Towards a theory of arithmetic degrees

The aim of this paper is to start a systematic investigation of the arithmetic degree of projective schemes as introduced by D. Bayer and D. Mumford. One main theme concerns itself with the behaviour of this arithmetic degree under hypersurface sections. The notion of arithmetic degree involves the new concept of length-multiplicity of embedded primary ideals. Therefore it is much harder to control the arithmetic degree under a hypersurface section than in the case for the classical degree theory. Nevertheless it has important and interesting applications. We describe such applications to the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity and to Bezout-type theorems.Comment: LaTeX, 14 page

Stochastic Perturbations of Periodic Orbits with Sliding

Vector fields that are discontinuous on codimension-one surfaces are known as Filippov systems and can have attracting periodic orbits involving segments that are contained on a discontinuity surface of the vector field. In this paper we consider the addition of small noise to a general Filippov system and study the resulting stochastic dynamics near such a periodic orbit. Since a straight-forward asymptotic expansion in terms of the noise amplitude is not possible due to the presence of discontinuity surfaces, in order to quantitatively determine the basic statistical properties of the dynamics, we treat different parts of the periodic orbit separately. Dynamics distant from discontinuity surfaces is analyzed by the use of a series expansion of the transitional probability density function. Stochastically perturbed sliding motion is analyzed through stochastic averaging methods. The influence of noise on points at which the periodic orbit escapes a discontinuity surface is determined by zooming into the transition point. We combine the results to quantitatively determine the effect of noise on the oscillation time for a three-dimensional canonical model of relay control. For some parameter values of this model, small noise induces a significantly large reduction in the average oscillation time. By interpreting our results geometrically, we are able to identify four features of the relay control system that contribute to this phenomenon.Comment: 44 pages, 9 figures, submitted to: J Nonlin. Sc