In this paper we obtain, for a semilinear elliptic problem in RN, families of solutions bifurcating from the bottom of the spectrum of −Δ. The problem is variational in nature and we apply a nonlinear reduction method that allows us to search for solutions as critical points of suitable functionals defined on finite-dimensional manifolds.

We provide an estimate of the energy of the solutions to the Poisson equation with constant data and Dirichlet boundary conditions in a convex domain Ω ⊂ Rn. This estimate is obtained by restricting the variational formulation of the problem to the space of functions depending only on the distance from the boundary of Ω. The main tool in the proof is an isoperimetric inequality for convex domains, which is a consequence of the Brunn-Minkowski theorem.

Consider the systemwhere λ is a positive parameter and Ω is a bounded domain in RN. We prove the existence of a large positive solution for λ large when limx → ∞ (f(Mg(x))/x) = 0 for every M > 0. In particular, we do not need any monotonicity assumptions on f, g, nor any sign conditions on f(0), g(0).

Let V be an infinite-dimensional locally convex complex space, X a closed subset of P(V) defined by finitely many continuous homogeneous equations and E a holomorphic vector bundle on X with finite rank. Here we show that E is holomorphically trivial if it is topologically trivial and spanned by its global sections and in a few other cases.

In this paper we investigate three-dimensional complete minimal hypersurfaces with constant Gauss-Kronecker curvature in a space form M4(c) (c ≤ 0). We prove that if the scalar curvature of a such hypersurface is bounded from below, then its Gauss-Kronecker curvature vanishes identically. Examples of complete minimal hypersurfaces which are not totally geodesic in the Euclidean space E4 and the hyperbolic space H4(c) with vanishing Gauss-Kronecker curvature are also presented. It is also proved that totally umbilical hypersurfaces are the only complete hypersurfaces with non-zero constant mean curvature and with zero quasi-Gauss-Kronecker curvature in a space form M4(c) (c ≤ 0) if the scalar curvature is bounded from below. In particular, we classify complete hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature and with constant quasi-Gauss-Kronecker curvature in a space form M4(c) (c ≤ 0) if the scalar curvature r satisfies r≥ ⅔c.

Using techniques of bifurcation theory, we give exact multiplicity and uniqueness results for the fourth-order Dirichlet problem, which describes deflection of an elastic beam, subjected to a nonlinear force, and clamped at the end points. The crucial part of this approach was to show positivity of non-trivial solutions of the corresponding linearized problem.

We consider the equation−Δu = |u|4/(N−2)u + εf(x) under zero Dirichlet boundary conditions in a bounded domain Ω in RN exhibiting certain symmetries, with f ≥ 0, f ≠ 0. In particular, we find that the number of sign-changing solutions goes to infinity for radially symmetric f, as ε → 0 if Ω is a ball. The same is true for the number of negative solutions if Ω is an annulus and the support of f is compact in Ω.

We prove the existence of a positive solution for the Schrödinger-type equation on RN,−Δu + V(x)u = f(u) for u ∈ H1(RN), provided thatThe result is obtained in two cases. (a) lim|x|→ ∞V(x) = V (∞) ∈ (0,∞), f is subcritical and supt>0 2F(t)t−2 < V (∞). (b) There exist V > 0 and R* > 0 such that f(t)t−1 < V ∞ ≤ V (x) for all t > 0 and |x| ≥ R*.

We study the existence of closed characteristics on three-dimensional energy manifolds of second-order Lagrangian systems. These manifolds are always non-compact, connected and not necessarily of contact type. Using the specific geometry of these manifolds, we prove that the number of closed characteristics on a prescribed energy manifold is bounded below by its second Betti number, which is easily computable from the Lagrangian.

We study a class of initial-boundary-value problems for which an auxiliary condition of the formis prescribed. We determine bounds on an energy expression by means of differential inequalities and derive pointwise bounds for the solution and its gradient by use of a parabolic maximum principle.

Two nonlinear diffusion equations for thin film epitaxy, with or without slope selection, are studied in this work. The nonlinearity models the Ehrlich–Schwoebel effect – the kinetic asymmetry in attachment and detachment of adatoms to and from terrace boundaries. Both perturbation analysis and numerical simulation are presented to show that such an atomistic effect is the origin of a nonlinear morphological instability, in a rough-smooth-rough pattern, that has been experimentally observed as transient in an early stage of epitaxial growth on rough surfaces. Initial-boundary-value problems for both equations are proven to be well-posed, and the solution regularity is also obtained. Galerkin spectral approximations are studied to provide both a priori bounds for proving the well-posedness and numerical schemes for simulation. Numerical results are presented to confirm part of the analysis and to explore the difference between the two models on coarsening dynamics.

We describe various blow-up patterns for the fourth-order one-dimensional semilinear parabolic equation \[ u_t = - u_{xxxx} + \b [(u_x)^3]_x + e^{u} \] with a parameter $\b \ge 0$, which is a model equation from explosion-convection theory. Unlike the classical Frank-Kamenetskii equation $u_t=u_{xx} +e^u$ (a solid fuel model), by using analytical and numerical evidence, we show that the generic blow-up in this fourth-order problem is described by a similarity solution $u_*(x,t) = -\ln(T\,{-}\,t) \,{+}\, f_1(x/(T\,{-}\,t)^{1/4})(T>0$ is the blow-up time), with a non-trivial profile $f_1 \not \equiv 0$. Numerical solution of the PDE shows convergence to the self-similar solution with the profile $f_1$ from a wide variety of initial data. We also construct a countable subset of other, not self-similar, blow-up patterns by using a spectral analysis of an associated linearized operator and matching with similarity solutions of a first-order Hamilton–Jacobi equation.

