Uniqueness of certain polynomials constant on a line

We study a question with connections to linear algebra, real algebraic geometry, combinatorics, and complex analysis. Let $p(x,y)$ be a polynomial of degree $d$ with $N$ positive coefficients and no negative coefficients, such that $p=1$ when $x+y=1$. A sharp estimate $d \leq 2N-3$ is known. In this paper we study the $p$ for which equality holds. We prove some new results about the form of these "sharp" polynomials. Using these new results and using two independent computational methods we give a complete classification of these polynomials up to $d=17$. The question is motivated by the problem of classification of CR maps between spheres in different dimensions.Comment: 20 pages, latex; removed section 10 and address referee suggestions; accepted to Linear Algebra and its Application

Integer polyhedra for program analysis

Polyhedra are widely used in model checking and abstract interpretation. Polyhedral analysis is effective when the relationships between variables are linear, but suffers from imprecision when it is necessary to take into account the integrality of the represented space. Imprecision also arises when non-linear constraints occur. Moreover, in terms of tractability, even a space defined by linear constraints can become unmanageable owing to the excessive number of inequalities. Thus it is useful to identify those inequalities whose omission has least impact on the represented space. This paper shows how these issues can be addressed in a novel way by growing the integer hull of the space and approximating the number of integral points within a bounded polyhedron

Delta-Decision Procedures for Exists-Forall Problems over the Reals

Solving nonlinear SMT problems over real numbers has wide applications in robotics and AI. While significant progress is made in solving quantifier-free SMT formulas in the domain, quantified formulas have been much less investigated. We propose the first delta-complete algorithm for solving satisfiability of nonlinear SMT over real numbers with universal quantification and a wide range of nonlinear functions. Our methods combine ideas from counterexample-guided synthesis, interval constraint propagation, and local optimization. In particular, we show how special care is required in handling the interleaving of numerical and symbolic reasoning to ensure delta-completeness. In experiments, we show that the proposed algorithms can handle many new problems beyond the reach of existing SMT solvers