Given a real N by N matrix A, write p(A) for the maximum angle by which A rotates any unit vector. Suppose that A and B are positive definite symmetric (PDS) N by N matrices. Then their Jordan product {A, B} := AB + BA is also symmetric, but not necessarily positive definite. If p(A) + p(B) is obtuse, then there exists a special orthogonal matrix S such that {A, SBS^(-1)} is indefinite. Of course, if A and B commute, then {A, B} is positive definite. Our work grows from the following question: if A and B are commuting positive definite symmetric matrices such that p(A) + p(B) is obtuse, what is the minimal p(S) such that {A, SBS^(-1)} indefinite? In this dissertation we will describe the level curves of the angle function mapping a unit vector x to the angle between x and Ax for a 3 by 3 PDS matrix A, and discuss their interaction with those of a second such matrix.

I study sets of attractors and non-attractors of finite iterated function systems. I provide examples of compact sets which are attractors of iterated function systems as well as compact sets which are not attractors of any iterated function system. I show that the set of all attractors is a dense Fs set and the space of all non-attractors is a dense Gd set it the space of all non-empty compact subsets of a space X. I also investigate the small trans-finite inductive dimension of the space of all attractors of iterated function systems generated by similarity maps on [0,1].

The problem of computing the minimum distance between two convex hulls has applications to many areas including robotics, computer graphics and path planning. Moreover, determining the minimum distance between two convex hulls plays a significant role in support vector machines (SVM). In this study, a new algorithm for finding the minimum distance between two convex hulls is proposed and investigated. A convergence of the algorithm is proved and applicability of the algorithm to support vector machines is demostrated. The performance of the new algorithm is compared with the performance of one of the most popular algorithms, the sequential minimal optimization (SMO) method. The new algorithm is simple to understand, easy to implement, and can be more efficient than the SMO method for many SVM problems.

In this dissertation we study a special sub-collection of Polish metric spaces: complete separable ultrametric spaces. Polish metric spaces have been studied for quite a long while, and a lot of results have been obtained. Motivated by some of earlier research, we work on the following two main parts in this dissertation. In the first part, we show the existence of Urysohn Polish R-ultrametric spaces, for an arbitrary countable set R of non-negative numbers, including 0. Then we give point-by-point construction of a countable R-ultra-Urysohn space. We also obtain a complete characterization for the set R which corresponding to a R-Urysohn metric space. From this characterization we conclude that there exist R-Urysohn spaces for a wide family of countable R. Moreover, we determine the complexity of the classification of all Polish ultrametric spaces. In the second part, we investigate the isometry groups of Polish ultrametric spaces. We prove that isometry group of an Urysohn Polish R-ultrametric space is universal among isometry groups of Polish R-ultrametric spaces. We completely characterize the isometry groups of finite ultrametric spaces and the isometry groups of countable compact ultrametric spaces. Moreover, we give some necessary conditions for finite groups to be isomorphic to some isometry …

In this work I present a constructive method for finding critical points of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional using the method of Sobolev gradients. I give a description of the construction of the Sobolev gradient and obtain convergence results for continuous steepest descent with this gradient. I study the Ginzburg-Landau functional with magnetic field and the Ginzburg-Landau functional without magnetic field. I then present the numerical results I obtained by using steepest descent with the discretized Sobolev gradient.

The Banach spaces L(X, Y), K(X, Y), Lw*(X*, Y), and Kw*(X*, Y) are studied to determine when they contain the classical Banach spaces co or l ∞. The complementation of the Banach space K(X, Y) in L(X, Y) is discussed as well as what impact this complementation has on the embedding of co or l∞ in K(X, Y) or L(X, Y). Results concerning the complementation of the Banach space Kw*(X*, Y) in Lw*(X*, Y) are also explored and how that complementation affects the embedding of co or l ∞ in Kw*(X*, Y) or Lw*(X*, Y). The l p spaces for 1 ≤ p < ∞ are studied to determine when the space of compact operators from one l p space to another contains co. The paper contains a new result which classifies these spaces of operators. Results of Kalton, Feder, and Emmanuele concerning the complementation of K(X, Y) in L(X, Y) are generalized. A new result using vector measures is given to provide more efficient proofs of theorems by Kalton, Feder, Emmanuele, Emmanuele and John, and Bator and Lewis as well as a new proof of the fact that l ∞ is prime.

We establish the existence of radial solutions to the p-Laplacian equation ∆p u + f(u)=0 in RN, where f behaves like |u|q-1 u when u is large and f(u) < 0 for small positive u. We show that for each nonnegative integer n, there is a localized solution u which has exactly n zeros. Also, we look for radial solutions of a superlinear Dirichlet problem in a ball. We show that for each nonnegative integer n, there is a solution u which has exactly n zeros. Here we give an alternate proof to that which was given by Castro and Kurepa.