Under certain conditions the motion of superconducting vortices is primarily governed by an instability. We consider an averaged model, for this phenomenon, describing the motion of large numbers of such vortices. The model equations are parabolic, and, in one spatial dimension $x$, take the form \begin{eqnarray*} {H_2}_t &=& \frac{\partial}{\partial x} ( | {H_3} {H_2}_x-{H_2} {H_3}_x | {H_2}_x ), \\ {H_3}_t &=& \frac{\partial}{\partial x} ( | {H_3} {H_2}_x-{H_2} {H_3}_x | {H_3}_x ). \end{eqnarray*} where $H_2$ and $H_3$ are components of the magnetic field in the $y$ and $z$ directions respectively. These equations have an extremely rich group of symmetries and a correspondingly large class of similarity reductions. In this work, we look for non-trivial steady solutions to the model, deduce their stability and use a numerical method to calculate time-dependent solutions. We then apply Lie Group based similarity methods to calculate a complete catalogue of the model's similarity reductions and use this to investigate a number of its physically important similarity solutions. These describe the short time response of the superconductor as a current or magnetic field is switched on (or off).

In the limit of small activator diffusivity, the stability of a one-spike solution to the shadow Gierer–Meinhardt activator-inhibitor system is studied for various ranges of the reaction-time constant $\tau$ associated with the inhibitor field dynamics. By analyzing the spectrum of the eigenvalue problem associated with the linearization around a one-spike solution, it is proved, for a certain parameter regime, that a complex conjugate pair of eigenvalues crosses into the unstable right half-plane $Re(\lambda) > 0$ as $\tau$ increases past a critical value $\tau_0$. For this parameter regime, it is proved that there are exactly two eigenvalues in the right half-plane when $\tau > \tau_0$ and none when $0 \leq \tau < \tau_0$. It is shown numerically that this critical value of $\tau$ represents the onset of an oscillatory instability in the height of the spike. For other parameter regimes, a similar Hopf bifurcation is confirmed numerically. Full numerical solutions to the shadow problem are computed for a spike that is initially centred at the origin of a radially symmetric domain. Different types of large-scale oscillatory motions for the height of a spike are observed numerically for values of $\tau$ well beyond $\tau_0$.

The notion of the influence of a variable on a Boolean function on a product space has attracted much attention in combinatorics, computer science and other fields. Two of the basic papers dealing with this notion are by Kahn, Kalai and Linial (KKL) and Bourgain, Kahn, Kalai, Katznelson and Linial (BKKKL).

In this paper we survey the results in those papers and offer some simpler proofs, corrections, and extensions of the theorems presented there. We present several related open problems.

The aim of this paper is to prove a Turán-type theorem for random graphs. For $\gamma >0$ and graphs $G$ and $H$, write $G\to_\gamma H$ if any $\gamma$-proportion of the edges of $G$ spans at least one copy of $H$ in $G$. We show that for every graph $H$ and every fixed real $\delta>0$, almost every graph $G$ in the binomial random graph model $\cG(n,q)$, with $q=q(n)\gg((\log n)^4/n)^{1/d(H)}$, satisfies $G\to_{(\chi(H)-2)/(\chi(H)-1)+\delta}H$, where as usual $\chi(H)$ denotes the chromatic number of $H$ and $d(H)$ is the ‘degeneracy number’ of $H$.

Since $K_l$, the complete graph on $l$ vertices, is $l$-chromatic and $(l-1)$-degenerate, we infer that for every $l\geq2$ and every fixed real $\delta>0$, almost every graph $G$ in the binomial random graph model $\cG(n,q)$, with $q=q(n)\gg((\log n)^4/n)^{1/(l-1)}$, satisfies $G\to_{(l-2)/(l-1)+\delta}K_l$.

Mader asked whether every $C_4$-free graph $G$ contains a subdivision of a complete graph whose order is at least linear in the average degree of $G$. We show that there is a subdivision of a complete graph whose order is almost linear. More generally, we prove that every $K_{s,t}$-free graph of average degree $r$ contains a subdivision of a complete graph of order $r^{\frac{1}{2}{+}\frac{1}{2(s-1)}-o(1)}$.

We consider a random generalized railway defined as a random 3-regular multigraph where some vertices are regarded as switches that only allow traffic between certain pairs of attached edges. It is shown that the probability that the generalized railway is functioning is linear in the proportion of switches. Thus there is no threshold phenomenon for this property.

The random assignment problem is to minimize the cost of an assignment in an $n\times n$ matrix of random costs. In this paper we study the problem for some integer-valued cost distributions. We consider both uniform distributions on $1,2,\dots ,m$, for $m=n$ or $n^2$, and random permutations of $1,2,\dots ,n$ for each row, or of $1,2,\dots ,n^2$ for the whole matrix. We find the limit of the expected cost for the ‘$n^2$’ cases, and prove bounds for the ‘$n$’ cases. This is done by simple coupling arguments together with recent results of Aldous for the continuous case. We also present a simulation study of these cases.