20,538 research outputs found
Word Equations Where a Power Equals a Product of Powers
We solve a long-standing open problem on word equations by proving that if the words x_0, ..., x_n satisfy the equation x_0^k = x_1^k ... x_n^k for three positive values of k, then the words commute. One of our methods is to assign numerical values for the letters, and then study the sums of the letters of words and their prefixes. We also give a geometric interpretation of our methods
Resonance and marginal instability of switching systems
We analyse the so-called Marginal Instability of linear switching systems,
both in continuous and discrete time. This is a phenomenon of unboundedness of
trajectories when the Lyapunov exponent is zero. We disprove two recent
conjectures of Chitour, Mason, and Sigalotti (2012) stating that for generic
systems, the resonance is sufficient for marginal instability and for
polynomial growth of the trajectories. We provide a characterization of
marginal instability under some mild assumptions on the sys- tem. These
assumptions can be verified algorithmically and are believed to be generic.
Finally, we analyze possible types of fastest asymptotic growth of
trajectories. An example of a pair of matrices with sublinear growth is given
On the Distributions of the Lengths of the Longest Monotone Subsequences in Random Words
We consider the distributions of the lengths of the longest weakly increasing
and strongly decreasing subsequences in words of length N from an alphabet of k
letters. We find Toeplitz determinant representations for the exponential
generating functions (on N) of these distribution functions and show that they
are expressible in terms of solutions of Painlev\'e V equations. We show
further that in the weakly increasing case the generating function gives the
distribution of the smallest eigenvalue in the k x k Laguerre random matrix
ensemble and that the distribution itself has, after centering and normalizing,
an N -> infinity limit which is equal to the distribution function for the
largest eigenvalue in the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble of k x k hermitian matrices
of trace zero.Comment: 30 pages, revised version corrects an error in the statement of
Theorem
Whitney algebras and Grassmann's regressive products
Geometric products on tensor powers of an exterior
algebra and on Whitney algebras \cite{crasch} provide a rigorous version of
Grassmann's {\it regressive products} of 1844 \cite{gra1}. We study geometric
products and their relations with other classical operators on exterior
algebras, such as the Hodge operators and the {\it join} and {\it meet}
products in Cayley-Grassmann algebras \cite{BBR, Stew}. We establish encodings
of tensor powers and of Whitney algebras in
terms of letterplace algebras and of their geometric products in terms of
divided powers of polarization operators. We use these encodings to provide
simple proofs of the Crapo and Schmitt exchange relations in Whitney algebras
and of two typical classes of identities in Cayley-Grassmann algebras
The staircase method: integrals for periodic reductions of integrable lattice equations
We show, in full generality, that the staircase method provides integrals for
mappings, and correspondences, obtained as traveling wave reductions of
(systems of) integrable partial difference equations. We apply the staircase
method to a variety of equations, including the Korteweg-De Vries equation, the
five-point Bruschi-Calogero-Droghei equation, the QD-algorithm, and the
Boussinesq system. We show that, in all these cases, if the staircase method
provides r integrals for an n-dimensional mapping, with 2r<n, then one can
introduce q<= 2r variables, which reduce the dimension of the mapping from n to
q. These dimension-reducing variables are obtained as joint invariants of
k-symmetries of the mappings. Our results support the idea that often the
staircase method provides sufficiently many integrals for the periodic
reductions of integrable lattice equations to be completely integrable. We also
study reductions on other quad-graphs than the regular 2D lattice, and we prove
linear growth of the multi-valuedness of iterates of high-dimensional
correspondences obtained as reductions of the QD-algorithm.Comment: 40 pages, 23 Figure
Errors in algebraic statements translation during the creation of an algebraic domino
We present a research study which main objective is to inquire into secondary school students´ ability to translate and relate algebraic statements which are presented in the symbolic and verbal representation systems. Data collection was performed with 26 14-15 years old students to whom we proposed the creation of an algebraic domino, designed for this research, and its subsequent use in a tournament. Here we present an analysis of the errors made in such translations. Among the obtained results, we note that the students found easier to translate statements from the symbolic to the verbal representation and that most errors in translating from verbal to symbolic expressions where derived from the particular characteristics of algebraic language. Other types of errors are also identified.
KEYWORDS: Algebraic language, domino, errors, translation between representation systems, verbal representation
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