Some constructions, related to noncommutative tori; Fredholm modules and the Beilinson-Bloch regulator

A noncommutative 2-torus is one of the main toy models of noncommutative geometry, and a noncommutative n-torus is a straightforward generalization of it. In 1980, Pimsner and Voiculescu in [17] described a 6-term exact sequence, which allows for the computation of the K-theory of noncommutative tori. It follows that both even and odd K-groups of n-dimensional noncommutative tori are free abelian groups on 2^n-1 generators. In 1981, the Powers-Rieffel projector was described [19], which, together with the class of identity, generates the even K-theory of noncommutative 2-tori. In 1984, Elliott [10] computed trace and Chern character on these K-groups. According to Rieffel [20], the odd K-theory of a noncommutative n-torus coincides with the group of connected components of the elements of the algebra. In particular, generators of K-theory can be chosen to be invertible elements of the algebra. In Chapter 1, we derive an explicit formula for the First nontrivial generator of the odd K-theory of noncommutative tori. This gives the full set of generators for the odd K-theory of noncommutative 3-tori and 4-tori.

In Chapter 2, we apply the graded-commutative framework of differential geometry to the polynomial subalgebra of the noncommutative torus algebra. We use the framework of differential geometry described in [27], [14], [25], [26]. In order to apply this framework to noncommutative torus, the notion of the graded-commutative algebra has to be generalized: the "signs" should be allowed to take values in U(1), rather than just {-1,1}. Such generalization is well-known (see, e.g., [8] in the context of linear algebra). We reformulate relevant results of [27], [14], [25], [26] using this extended notion of sign. We show how this framework can be used to construct differential operators, differential forms, and jet spaces on noncommutative tori. Then, we compare the constructed differential forms to the ones, obtained from the spectral triple of the noncommutative torus. Sections 2.1-2.3 recall the basic notions from [27], [14], [25], [26], with the required change of the notion of "sign". In Section 2.4, we apply these notions to the polynomial subalgebra of the noncommutative torus algebra. This polynomial subalgebra is similar to a free graded-commutative algebra. We show that, when restricted to the polynomial subalgebra, Connes construction of differential forms gives the same answer as the one obtained from the graded-commutative differential geometry. One may try to extend these notions to the smooth noncommutative torus algebra, but this was not done in this work.

A reconstruction of the Beilinson-Bloch regulator (for curves) via Fredholm modules was given by Eugene Ha in [12]. However, the proof in [12] contains a critical gap; in Chapter 3, we close this gap. More specifically, we do this by obtaining some technical results, and by proving Property 4 of Section 3.7 (see Theorem 3.9.4), which implies that such reformulation is, indeed, possible. The main motivation for this reformulation is the longer-term goal of finding possible analogs of the second K-group (in the context of algebraic geometry and K-theory of rings) and of the regulators for noncommutative spaces. This work should be seen as a necessary preliminary step for that purpose.

For the convenience of the reader, we also give a short description of the results from [12], as well as some background material on central extensions and Connes-Karoubi character.

A colorimetric determination of hydrocyanic acid

The object of this investigation is to devise a rapid, fairly accurate, colorimetric analysis for HCN to be used in field work for determining instantaneous concentrations of the gas under fumigating canvas. A large amount of money is expended yearly by the citrus industry of this state in attempting to control and to eradicate the scale pests. Although fumigation with HCN has been practiced tor many years, the progress made has been anything but satisfactory. The greater portion of the work has always been carried on by contractors, who in a large number of cases have been very unscrupulous. The materials and labor are very expensive and the growers have been satisfied to adhere to beaten paths and hope for the best results on scale kill with the least attendant foliage injury. One familiar with fumigating, either from the grower's or the operator's viewpoint, knows that very widely varying results are obtained, even under what are apparently identical condition. Even after discounting for the dishonesty of some operators and the prejudices of the grower, there is still a large variance between desired or expected results and those actually obtained.