Let H be a separable infinite dimensional complex Hilbert space, let U(H) be the Polish topological group of unitary operators on H, let G be a Polish topological group and φ:G→U(H) an algebraic isomorphism. Then φ is a topological isomorphism. The same theorem holds for the projective unitary group, for the group of *-automorphisms of L(H) and for the complex isometry group. If H is a separable real Hilbert space with dim(H)≥3, the theorem is also true for the orthogonal group O(H), for the projective orthogonal group and for the real isometry group. The theorem fails for U(H) if H is finite dimensional complex Hilbert space.

Let 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, … denote the Fibonacci sequence beginning with 1 and 2, and then setting each subsequent number to the sum of the two previous ones. Every positive integer n can be expressed as a sum of distinct Fibonacci numbers in one or more ways. Setting R(n) to be the number of ways n can be written as a sum of distinct Fibonacci numbers, we exhibit certain regularity properties of R(n), one of which is connected to the Euler φ-function. In addition, using a theorem of Fine and Wilf, we give a formula for R(n) in terms of binomial coefficients modulo two.

We give conditions which, given two Bernoulli trial measures, determine whether there exists a homeomorphism of Cantor space which sends one measure to the other, answering a question of Oxtoby. We then provide examples, relating these results to the notions of good and refinable measures on Cantor space.

We compute the partial isomorphism rank, in the sense Scott and Karp, of a pair of ordinal structures using an Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse game. A complete formula is proven by induction given any two arbitrary ordinals written in Cantor normal form.

In this paper we use the Sobolev steepest descent method introduced by John W. Neuberger to solve the hyperbolic Monge-Ampère equation. First, we use the discrete Sobolev steepest descent method to find numerical solutions; we use several initial guesses, and explore the effect of some imposed boundary conditions on the solutions. Next, we prove convergence of the continuous Sobolev steepest descent to show local existence of solutions to the hyperbolic Monge-Ampère equation. Finally, we prove some results on the Sobolev gradients that mainly arise from general nonlinear differential equations.

In this dissertation we study graph directed Markov systems (GDMS) and limit sets associated with these systems. Given a GDMS S, by the Hausdorff dimension spectrum of S we mean the set of all positive real numbers which are the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set generated by a subsystem of S. We say that S has full Hausdorff dimension spectrum (full HD spectrum), if the dimension spectrum is the interval [0, h], where h is the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set of S. We give necessary conditions for a finitely primitive conformal GDMS to have full HD spectrum. A GDMS is said to be regular if the Hausdorff dimension of its limit set is also the zero of the topological pressure function. We show that every number in the Hausdorff dimension spectrum is the Hausdorff dimension of a regular subsystem. In the particular case of a conformal iterated function system we show that the Hausdorff dimension spectrum is compact. We introduce several new systems: the nearest integer GDMS, the Gauss-like continued fraction system, and the Renyi-like continued fraction system. We prove that these systems have full HD spectrum. A special attention is given to the backward continued fraction …

The Iwahori-Hecke algebras of Coxeter groups play a central role in the study of representations of semisimple Lie-type groups. An important tool is the combinatorial approach to representations of Iwahori-Hecke algebras introduced by Kazhdan and Lusztig in 1979. In this dissertation, I discuss a generalization of the Iwahori-Hecke algebra of the symmetric group that is instead based on the complex reflection group G(r,1,n). Using the analogues of Kazhdan and Lusztig's R-polynomials, I show that this algebra determines a partial order on G(r,1,n) that generalizes the Chevalley-Bruhat order on the symmetric group. I also consider possible analogues of Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials.

In this dissertation, we study the dynamics, fractal geometry and the topology of the Julia set of functions in the family H which is a set in the class S, the Speiser class of entire transcendental functions which have only finitely many singular values. One can think of a function from H as a generalized expanding function from the cosh family. We shall build a version of thermodynamic formalism for functions in H and we shall show among others, the existence and uniqueness of a conformal measure. Then we prove a Bowen's type formula, i.e. we show that the Hausdorff dimension of the set of returning points, is the unique zero of the pressure function. We shall also study conjugacies in the family H, perturbation of functions in the family and related dynamical properties. We define Perron-Frobenius operators for some functions naturally associated with functions in the family H and then, using fundamental properties of these operators, we shall prove the important result that the Hausdorff dimension of the subset of returning points depends analytically on the parameter taken from a small open subset of the n-dimensional parameter space.

In this dissertation we study the Hamiltonicity and the uniform-Hamiltonicity of subset graphs, subspace graphs, and their associated bipartite graphs. In 1995 paper "The Subset-Subspace Analogy," Kung states the subspace version of a conjecture. The study of this problem led to a more general class of graphs. Inspired by Clark and Ismail's work in the 1996 paper "Binomial and Q-Binomial Coefficient Inequalities Related to the Hamiltonicity of the Kneser Graphs and their Q-Analogues," we defined subset graphs, subspace graphs, and their associated bipartite graphs. The main emphasis of this dissertation is to describe those graphs and study their Hamiltonicity. The results on subset graphs are presented in Chapter 3, on subset bipartite graphs in Chapter 4, and on subspace graphs and subspace bipartite graphs in Chapter 5. We conclude the dissertation by suggesting some generalizations of our results concerning the panciclicity of the graphs.

