For a finite multigraph G, the reliability function of G is the probability RG(q) that if each edge of G is deleted independently with probability q then the remaining edges of G induce a connected spanning subgraph of G; this is a polynomial function of q. In 1992, Brown and Colbourn conjectured that, for any connected multigraph G, if q ∈ [Copf] is such that RG(q) = 0 then [mid ]q[mid ] [les ] 1. We verify that this conjectured property of RG(q) holds if G is a series-parallel network. The proof is by an application of the Hermite–Biehler theorem and development of a theory of higher-order interlacing for polynomials with only real nonpositive zeros. We conclude by establishing some new inequalities which are satisfied by the f-vector of any matroid without coloops, and by discussing some stronger inequalities which would follow (in the cographic case) from the Brown–Colbourn conjecture, and are hence true for cographic matroids of series-parallel networks.

For a subgroup W of the hyperoctahedral group On which is generated by reflections, we consider the linear dependence matroid MW on the column vectors corresponding to the reflections in W. We determine all possible automorphism groups of MW and determine when W ≅ = Aut(MW). This allows us to connect combinatorial and geometric symmetry. Applications to zonotopes are also considered. Signed graphs are used as a tool for constructing the automorphisms.

The core of a graph G is the subgraph GΔ induced by the vertices of maximum degree. We define the deleted core D(G) of G. We extend an earlier sufficient condition due to Hoffman [7] for a graph H to be the core of a Class 2 graph, and thereby provide a stronger sufficient condition. The new sufficient condition is in terms of D(H). We show that in some circumstances our condition is necessary; but it is not necessary in general.

Let Gp be a random graph on 2d vertices where edges are selected independently with a fixed probability p > ¼, and let H be the d-dimensional hypercube Qd. We answer a question of Bollobás by showing that, as d → ∞, Gp almost surely has a spanning subgraph isomorphic to H. In fact we prove a stronger result which implies that the number of d-cubes in G ∈ [Gscr](n, M) is asymptotically normally distributed for M in a certain range. The result proved can be applied to many other graphs, also improving previous results for the lattice, that is, the 2-dimensional square grid. The proof uses the second moment method – writing X for the number of subgraphs of G isomorphic to H, where G is a suitable random graph, we expand the variance of X as a sum over all subgraphs of H itself. As the subgraphs of H may be quite complicated, most of the work is in estimating the various terms of this sum.

We compare the Euclidean operator norm of a random matrix with the Euclidean norm of its rows and columns. In the first part of this paper, we show that if A is a random matrix with i.i.d. zero mean entries, then E∥A∥h [les ] Kh(E maxi∥ai[bull]∥h + E maxj∥aj[bull]∥h), where K is a constant which does not depend on the dimensions or distribution of A (h, however, does depend on the dimensions). In the second part we drop the assumption that the entries of A are i.i.d. We therefore consider the Euclidean operator norm of a random matrix, A, obtained from a (non-random) matrix by randomizing the signs of the matrix's entries. We show that in this case, the best inequality possible (up to a multiplicative constant) is E∥A∥h [les ] (c log1/4 min {m, n})h(E maxi∥ai[bull]∥h + E maxj∥aj[bull]∥h) (m, n the dimensions of the matrix and c a constant independent of m, n).

The large-time behaviour of a large class of solutions to the two-dimensional linear diffusion equation in situations with radial symmetry is governed by the function known as Ramanujan's integral. This is also true when the diffusion coefficient is complex, which corresponds to Schrödinger's equation. We examine the asymptotic expansion of Ramanujan's integral for large values of its argument over the whole complex plane by considering the analytic continuation of Ramanujan's integral to the left half-plane. The resulting expansions are compared to accurate numerical computations of the integral. The large-time behaviour derived from Ramanujan's integral of the solution to the diffusion equation outside a cylinder is not valid far from the domain boundary. A simple method based on matched asymptotic expansions is outlined to calculate the solution at large times and distances: the resulting form of the solution combines the inverse logarithmic decay in time typical of Ramanujan's integral with spatial dependence on the usual similarity variable for the diffusion equation.

Many moving boundary problems that are driven in some way by the curvature of the free boundary are gradient flows for the area of the moving interface. Examples are the Mullins–Sekerka flow, the Hele-Shaw flow, flow by mean curvature, and flow by averaged mean curvature. The gradient flow structure suggests an implicit finite differences approach to compute numerical solutions. The proposed numerical scheme will allow us to treat such free boundary problems in both IR2 and IR3. The advantage of such an approach is the re-usability of much of the setup for all of the different problems. As an example of the method, we compute solutions to the averaged mean curvature flow that exhibit the formation of a singularity.

In the preceding paper of this issue of EJAM, Bolley & Helffer [5] add to their extensive set of results on bifurcation in the one-dimensional Ginzburg–Landau model of superconductivity. One of their new results concerns the direction of bifurcation of symmetric solutions. We give another approach to this problem.

A problem for a backward–forward parabolic partial differential equation with a small diffusion coefficient ε is analyzed. The problem arises in describing the stochastic behaviour of a data-handling system with a large number of sources which turn on or off at random. We solve the problem asymptotically for ε small by using the ray method and the boundary layer method.

We consider the following elliptic equation:where m > 0, f(x, u)/u tends to a positive constant as u → + ∞. Here, the nonlinear term f(x, u) does not satisfy the usual condition, that is, for some θ > 0,which is important in using the mountain pass theorem. The aim of this paper is to discuss how to use the mountain pass theorem to show the existence of a positive solution to the present problem when we lose the above condition. Furthermore, if f(x, u) ≡ f(u), we also prove that the above problem has a ground state by using the artificial constraint method.

We consider the Sturm–Liouville equationwith the initial conditionand suppose that Weyl's limit-point case holds at infinity. Let ρα(μ) be the corresponding spectral function and its symmetric derivative. We show that for almost all μ ∈ R, if exists and is positive for some α ∈ [0, π), then (i) exists and is positive for all β ∈ [0, π), and (ii) for all α1, α2 ∈ (0, π) \ {½ π},