^k} ) \) and \( \# E( \mathbb {F}_q ) \) of an elliptic curve E over \( \mathbb {F}_q \). We also deduce information about the structure of the 2-Sylow subgroup \( E[ 2^\infty ]( \mathbb {F}_{q^k} ) \) from the exponents of \( E[ 2^\infty ]( \mathbb {F}_q ) \).     

Mach–Zehnder interferometers in photonic crystals

Photonic crystal technology allows the creation of optical waveguides with low sharp-bending losses as well as ultra-low group velocity. This last property is particularly interesting to develop highly-compact optical devices based on the controlled modification of the optical phase of the signals traveling through the waveguides. Among these devices, the Mach–Zehnder interferometer acquires fundamental importance because it can be used as a building block of more complex optical devices and functionalities such as optical filters, wavelength demultiplexers, channels interleavers, intensity modulators, switches and optical gates. In this paper, the performance of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer consisting of two coupled-cavity waveguides with different lengths created in a two-dimensional photonic crystal is theoretically analyzed. We also provide simulation results using a finite-difference time-domain code that confirm the theoretical analysis. The main limitations in the performance of the structure are addressed and discussed.     

On a class of Riemann surfaces

It is considered the class of Riemann surfaces with dimT1 = 0, where T1 is a subclass of exact harmonic forms which is one of the factors in the orthogonal decomposition of the spaceΩH of harmonic forms of the surface, namely The surfaces in the class OHD and the class of planar surfaces satisfy dimT1 = 0. A.Pfluger posed the question whether there might exist other surfaces outside those two classes. Here it is shown that in the case of finite genus g, we should look for a surface S with dimT1 = 0 among the surfaces of the form Sg\K , where Sg is a closed surface of genus g and K a compact set of positive harmonic measure with perfect components and very irregular boundary.     

The Asymptotic and Numerical Inversion of the Marcum Q‐Function

The generalized Marcum functions appear in problems of technical and scientific areas such as, for example, radar detection and communications. In mathematical statistics and probability theory these functions are called the noncentral gamma or the noncentral chi‐squared cumulative distribution functions. In this paper, we describe a new asymptotic method for inverting the generalized Marcum Q‐function and for the complementary Marcum P‐function. Also, we show how monotonicity and convexity properties of these functions can be used to find initial values for reliable Newton or secant methods to invert the function. We present details of numerical computations that show the reliability of the asymptotic approximations.     

Chaotic dynamic and control for micro-electro-mechanical systems of massive storage with harmonic base excitation

This paper explores chaotic behaviour and control of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which consist of thousands of small read/write probe tips that access gigabytes of data stored in a non-volatile magnetic surface. The model of the system is formed by two masses connected by a nonlinear spring and a viscous damping. The paper shows that, by means of an adequate feedback law, the masses can behave as two coupled Duffing’s oscillators, which may reach chaotic behaviour when harmonic forces are applied. The chaotic motion is destroyed by applying the following control strategies: (i) static output feedback control law with constant forces and (ii) geometric nonlinear control. The aim is to drive the masses to a set point even with harmonic base excitation, by using chaotic dynamics and nonlinear control. The paper shows that it is possible to obtain a positioning time around a few ms with sub-nanometre accuracy, velocities, accelerations and forces, as it appears in the design of present MEMS devices. Numerical simulations are used to verify the mathematical discussions.