In this paper, exhaustivity, continuity, and strong additivity are studied in the setting of topological Riesz spaces. Of particular interest is the link between strong additivity and exhaustive elements of Dedekind s-complete Banach lattices. There is a strong connection between the Diestel-Faires Theorem and the Meyer-Nieberg Lemma in this setting. Also, embedding properties of Banach lattices are linked to the notion of strong additivity. The Meyer-Nieberg Lemma is extended to the setting of topological Riesz spaces and uniform absolute continuity and uniformly exhaustive elements are studied in this setting. Counterexamples are provided to show that the Vitali-Hahn-Saks Theorem and the Brooks-Jewett Theorem cannot be extended to submeasures or to the setting of Banach lattices.

In this dissertation we study the structure of spaces of operators, especially the space of all compact operators between two Banach spaces X and Y. Work by Kalton, Emmanuele, Bator and Lewis on the space of compact and weakly compact operators motivates much of this paper. Let L(X,Y) be the Banach space of all bounded linear operators between Banach spaces X and Y, K(X,Y) be the space of all compact operators, and W(X,Y) be the space of all weakly compact operators. We study problems related to the complementability of different operator ideals (the Banach space of all compact, weakly compact, completely continuous, resp. unconditionally converging) operators in the space of all bounded linear operators. The structure of Dunford-Pettis sets, strong Dunford-Pettis sets, and certain spaces of operators is studied in the context of the injective and projective tensor products of Banach spaces. Bibasic sequences are used to study relative norm compactness of strong Dunford-Pettis sets. Next, we use Dunford-Pettis sets to give sufficient conditions for K(X,Y) to contain c0.

For many years mathematicians have been interested in the problem of whether an operator ideal is complemented in the space of all bounded linear operators. In this dissertation the complementation of various classes of operators in the space of all bounded linear operators is considered. This paper begins with a preliminary discussion of linear bounded operators as well as operator ideals. Let L(X, Y ) be a Banach space of all bounded linear operator between Banach spaces X and Y , K(X, Y ) be the space of all compact operators, and W(X, Y ) be the space of all weakly compact operators. We denote space all operator ideals by O.

This paper is a contribution to the study of countable Borel equivalence relations on standard Borel spaces. We concentrate here on the study of the nature of translation equivalence. We study these known hyperfinite spaces in order to gain insight into the approach necessary to classify certain variables as either being hyperfinite or not. In Chapter 1, we will give the basic definitions and examples of spaces used in this work. The general construction of marker sets is developed in this work. These marker sets are used to develop several invariant tilings of the equivalence classes of specific variables . Some properties that are equivalent to hyperfiniteness in the certain space are also developed. Lastly, we will give the new result that there is a continuous injective embedding from certain defined variables.

It is known that there are nonlinear wave equations with localized solitary wave solutions. Some of these solitary waves are stable (with respect to a small perturbation of initial data)and have nonzero spin (nonzero intrinsic angular momentum in the centre of momentum frame). In this paper we consider vector-valued solitary wave solutions to a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation and investigate the behavior of these spinning solitary waves under the in&#64258;uence of an externally imposed uniform magnetic &#64257;eld. We &#64257;nd that the only stationary spinning solitary wave solutions have spin parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic &#64257;eld direction.

Hill and Monticino (1998) introduced a constructive method for generating random probability measures with a prescribed mean or distribution on the mean. The method involves sequentially generating an array of barycenters that uniquely defines a probability measure. This work analyzes statistical properties of the measures generated by sequential barycenter array constructions. Specifically, this work addresses how changing the base measures of the construction affects the statististics of measures generated by the SBA construction. A relationship between statistics associated with a finite level version of the SBA construction and the full construction is developed. Monte Carlo statistical experiments are used to simulate the effect changing base measures has on the statistics associated with the finite level construction.

We consider random fractals generated by random recursive constructions, prove zero-one laws concerning their dimensions and find their packing and Minkowski dimensions. Also we investigate the packing measure in corresponding dimension. For a class of random distribution functions we prove that their packing and Hausdorff dimensions coincide.

The term quantization refers to the process of estimating a given probability by a discrete probability supported on a finite set. The quantization dimension Dr of a probability is related to the asymptotic rate at which the expected distance (raised to the rth power) to the support of the quantized version of the probability goes to zero as the size of the support is allowed to go to infinity. This assumes that the quantized versions are in some sense ``optimal'' in that the expected distances have been minimized. In this dissertation we give a short history of quantization as well as some basic facts. We develop a generalized framework for the quantization dimension which extends the current theory to include a wider range of probability measures. This framework uses the theory of thermodynamic formalism and the multifractal spectrum. It is shown that at least in certain cases the quantization dimension function D(r)=Dr is a transform of the temperature function b(q), which is already known to be the Legendre transform of the multifractal spectrum f(a). Hence, these ideas are all closely related and it would be expected that progress in one area could lead to new results in another. It would …