Computation of limit periodic continued fractions. A survey

Over the last 20 years a large number of algorithms has been published to improve the speed and domain of convergence of continued fractions. In this survey we show that these algorithms are strongly related. Actually, they essentially boil down to two main principles.We also prove some results on asymptotic expansions of tail values of limit periodic continued fractions.Dedicated to Luigi Gatteschi on his seventieth birthdayThis research was partially supported by The Norwegian Research Council and by the HMC project ROLLS, under contract CHRX-CT93-0416.     

AN ITERATIVE EQUATION ON THE UNIT CIRCLE

A functional equation of nonlinear iterates is discussed on the circle S1 for its continuous solutions and differentiable solutions. By lifting to R, the existence, uniqueness and stability of those solutions are obtained. Techniques of continuation are used to guarantee the preservation of continuity and differentiability in lifting.     

Noise Path Synthesis with Nonlinear Joints

An efficient synthesis approach is developed which permits thecalculation of the steady-state frequency response of an assembly whichis comprised of linear components and nonlinear joints. Receptancematrices are used to characterize the linear components, which permitscondensation of the system to just the joint degrees-of-freedom.Furthermore, the calculated nonlinear joint forces are then used tostudy the power flow in the assembly, as well as detailed dynamicbehavior within the components. Integrated into the technique is acontinuation scheme which permits efficient parametric studies.     

About the Notion of Semiring of Sets

We introduce a generalized notion of semiring and prove that all known properties that semirings have according to the old definition are preserved.     

Point-to-Periodic and Periodic-to-Periodic Connections

In this work we consider computing and continuing connecting orbits in parameter dependent dynamical systems. We give details of algorithms for computing connections between equilibria and periodic orbits, and between periodic orbits. The theoretical foundation for these techniques is given by the seminal work of Beyn in 1994, “On well-posed problems for connecting orbits in dynamical systems”, where a numerical technique is also proposed. Our algorithms consist of splitting the computation of the connection from that of the periodic orbit(s). To set up appropriate boundary conditions, we follow the algorithmic approach used by Demmel, Dieci, and Friedman, for the case of connecting orbits between equilibria, and we construct and exploit the smooth block Schur decomposition of the monodromy matrices associated to the periodic orbits. Numerical examples illustrate the performance of the algorithms. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Metastable decay rates,asymptotic expansions,and analytic continuation of thermodynamic functions

The grand potentialP(z)/kT of the cluster model at fugacityz, neglecting interactions between clusters, is defined by a power series _n Q _n z ⁿ , whereQ _n , which depends on the temperatureT, is the partition function of a cluster of sizen. At low temperatures this series has a finite radius of convergencez _s . Some theorems are proved showing that ifQ _n , considered as a function ofn, is the Laplace transform of a function with suitable properties, thenP(z) can be analytically continued into the complexz plane cut along the real axis fromz _s to + and that (a) the imaginary part ofP(z) on the cut is (apart from a relatively unimportant prefactor) equal to the rate of nucleation of the corresponding metastable state, as given by Becker-Döring theory, and (b) the real part ofP(z) on the cut is approximately equal to the metastable grand potential as calculated by truncating the divergent power series at its smallest term.     

The BKK root count in

The root count developed by Bernshtein, Kushnirenko and Khovanskii only counts the number of isolated zeros of a polynomial system in the algebraic torus . In this paper, we modify this bound slightly so that it counts the number of isolated zeros in . Our bound is, apparently, significantly sharper than the recent root counts found by Rojas and in many cases easier to compute. As a consequence of our result, the Huber-Sturmfels homotopy for finding all the isolated zeros of a polynomial system in can be slightly modified to obtain all the isolated zeros in .

     

Semiclassical study of collision-induced predissociation: Comparison of the Landau-Zener model with the method of analytic continuation

Semiclassical calculations are carried out by two methods for the problem of collision-induced predissociation of electronically excited I₂. The first method is that of surface-hopping with the Landau-Zener model. The second method is similar to surface-hopping, except that analytic continuation of the adiabatic potential energy surfaces replaces the Landau-Zener model. Results of the calculations by the two methods compare favorably with each other and with experiment. The possible advantages of the second method are discussed.Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.