We consider the problem of maximum likelihood estimation of logistic sinusoidal regression models and develop some asymptotic theory including the consistency and joint rates of convergence for the maximum likelihood estimators. The key techniques build upon a synthesis of the results of Walker and Song and Li for the widely studied sinusoidal regression model and on making a connection to a result of Radchenko. Monte Carlo simulations are also presented to demonstrate the finite-sample performance of the estimators

Let G be a Lie group acting on a homogeneous space G/K. The center of the universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra of G maps homomorphically into the center of the algebra of differential operators on G/K invariant under the action of G. In the case that G is a Jacobi Lie group of rank 2, we prove that this homomorphism is surjective and hence that the center of the invariant differential operator algebra is the image of the center of the universal enveloping algebra. This is an extension of work of Bringmann, Conley, and Richter in the rank 1case.

We study the development of nonlinear conjugate gradient methods, Fletcher Reeves (FR) and Polak Ribiere (PR). FR extends the linear conjugate gradient method to nonlinear functions by incorporating two changes, for the step length αk a line search is performed and replacing the residual, rk (rk=b-Axk) by the gradient of the nonlinear objective function. The PR method is equivalent to FR method for exact line searches and when the underlying quadratic function is strongly convex. The PR method is basically a variant of FR and primarily differs from it in the choice of the parameter βk. On applying the nonlinear Rosenbrock function to the MATLAB code for the FR and the PR algorithms we observe that the performance of PR method (k=29) is far better than the FR method (k=42). But, we observe that when the MATLAB codes are applied to general nonlinear functions, specifically functions whose minimum is a large negative number not close to zero and the iterates too are large values far off from zero the PR algorithm does not perform well. This problem with the PR method persists even if we run the PR algorithm for more iterations or with an initial guess closer to the …

In this thesis we study descriptive-set-theoretic and measure-theoretic properties of Polish groups, with a thematic emphasis on the contrast between groups which are locally compact and those which are not. The work is divided into three major sections. In the first, working jointly with Robert Kallman, we resolve a conjecture of Gleason regarding the Polish topologization of abstract groups of homeomorphisms. We show that Gleason's conjecture is false, and its conclusion is only true when the hypotheses are considerably strengthened. Along the way we discover a new automatic continuity result for a class of functions which behave like but are distinct from functions of Baire class 1. In the second section we consider the descriptive complexity of those subsets of the permutation group S? which arise naturally from the classical Levy-Steinitz series rearrangement theorem. We show that for any conditionally convergent series of vectors in Euclidean space, the sets of permutations which make the series diverge, and diverge properly, are ?03-complete. In the last section we study the phenomenon of Haar null sets a la Christensen, and the closely related notion of openly Haar null sets. We identify and correct a minor error in the proof of Mycielski that a …

Laczkovich proved from ZF that, given a countable sequence of Borel sets on a perfect Polish space, if the limit superior along every subsequence was uncountable, then there was a particular subsequence whose intersection actually contained a perfect subset. Komjath later expanded the result to hold for analytic sets. In this paper, by adding AD and sometimes V=L(R) to our assumptions, we will extend the result further. This generalization will include the increasing of the length of the sequence to certain uncountable regular cardinals as well as removing any descriptive requirements on the sets.

This dissertation presents results about computations of Graev metrics on free groups and characterizes isometry groups of countable noncompact Heine-Borel Polish ultrametric spaces. In Chapter 2, computations of Graev metrics are performed on free groups. One of the related results answers an open question of Van Den Dries and Gao. In Chapter 3, isometry groups of countable noncompact Heine-Borel Polish ultrametric spaces are characterized. The notion of generalized tree is defined and a correspondence between the isomorphism group of a generalized tree and the isometry group of a Heine-Borel Polish ultrametric space is established. The concept of a weak inverse limit is introduced to capture the characterization of isomorphism groups of generalized trees. In Chapter 4, partial results of isometry groups of uncountable compact ultrametric spaces are given. It turns out that every compact ultrametric space has a unique countable orbital decomposition. An orbital space consists of disjoint orbits. An orbit subspace of an orbital space is actually a compact homogeneous ultrametric subspace.

We prove the existence of a one-parameter family of solutions of the porous medium equation, a nonlinear heat equation. In our work, with space dimension 3, the interface is a half line whose end point advances at constant speed. We prove, by using maximum principle, that the solutions are stable under a suitable class of perturbations. We discuss the relevance of our solutions, when restricted to two dimensions, to gravity driven flows of thin films. Here we extend the results of J. Iaia and S. Betelu in the paper "Solutions of the porous medium equation with degenerate interfaces" to a higher dimension.