Conformal Mappings of Riemannian Spaces onto Ricci Symmetric Spaces

Mathematical Notes -     

Cyclic permutations and evolutionary trees

Given a tree with leaf set X, there are certain ways of arranging the elements of X in a circular order so that can be embedded in the plane and ‘preserve’ this ordering. We investigate some new combinatorial properties of these ‘circular orderings.’ We then use these properties to establish two results concerning dissimilarity maps on X that are induced by edge-weighted trees with leaf set X.     

Peeling phylogenetic ‘oranges’

We investigate the combinatorics of a topological space that is generated by the set of edge-weighted finite trees. This space arises by multiplying the weights of edges on paths in trees and is closely connected to tree reconstruction problems involving finite state Markov processes. We show that this space is a contractible finite CW-complex whose face poset can be described via a partial order on semilabelled forests. We then describe some combinatorial properties of this poset, showing that, for example, it is pure, thin and contractible.     

On the Curvature of the Central Path of Linear Programming Theory

We prove a linear bound on the average total curvature of the central path of linear programming theory in terms of the number of independent variables of the primal problem, and independent of the number of constraints.     

Flips and the Hilbert scheme over an exterior algebra

We study the tangent space at a monomial point M in the Hilbert scheme that parameterizes all ideals with the same Hilbert function as M over an exterior algebra.     

Fire containment in grids of dimension three and higher

We consider a deterministic discrete-time model of fire spread introduced by Hartnell [Firefighter! an application of domination, Presentation, in: 20th Conference on Numerical Mathematics and Computing, University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, September 1995] and the problem of minimizing the number of burnt vertices when a fixed number of vertices can be defended by firefighters per time step. While only two firefighters per time step are needed in the two-dimensional lattice to contain any outbreak, we prove a conjecture of Wang and Moeller [Fire control on graphs, J. Combin. Math. Combin. Comput. 41 (2002) 19-34] that 2d-1 firefighters per time step are needed to contain a fire outbreak starting at a single vertex in the d-dimensional square lattice for d?3; we also prove that in the d-dimensional lattice, d?3, for each positive integer f there is some outbreak of fire such that f firefighters per time step are insufficient to contain the outbreak. We prove another conjecture of Wang and Moeller that the proportion of elements in the three-dimensional grid P_n×P_n×P_n which can be saved with one firefighter per time step when an outbreak starts at one vertex goes to 0 as n gets large. Finally, we use integer programming to prove results about the minimum number of time steps needed and minimum number of burnt vertices when containing a fire outbreak in the two-dimensional square lattice with two firefighters per time step.     

Timetabling County Cricket Fixtures Using a Form of Tabu Search

This paper concerns a computer system which has been devised to timetable the county cricket matches in England. The context of the work is discussed and the many constraints and objectives described. Details of the solution method are given; it involves tabu search with a form of diversification dependent on the solution subcosts as well as the overall cost. Experiments are described which suggest that this type of diversification may have wide applicability to large, complex, multi-objective combinatorial problems.     

Immiscibility,upper critical solution temperature,and miscibility in blends of poly(vinyl ether)s with polyacrylics: Effects of pendant groups

Various phase behavior of blends of poly(vinyl ether)s with homologous acrylic polymers (polymethacrylates or polyacrylates) were examined using differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy (OM), and Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy. Effects of varying the pendant groups of either of constituent polymers on the phase behavior of the blends were analyzed. A series of interestingly different phase behavior in the blends has been revealed in that as the pendant group in the acrylic polymer series gets longer, polymethacrylate/poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) blends exhibit immiscibility, upper critical solution temperature (UCST), and miscibility, respectively. This study found that the true phase behavior of poly(propyl methacrylate)/PVME [and poly(isopropyl methacrylate)/PVME)] blend systems, though immiscible at ambient, actually displayed a rare UCST upon heating to higher temperatures. Similarly, as the methyl pendant group in PVE is lengthened to ethyl (i.e., PVME replaced by PVEE), phase behavior of its blends with series of polymethacrylates or polyacrylates changes correspondingly. Analyses and quantitative comparisons on four series of blends of PVE/acrylic polymer were performed to thoroughly understand the effects of pendant groups in either polyethers (PVE's) or acrylic polymers on the phase behavior of the blends of these two constituents. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1521–1534, 2007