Extended convergence results for the method of multipliers for nonstrictly binding inequality constraints

In this paper, we extend the classical convergence and rate of convergence results for the method of multipliers for equality constrained problems to general inequality constrained problems, without assuming the strict complementarity hypothesis at the local optimal solution. Instead, we consider an alternative second-order sufficient condition for a strict local minimum, which coincides with the standard one in the case of strict complementary slackness. As a consequence, new stopping rules are derived in order to guarantee a local linear rate of convergence for the method, even if the current Lagrangian is only asymptotically minimized in this more general setting. These extended results allow us to broaden the scope of applicability of the method of multipliers, in order to cover all those problems admitting loosely binding constraints at some optimal solution. This fact is not meaningless, since in practice this kind of problem seems to be more the rule rather than the exception.In proving the different results, we follow the classical primaldual approach to the method of multipliers, considering the approximate minimizers for the original augmented Lagrangian as the exact solutions for some adequate approximate augmented Lagrangian. In particular, we prove a general uniform continuity property concerning both their primal and their dual optimal solution set maps, a property that could be useful beyond the scope of this paper. This approach leads to very simple proofs of the preliminary results and to a straight-forward proof of the main results.The author gratefully acknowledges the referees for their helpful comments and remarks. This research was supported by FONDECYT (Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Technológico de Chile).     

Estimating Invariant Probability Densities for Dynamical Systems

Knowing a probability density (ideally, an invariant density) for the trajectories of a dynamical system allows many significant estimates to be made, from the well-known dynamical invariants such as Lyapunov exponents and mutual information to conditional probabilities which are potentially more suitable for prediction than the single number produced by most predictors. Densities on typical attractors have properties, such as singularity with respect to Lebesgue measure, which make standard density estimators less useful than one would hope. In this paper we present a new method of estimating densities which can smooth in a way that tends to preserve fractal structure down to some level, and that also maintains invariance. We demonstrate with applications to real and artificial data.     

Controlling global stochasticity of Hamiltonian systems by nonlinear perturbation

A method of controlling global stochasticity in Hamiltonian systems by applying nonlinear perturbation is proposed. With the well-known standard map we demonstrate that this control method can convert global stochasticity into regular motion in a wide chaotic region for arbitrary initial condition, in which the control signal remains very weak after a few kicks. The system in which chaos has been controlled approximates to the original Hamiltonian system, and this approach appears robust against small external noise. The mechanism underlying this high control efficiency is intuitively explained. Received 15 January 2002 Published online 6 June 2002     

Asymptotic stability, ergodicity and other asymptotic properties of the nonlinear filter

In this work we study connections between various asymptotic properties of the nonlinear filter. It is assumed that the signal has a unique invariant probability measure. The key property of interest is expressed in terms of a relationship between the observation σ field and the tail σ field of the signal, in the stationary filtering problem. This property can be viewed as the permissibility of the interchange of the order of the operations of maximum and countable intersection for certain σ-fields. Under suitable conditions, it is shown that the above property is equivalent to various desirable properties of the filter such as

(a) uniqueness of invariant measure for the signal,

(b) uniqueness of invariant measure for the pair (signal, filter),

(c) a finite memory property of the filter,

(d) a property of finite time dependence between the signal and observation σ fields and

(e) asymptotic stability of the filter.

Previous works on the asymptotic stability of the filter for a variety of filtering models then identify a rich class of filtering problems for which the above equivalent properties hold.     

Existence and boundary behavior for singular nonlinear differential equations with arbitrary boundary conditions

Existence theory is developed for the equation ?(u)=F(u), where ? is a formally self-adjoint singular second-order differential expression and F is nonlinear. The problem is treated in a Hilbert space and we do not require the operators induced by ? to have completely continuous resolvents. Nonlinear boundary conditions are allowed. Also, F is assumed to be weakly continuous and monotone at one point. Boundary behavior of functions associated with the domains of definitions of the operators associated with ? in the singular case is investigated. A special class of self-adjoint operators associated with ? is obtained.     

Hele-Shaw type problems with dynamical boundary conditions

In this paper, we study the nonlinear evolution equation of Hele-Shaw type with dynamical boundary conditions. That is, the equation ut=Δw+f where u∈H(w) and H is the Heaviside function, with boundary condition μ(x,w)t_∂w+k∇w⋅ν=g, where ν denotes the outward normal vector of the fixed boundary of the domain. We prove existence, uniqueness and some qualitative properties of the solution.     

Oscillation of certain partial difference equations

In this paper we consider a class of nonlinear delay partial difference equations and a class of linear delay partial difference equations with variable coefficients, which may change sign. We obtain oscillation criteria for these equations. There are no results for the oscillation of these equations up to now.     

Proximality and Chebyshev sets

This paper is a companion to a lecture given at the Prague Spring School in Analysis in April 2006. It highlights four distinct variational methods of proving that a finite dimensional Chebyshev set is convex and hopes to inspire renewed work on the open question of whether every Chebyshev set in Hilbert space is convex.     

Sharp condition of global existence for second-order derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equations in two space dimensions

This paper discusses a class of second-order derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equations which are used to describe the upper-hybrid oscillation propagation. By establishing a variational problem, applying the potential well argument and the concavity method, we prove that there exists a sharp condition for global existence and blow-up of the solutions to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. In addition, we also answer the question: how small are the initial data, the global solutions exist?