Paranormal operator on a Hilbert space

In this thesis an extensive study is made of the set P of all paranormal operators in B(H), the set of all bounded endomorphisms on the complex Hilbert space H. T ϵ B(H) is paranormal if for each z contained in the resolvent set of T, d(z, σ(T))//(T-zI)^-1 = 1 where d(z, σ(T)) is the distance from z to σ(T), the spectrum of T. P contains the set N of normal operators and P contains the set of hyponormal operators. However, P is contained in L, the set of all T ϵ B(H) such that the convex hull of the spectrum of T is equal to the closure of the numerical range of T. Thus, N≤P≤L.

If the uniform operator (norm) topology is placed on B(H), then the relative topological properties of N, P, L can be discussed. In Section IV, it is shown that: 1) N P and L are arc-wise connected and closed, 2) N, P, and L are nowhere dense subsets of B(H) when dim H ≥ 2, 3) N = P when dimH ˂ ∞ , 4) N is a nowhere dense subset of P when dimH ˂ ∞ , 5) P is not a nowhere dense subset of L when dimH ˂ ∞ , and 6) it is not known if P is a nowhere dense subset of L when dimH ˂ ∞.

The spectral properties of paranormal operators are of current interest in the literature. Putnam [22, 23] has shown that certain points on the boundary of the spectrum of a paranormal operator are either normal eigenvalues or normal approximate eigenvalues. Stampfli [26] has shown that a hyponormal operator with countable spectrum is normal. However, in Theorem 3.3, it is shown that a paranormal operator T with countable spectrum can be written as the direct sum, N ⊕ A, of a normal operator N with σ(N) = σ(T) and of an operator A with σ(A) a subset of the derived set of σ(T). It is then shown that A need not be normal. If we restrict the countable spectrum of T ϵ P to lie on a C²-smooth rectifiable Jordan curve G_o, then T must be normal [see Theorem 3.5 and its Corollary]. If T is a scalar paranormal operator with countable spectrum, then in order to conclude that T is normal the condition of σ(T) ≤ G_o can be relaxed [see Theorem 3.6]. In Theorem 3.7 it is then shown that the above result is not true when T is not assumed to be scalar. It was then conjectured that if T ϵ P with σ(T) ≤ G_o, then T is normal. The proof of Theorem 3.5 relies heavily on the assumption that T has countable spectrum and cannot be generalized. However, the corollary to Theorem 3.9 states that if T ϵ P with σ(T) ≤ G_o, then T has a non-trivial lattice of invariant subspaces. After the completion of most of the work on this thesis, Stampfli [30, 31] published a proof that a paranormal operator T with σ(T) ≤ G_o is normal. His proof uses some rather deep results concerning numerical ranges whereas the proof of Theorem 3.5 uses relatively elementary methods.

Multiplication in Riesz spaces

A.G. Vulih has shown how an essentially unique intrinsic multiplication can be defined in certain types of Riesz spaces (vector lattices) L. In general, the multiplication is not universally defined in L, but L can always be imbedded in a large space L^# in which multiplication is universally defined.

If ф is a normal integral in L, then ф can be extended to a normal integral on a large space L₁(ф) in L^#, and L₁(ф) may be regarded as an abstract integral space. A very general form of the Radon-Nikodym theorem can be proved in L₁(ф), and this can be used to give a relatively simple proof of a theorem of Segal giving a necessary and sufficient condition that the Radon-Nikodym theorem hold in a measure space.

In another application, the multiplication is used to give a representation of certain Riesz spaces as rings of operators on a Hilbert space.

Nuclear hyperfine interactions in W^(182), W^(183), and Pt^(195) as studies by the Mossbauer effect

The Mössbauer technique has been used to study the nuclear hyperfine interactions and lifetimes in W¹⁸² (2⁺ state) and W¹⁸³ (3/2^- and 5/2^- states) with the following results: g(5/2^-)/g(2⁺) = 1.40 ± 0.04; g(3/2^- = -0.07 ± 0.07; Q(5/2^-)/Q(2⁺) = 0.94 ± 0.04; T_1/2(3/2^-) = 0.184 ± 0.005 nsec; T_1/2(5/2^-) >̰ 0.7 nsec. These quantities are discussed in terms of a rotation-particle interaction in W¹⁸³ due to Coriolis coupling. From the measured quantities and additional information on γ-ray transition intensities magnetic single-particle matrix elements are derived. It is inferred from these that the two effective g-factors, resulting from the Nilsson-model calculation of the single-particle matrix elements for the spin operators ŝ_z and ŝ₊, are not equal, consistent with a proposal of Bochnacki and Ogaza.

