An efficient fault-tolerant decentralized commit protocol for single site failure

To maintain consistency on a distributed database system, a commit protocol is often employed to ensure that either all the sub-transactions of a transaction commit or all abort. Special care needs to be taken to ensure the correct functioning of a commit protocol in the face of node failures during the execution of the protocol. A protocol is said to be fault-tolerant if it properly commits or aborts, even if nodes fail.In this paper, we present a fault tolerant decentralized commit protocol which is message optimal in the absence of failures. Furthermore, the protocol (FTDCP) ensures that all sites can achieve a consistent final decision by at most 4 extra messages in the single site failure situation.     

On a numerical approach to Stefan-like problems

Summary This paper is devoted to the numerical analysis of a bidimensional two-phase Stefan problem. We approximate the enthalpy formulation byC ⁰ piecewise linear finite elements in space combined with a semi-implicit scheme in time. Under some restrictions related to the finite element mesh and to the timestep, we prove positivity, stability and convergence results. Various numerial tests are presented and discussed in order to show the accuracy of our scheme.This work is supported by the Fonds National Suisse pour la Recherche Scientifique.     

Numerical implementation of coherence for the example of the “Swiss Cross”

Summary We consider the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation u+u=0 inD with the boundary conditionsu=0 on D. D is the Swiss Cross — a region consisting of five unit squares. A method based on the concept of Coherence is utilized to determine an approximation for the first eigenvalue= ₁ more accurate than calculated by classical difference methods. The numerical result is used to illustrate isoperimetric upper and lower bounds for ₁, and to test some conjectures on its relations with torsional rigidity.Dedicated to the memory of Professor Lathar Collatz     

A mixed version of Menger's theorem

An(a, b)-n-fan means a union ofn internally disjoint paths. Menger's theorem states that a graphG has an(a, b)-n-fan if and only ifG isn-connected betweena andb. We show thatG contains edge-disjoint(a, b)-n-fans if and only if for anyk withk0min{n–1, |V(G)|–2} and for any subsetX ofV(G)-{a, b} with cardinalityk, G-X is (n-k)-edge-connected betweena andb.     

An Ω(n 4/3) lower bound on the randomized complexity of graph properties

We improve King's (n ^5/4) lower bound on the randomized decision tree complexity of monotone graph properties to (n ^4/3). The proof follows Yao's approach and improves it in a different direction from King's. At the heart of the proof are a duality argument combined with a new packing lemma for bipartite graphs.The paper was written while the author was a graduate student at the University of Chicago and was completed at M.I.T. The work was supported in part by NSF under GRANT number NSF 5-27561, the Air Force under Contract OSR-86-0076 and by DIMACS (Center for Discret Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center-NSF-STC88-09648.     

Harmonic maps from compact Kähler manifolds to exceptional hyperbolic spaces

It has been conjectured that a lattice in a noncompact group of real rank one, other than SU(1,n), cannot be isomorphic to the fundamental group of a compact Kähler manifold; moreover, it is known to be true for SO(1,n). In this note it is shown that this conjecture also holds for the case of uniform lattices in F_4(?20), the group of isometries of the Cayley hyperbolic plane. The result is a consequence of a classification theorem for harmonic maps between Kähler and Cayley hyperbolic manifolds.     

On the implementation of Sμ U(2) action in the irreducible representations of twisted canonical commutation relations

The natural S U(2) action on the creation and annihilation operators satisfying twisted canonical commutation relations (TCCR) is investigated. It is shown that the Fock representation is the only covariant irreducible representation of TCCR.Partially supported by the program RP.1.10.     

Differential calculus on quantized simple lie groups

Differential calculi, generalizations of Woronowicz's four-dimensional calculus on SU _q (2), are introduced for quantized classical simple Lie groups in a constructive way. For this purpose, the approach of Faddeev and his collaborators to quantum groups was used. An equivalence of Woronowicz's enveloping algebra generated by the dual space to the left-invariant differential forms and the corresponding quantized universal enveloping algebra, is obtained for our differential calculi. Real forms for q are also discussed.     

A remark on compact matrix quantum groups

A simpler set of axioms of the theory of compact matrix quantum groups (pseudogroups) is found.Supported by Japan Society for Promoting Science. On leave from the Department of Mathematical Methods in Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Hoa 74, 00-682 Warsaw, Poland.     

A study of the density of gap states in amorphous semiconductors from thermostimulated conductivity spectra

A theoretical analysis of thermostimulated conductivity spectra _TSC(T) has been applied to determine the density of gap states g(E) in a-Si: H and a-Si: H/a-SiN _x : H multilayer structures. The results for g(E) are consistent with the results deduced from Fritzsche's analytical approach as well as other methods. A comparison has been made between the two different analytical approaches for _TSC(T). We discuss the relationship between the energy of maximum thermostimulated current emission E _m and quasi-Fermi level E _q. We demonstrate that E _q could be a better parameter than E _m in the general theoretical treatment of thermostimulated conductivity.