Partitions of the set of natural numbers and their representation functions

For a given set A of nonnegative integers the representation functions R₂(A,n), R₃(A,n) are defined as the number of solutions of the equation n=a+a^′,a,a^′∈A with a<a^′, a?a^′, respectively. In this paper we give a simple proof to two results by Sándor.     

Learning from dependent observations

In most papers establishing consistency for learning algorithms it is assumed that the observations used for training are realizations of an i.i.d. process. In this paper we go far beyond this classical framework by showing that support vector machines (SVMs) only require that the data-generating process satisfies a certain law of large numbers. We then consider the learnability of SVMs for α-mixing (not necessarily stationary) processes for both classification and regression, where for the latter we explicitly allow unbounded noise.     

Hopf algebras constructed by the FRT-construction

Given any bialgebra A and a braiding product 〈|〉 on A, a bialgebra U_〈|〉 was constructed in [R. Larson, J. Towber, Two dual classes of bialgebras related to the concepts of “quantum group” and “quantum Lie algebra”, Comm. Algebra 19 (1991) 3295-3345], contained in the finite dual of A. This construction generalizes a (not very well known) construction of Fadeev, Reshetikhin and Takhtajan [L.D. Faddeev, N.Yu. Reshetikhin, L.A. Takhtajan, Quantum Groups. Braid Group, Knot Theory and Statistical Mechanics, in: Adv. Ser. Math. Phys., vol. 9, World Sci. Publishing, Teaneck, NJ, 1989, pp. 97-110]. In the present paper it is proved that when U_〈|〉 is finite-dimensional (even if A is not), then it is a quasitriangular Hopf algebra.     

A simply constructed third-order modifications of Newton's method

In this paper, we present a simple and easily applicable approach to construct some third-order modifications of Newton's method for solving nonlinear equations. It is shown by way of illustration that existing third-order methods can be employed to construct new third-order iterative methods. The proposed approach is applied to the classical Chebyshev–Halley methods to derive their second-derivative-free variants. Numerical examples are given to support that the methods thus obtained can compete with known third-order methods.     

On Euler numbers, polynomials and related p-adic integrals

In this note we give a new proof of Witt's formula for Euler numbers, which are related to some known or new identities involving the Euler numbers. We also obtain a brief proof of a classical result on Euler numbers modulo of two due to M.A. Stern using the approach of p-adic integration, which was recently proved by G. Liu, and Z.-W. Sun. Finally some explicit formulas for Genocchi numbers are proved and applications are given.     

Normal toric ideals of low codimension

Every normal toric ideal of codimension two is minimally generated by a Gröbner basis with squarefree initial monomials. A polynomial time algorithm is presented for checking whether a toric ideal of fixed codimension is normal.     

Ring structures on groups of arithmetic functions

Using the theory of Witt vectors, we define ring structures on several well-known groups of arithmetic functions, which in another guise are formal Dirichlet series. The set of multiplicative arithmetic functions over a commutative ring R is shown to have a unique functorial ring structure for which the operation of addition is Dirichlet convolution and the operation of multiplication restricted to the completely multiplicative functions coincides with point-wise multiplication. The group of additive arithmetic functions over R also has a functorial ring structure. In analogy with the ghost homomorphism of Witt vectors, there is a functorial ring homomorphism from the ring of multiplicative functions to the ring of additive functions that is an isomorphism if R is a Q-algebra. The group of rational arithmetic functions, that is, the group generated by the completely multiplicative functions, forms a subring of the ring of multiplicative functions. The latter ring has the structure of a Bin(R)-algebra, where Bin(R) is the universal binomial ring equipped with a ring homomorphism to R. We use this algebra structure to study the order of a rational arithmetic function, as well the powersfα for α∈Bin(R) of a multiplicative arithmetic function f. For example, we prove new results about the powers of a given multiplicative arithmetic function that are rational. Finally, we apply our theory to the study of the zeta function of a scheme of finite type over Z.     

On reinsurance and investment for large insurance portfolios

We consider a problem of optimal reinsurance and investment for an insurance company whose surplus is governed by a linear diffusion. The company’s risk (and simultaneously its potential profit) is reduced through reinsurance, while in addition the company invests its surplus in a financial market. Our main goal is to find an optimal reinsurance-investment policy which minimizes the probability of ruin. More specifically, in this paper we consider the case of proportional reinsurance, and investment in a Black-Scholes market with one risk-free asset (bond, or bank account) and one risky asset (stock). We apply stochastic control theory to solve this problem. It transpires that the qualitative nature of the solution depends significantly on the interplay between the exogenous parameters and the constraints that we impose on the investment, such as the presence or absence of shortselling and/or borrowing. In each case we solve the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation and find a closed-form expression for the minimal ruin probability as well as the optimal reinsurance-investment policy.     

Between compactness and completeness

Call a sequence in a metric space cofinally Cauchy if for each positive ε there exists a cofinal (rather than residual) set of indices whose corresponding terms are ε-close. We give a number of new characterizations of metric spaces for which each cofinally Cauchy sequence has a cluster point. For example, a space has such a metric if and only each continuous function defined on it is uniformly locally bounded. A number of results exploit a measure of local compactness functional that we introduce. We conclude with a short proof of Romaguera's Theorem: a metrizable space admits such a metric if and only if its set of points having a compact neighborhood has compact complement.     

Strong centers of attraction for multi-valued dynamical systems on noncompact spaces

In this article, we introduce the notions of strong centers of attraction for multi-valued dynamical systems on arbitrary metric spaces. And we obtain strong centers of attraction for multi-valued dynamical systems.