On finite functions with non-trivial arity gap

Given an $n$-ary $k-$valued function $f$, $gap(f)$ denotes the minimal number of essential variables in $f$ which become fictive when identifying any two distinct essential variables in $f$. We particularly solve a problem concerning the explicit determination of $n$-ary $k-$valued functions $f$ with $2\leq gap(f)\leq n\leq k$. Our methods yield new combinatorial results about the number of such functions.Comment: 17 pages, Int. Conf. Algebraic and Combinatorial Coding Theory, ACCT2008, June 16 - Sunday 22, 2008, Pamporovo, BULGARI

Hierarchy of boundary driven phase transitions in multi-species particle systems

Interacting systems with $K$ driven particle species on a open chain or chains which are coupled at the ends to boundary reservoirs with fixed particle densities are considered. We classify discontinuous and continuous phase transitions which are driven by adiabatic change of boundary conditions. We build minimal paths along which any given boundary driven phase transition (BDPT) is observed and reveal kinetic mechanisms governing these transitions. Combining minimal paths, we can drive the system from a stationary state with all positive characteristic speeds to a state with all negative characteristic speeds, by means of adiabatic changes of the boundary conditions. We show that along such composite paths one generically encounters $Z$ discontinuous and $2(K-Z)$ continuous BDPTs with $Z$ taking values $0\leq Z\leq K$ depending on the path. As model examples we consider solvable exclusion processes with product measure states and $K=1,2,3$ particle species and a non-solvable two-way traffic model. Our findings are confirmed by numerical integration of hydrodynamic limit equations and by Monte Carlo simulations. Results extend straightforwardly to a wide class of driven diffusive systems with several conserved particle species.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

Uniform growth of groups acting on Cartan-Hadamard spaces

Let $X$ be an $n$-dimensional simply connected manifold of pinched sectional curvature $-a^2 \leq K \leq -1$. There exist a positive constant $C(n,a)$ such that for any finitely generated discrete group $\Gamma$ acting on $X$, then either $\Gamma$ is virtually nilpotent or the algebraic entropy $Ent (\Gamma) \geq C(n,a)$