Estimation of normal covariance matrices parametrized by irreducible symmetric cones under Stein's loss

In this paper the problem of estimating a covariance matrix parametrized by an irreducible symmetric cone in a decision-theoretic set-up is considered. By making use of some results developed in a theory of finite-dimensional Euclidean simple Jordan algebras, Bartlett's decomposition and an unbiased risk estimate formula for a general family of Wishart distributions on the irreducible symmetric cone are derived; these results lead to an extension of Stein's general technique for derivation of minimax estimators for a real normal covariance matrix. Specification of the results to the multivariate normal models with covariances which are parametrized by complex, quaternion, and Lorentz types gives minimax estimators for each model.     

Estimation in partially linear models with missing responses at random

A partially linear model is considered when the responses are missing at random. Imputation, semiparametric regression surrogate and inverse marginal probability weighted approaches are developed to estimate the regression coefficients and the nonparametric function, respectively. All the proposed estimators for the regression coefficients are shown to be asymptotically normal, and the estimators for the nonparametric function are proved to converge at an optimal rate. A simulation study is conducted to compare the finite sample behavior of the proposed estimators.     

Separable subgroups of mapping class groups

We investigate separability questions for the mapping class group of a surface. While this group is not subgroup separable in general, we prove a large family of interesting subgroups are separable. This includes many classically studied subgroups such as solvable subgroups, Heegaard and Handlebody groups, geometric subgroups, and all the terms in the Johnson filtration.     

Almost maximal spaces

A topological space X is called almost maximal if it is without isolated points and for every x∈X, there are only finitely many ultrafilters on X converging to x. We associate with every countable regular homogeneous almost maximal space X a finite semigroup Ult(X) so that if X and Y are homeomorphic, Ult(X) and Ult(Y) are isomorphic. Semigroups Ult(X) are projectives in the category F of finite semigroups. These are bands decomposing into a certain chain of rectangular components. Under MA, for each projective S in F, there is a countable almost maximal topological group G with Ult(G) isomorphic to S. The existence of a countable almost maximal topological group cannot be established in ZFC. However, there are in ZFC countable regular homogeneous almost maximal spaces X with Ult(X) being a chain of idempotents.     

Strongly countable dimensional compacta form the Hurewicz set

The hyperspaces of strongly countable dimensional compacta of positive dimension and of strongly countable dimensional continua of dimension greater than 1 in the Hilbert cube are homeomorphic to the Hurewicz set of all nonempty countable closed subsets of the unit interval [0,1]. These facts hold true, in particular, for covering dimension dim and cohomological dimension dimG, where G is any Abelian group.     

There is no upper bound of small transfinite compactness degree in metrizable spaces

In [J.M. Aarts, T. Nishiura, Dimension and Extensions, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1993], Aarts and Nishiura investigated several types of dimensions modulo a class P of spaces. These dimension functions have natural transfinite extensions. The small transfinite compactness degree trcmp is such transfinite dimension function extending the small compactness degree cmp. We shall prove that there is no upper bound for trcmp in the class of metrizable spaces, i.e. for each ordinal number α there exists a metrizable space Xα such that trcmpXα=α. We also give a characterization of the dimension dim of a separable (compact) metrizable space in terms of the function cmp of the product of this space with a nowhere locally compact zero-dimensional factor.     

Countably compact topological group topologies on free Abelian groups from selective ultrafilters

Tkachenko showed in 1990 the existence of a countably compact group topology on the free Abelian group of size c using CH. Koszmider, Tomita and Watson showed in 2000 the existence of a countably compact group topology on the free Abelian group of size c² using a forcing model in which CH holds.Wallace's question from 1955, asks whether every both-sided cancellative countably compact semigroup is a topological group. A counterexample to Wallace's question has been called a Wallace semigroup. In 1996, Robbie and Svetlichny constructed a Wallace semigroup under CH. In the same year, Tomita constructed a Wallace semigroup from MAcountable.In this note, we show that the examples of Tkachenko, Robbie and Svetlichny, and Koszmider, Tomita and Watson can be obtained using a family of selective ultrafilters. As a corollary, the constructions presented here are compatible with the total failure of Martin's Axiom.     

Filament sets and homogeneous continua

New tools are introduced for the study of homogeneous continua. The subcontinua of a given continuum are classified into three types: filament, non-filament, and ample, with ample being a subcategory of non-filament. The richness of the collection of ample subcontinua of a homogeneous continuum reflects where the space lies in the gradation from being locally connected at one extreme to indecomposable at another. Applications are given to the general theory of homogeneous continua and their hyperspaces.     

Sewings of crumpled cubes revisited

This paper sets forth three mismatch properties, strictly ordered in strength, about sewings of crumpled n-cubes. The strongest is a sufficient but not a necessary condition for a sewing to yield Sn, and the weakest, a necessary but not sufficient one. We show that when both crumpled cubes satisfies the Disjoint Disks Property, then the weakest property implies the sewing yields Sn, and we also show that the intermediate property leads to the same conclusion when just one of the crumpled cubes possesses the Disjoint Disks Property. In addition, we develop examples that confirm sharpness of the relevant Disjoint Disks conditions.     

Regular variation of order 1 nonlinear AR-ARCH models

We prove both geometric ergodicity and regular variation of the stationary distribution for a class of nonlinear stochastic recursions that includes nonlinear AR-ARCH models of order 1. The Lyapounov exponent for the model, the index of regular variation and the spectral measure for the regular variation all are characterized by a simple two-state Markov chain.