Sparse grids are the basis for efficient high dimensional approximation and have recently been applied successfully to predictive modelling. They are spanned by a collection of simpler function spaces represented by regular grids. The sparse grid combination technique prescribes how approximations on a collection of anisotropic grids can be combined to approximate high dimensional functions.

In this paper we study the parallelisation of fitting data onto a sparse grid. The computation can be done entirely by fitting partial models on a collection of regular grids. This allows parallelism over the collection of grids. In addition, each of the partial grid fits can be parallelised as well, both in the assembly phase, where parallelism is done over the data, and in the solution stage using traditional parallel solvers for the resulting PDEs. Using a simple timing model we confirm that the most effective methods are obtained when both types of parallelism are used.

This paper presents an efficient method for generating the class of all twelve-tone rows which are transpositions of their own retrograde-inversions. It is shown here that the members of this class can be obtained from a subclass of those rows whose first six notes are ascending and whose first note is C. The number of twelve-tone rows in this subclass is 192, and a complete listing is given in an appendix to this paper. The theory as developed here can be applied to tone rows having any even number of notes.

For the linear quadratic control problem with delay, a lower bound for the performance index is obtained by elementary methods. Using this bound, two important a posteriori error estimates are derived. The first one measures the deviation of the performance index while the second is for the deviation of the state and control variables from the optimal solution.

Planar hinged segmented bodies have been used to represent models of biomechanical systems. One characteristic of a segmented body moving under gravitational acceleration and torques between segments is the possibility that the body's segments spin through more than a revolution or past a natural limit, and a computational mechanism to stop such behaviour should be provided. This could be done by introducing angle constraints between segments, and computational models utilising optimal control are studied here. Three models to maintain angle constraints between segments are proposed and compared. These models are: all-time angle constraints, a restoring torque in the state equations and an exponential penalty model. The models are applied to a 2-D three-segment body to test the behaviour of each model when optimising torques to minimise an objective. The optimisation is run to find torques so that the end effector of the body follows the trajectory of a half-circle. The result shows the behaviour of each model in maintaining the angle constraints. The all-time constraints case exhibits a behaviour of not allowing torques (at a solution) which makes segments move past the constraints, while the other two show a flexibility in handling the angle constraints which is more similar to what occurs in a real biomechanical system.

A harmonic function in the interior of a polygon is the double layer potential of a distribution satisfying a second kind integral equation. This may be solved numerically by Galerkin's method using piecewise polynomials as basis functions. But the corners produce singularities in the distribution and the kernel of the integral equation; and these reduce the order of convergence. This is offset by grading the mesh, and the orders of convergence and superconvergence are restored to those for a smooth boundary.

When a line sink is placed beneath the free surface of an otherwise quiescent fluid of infinite depth, two different flow types are now known to be possible. One type of flow involves the fluid being drawn down toward the sink, and in the other type, a stagnation point forms at the surface immediately above the position of the sink.

This paper investigates the second of these two flow types, which involves a free-surface stagnation point. The effects of surface tension are included, and even when small, these are shown to have a very significant effect on the overall solution behaviour. We demonstrate by direct numerical calculation that there are regions of genuine non-uniqueness in the nonlinear solution, when the surface-tension parameter does not vanish. In addition, an asymptotic solution valid for small Froude number is derived.

The extent to which an asymmetric low-aspect-ratio flat ship is wetted when planing at infinite Froude number is investigated, with emphasis placed on its relationship with the shape of the hull. Two cases are considered. First the hull is assumed to have two laterally-asymmetric leading edges and, secondly, the hull is assumed to be yawed sufficiently for one of the leading edges to become a trailing edge. In the first case, the relationship involves a pair of coupled integral equations, but in the second case there is a complication by the occurrence of hull-wake interaction.

Field equations for coupled gravitational and zero mass scalar fields in the presence of a point charge are obtained with the aid of a static spherically symmetric conformally flat metric. A closed from exact solution of the field equations is presented which may be considered as describing the field of a charged particle at the origin surrounded by the scalar meson field in a flat space-time.

There is a well-recognized need for a mortgage instrument that will operate satisfactorily in the presence of a volatile inflation. This paper analyses a large class of mortgages—the ‘continuous mortgage’ (CM)—as a basis for such design. In particular, it is shown that the real (inflation-adjusted) payment stream is exponentially sensitive to changes in the real interest rate. Consequently to realize a satisfactory design, the mortgage must be indexed by assigning the real interest rate. Then, under appropriate restraints, the CM offers a continuum of satisfactory mortgage designs.

Recently, Srivastava, Pathan and Kamarujjama established several results for generalised Voigt functions which play an important role in several diverse fields of physics—such as astrophysical spectroscopy and the theory of neutron reactions. In the present paper we aim to generalise some partly bilateral and partly unilateral representations and generating functions of Srivastava et al. by considering a specialised version of the Srivastava-Chen definition of the unified Voigt functions. Several special cases of our main results are mentioned briefly.

Einstein's vacuum field equations of an axially symmetric stationary rotating source are studied. Using the oblate spheroidal coordinate system, a class of asymptotically fiat solutions representing the exterior gravitational field of a stationary rotating oblate spheroidal source is obtained. Also it is proved that an analytic axisymmetric and stationary distribution of dust cannot be the source for the gravitational field described by the axisymmetric stationary metric.

Sufficient conditions are derived for the relative controllability of nonlinear neutral Volterra integrodifferential systems with distributed delays in the control variables. The results are a generalization of previous results and are obtained by using Schauder's fixed-point theorem.

We present an alternative matrix mnemonic for the basic equations of simple thermodynamics. When normalized, this permits an explicit generalized inverse, allowing inversion of the mechanical and chemical thermodynamic equations. As an application, the natural variables S, V, P and T are derived from the four energies E (internal), F (free), G (Gibbs) and H (enthalpy).

The solutions of the equations describing deep global convection on a rotating planet are discussed. The existence of generalized steady axisymmetric solutions is established. It is then shown that these are classical solutions when the heat source is sufficiently smooth. The solutions are shown to be unique when the heating is sufficiently weak and asymptotically stable when the shear is sufficiently small. Finally, the application of these results to Earth's atmosphere is discussed, with eddy viscosity replacing molecular viscosity.