519 research outputs found
Finding subsets of positive measure
An important theorem of geometric measure theory (first proved by Besicovitch
and Davies for Euclidean space) says that every analytic set of non-zero
-dimensional Hausdorff measure contains a closed subset of
non-zero (and indeed finite) -measure. We investigate the
question how hard it is to find such a set, in terms of the index set
complexity, and in terms of the complexity of the parameter needed to define
such a closed set. Among other results, we show that given a (lightface)
set of reals in Cantor space, there is always a
subset on non-zero -measure definable from
Kleene's . On the other hand, there are sets of reals
where no hyperarithmetic real can define a closed subset of non-zero measure.Comment: This is an extended journal version of the conference paper "The
Strength of the Besicovitch--Davies Theorem". The final publication of that
paper is available at Springer via
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13962-8_2
On what I do not understand (and have something to say): Part I
This is a non-standard paper, containing some problems in set theory I have
in various degrees been interested in. Sometimes with a discussion on what I
have to say; sometimes, of what makes them interesting to me, sometimes the
problems are presented with a discussion of how I have tried to solve them, and
sometimes with failed tries, anecdote and opinion. So the discussion is quite
personal, in other words, egocentric and somewhat accidental. As we discuss
many problems, history and side references are erratic, usually kept at a
minimum (``see ... '' means: see the references there and possibly the paper
itself).
The base were lectures in Rutgers Fall'97 and reflect my knowledge then. The
other half, concentrating on model theory, will subsequently appear
Improving randomness characterization through Bayesian model selection
Nowadays random number generation plays an essential role in technology with
important applications in areas ranging from cryptography, which lies at the
core of current communication protocols, to Monte Carlo methods, and other
probabilistic algorithms. In this context, a crucial scientific endeavour is to
develop effective methods that allow the characterization of random number
generators. However, commonly employed methods either lack formality (e.g. the
NIST test suite), or are inapplicable in principle (e.g. the characterization
derived from the Algorithmic Theory of Information (ATI)). In this letter we
present a novel method based on Bayesian model selection, which is both
rigorous and effective, for characterizing randomness in a bit sequence. We
derive analytic expressions for a model's likelihood which is then used to
compute its posterior probability distribution. Our method proves to be more
rigorous than NIST's suite and the Borel-Normality criterion and its
implementation is straightforward. We have applied our method to an
experimental device based on the process of spontaneous parametric
downconversion, implemented in our laboratory, to confirm that it behaves as a
genuine quantum random number generator (QRNG). As our approach relies on
Bayesian inference, which entails model generalizability, our scheme transcends
individual sequence analysis, leading to a characterization of the source of
the random sequences itself.Comment: 25 page
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