The internal magnetic fields at the tungsten nucleus were determined for substitutional solid solutions of tungsten in iron, cobalt, and nickel. With g(2⁺) = 0.24 the results are: |H_eff(W-Fe)| = 715 ± 10 kG; |H_eff(W-Co)| = 360 ± 10 kG; |H_eff(W-Ni)| = 90 ± 25 kG. The electric field gradients at the tungsten nucleus were determined for WS₂ and WO₃. With Q(2⁺) = -1.81b the results are: for WS₂, eq = -(1.86 ± 0.05) 10¹⁸ V/cm²; for WO₃, eq = (1.54 ± 0.04) 10¹⁸ V/cm² and ƞ = 0.63 ± 0.02.

The 5/2^- state of Pt¹⁹⁵ has also been studied with the Mössbauer technique, and the g-factor of this state has been determined to be -0.41 ± 0.03. The following magnetic fields at the Pt nucleus were found: in an Fe lattice, 1.19 ± 0.04 MG; in a Co lattice, 0.86 ± 0.03 MG; and in a Ni lattice, 0.36 ± 0.04 MG. Isomeric shifts have been detected in a number of compounds and alloys and have been interpreted to imply that the mean square radius of the Pt¹⁹⁵ nucleus in the first-excited state is smaller than in the ground state.

Stability of parametrically excited differential equations

Sufficient stability criteria for classes of parametrically excited differential equations are developed and applied to example problems of a dynamical nature.

Stability requirements are presented in terms of 1) the modulus of the amplitude of the parametric terms, 2) the modulus of the integral of the parametric terms and 3) the modulus of the derivative of the parametric terms.

The methods employed to show stability are Liapunov’s Direct Method and the Gronwall Lemma. The type of stability is generally referred to as asymptotic stability in the sense of Liapunov.

The results indicate that if the equation of the system with the parametric terms set equal to zero exhibits stability and possesses bounded operators, then the system will be stable under sufficiently small modulus of the parametric terms or sufficiently small modulus of the integral of the parametric terms (high frequency). On the other hand, if the equation of the system exhibits individual stability for all values that the parameter assumes in the time interval, then the actual system will be stable under sufficiently small modulus of the derivative of the parametric terms (slowly varying).

Smooth Banach spaces and approximations

If E and F are real Banach spaces let C^p,q(E, F) O ≤ q ≤ p ≤ ∞, denote those maps from E to F which have p continuous Frechet derivatives of which the first q derivatives are bounded. A Banach space E is defined to be C^p,q smooth if C^p,q(E,R) contains a nonzero function with bounded support. This generalizes the standard C^p smoothness classification.

If an L^p space, p ≥ 1, is C^q smooth then it is also C^q,q smooth so that in particular L^p for p an even integer is C^∞,∞ smooth and L^p for p an odd integer is C^p-1,p-1 smooth. In general, however, a C^p smooth B-space need not be C^p,p smooth. C_o is shown to be a non-C^2,2 smooth B-space although it is known to be C^∞ smooth. It is proved that if E is C^p,1 smooth then C_o(E) is C^p,1 smooth and if E has an equivalent C^p norm then c_o(E) has an equivalent C^p norm.

Various consequences of C^p,q smoothness are studied. If f ϵ C^p,q(E,F), if F is C^p,q smooth and if E is non-C^p,q smooth, then the image under f of the boundary of any bounded open subset U of E is dense in the image of U. If E is separable then E is C^p,q smooth if and only if E admits C^p,q partitions of unity; E is C^p,psmooth, p ˂∞, if and only if every closed subset of E is the zero set of some C^P function.

f ϵ C^q(E,F), 0 ≤ q ≤ p ≤ ∞, is said to be C_p,q approximable on a subset U of E if for any ϵ ˃ 0 there exists a g ϵ C^p(E,F) satisfying

sup/xϵU, O≤k≤q ‖ D^k f(x) - D^k g(x) ‖ ≤ ϵ.

It is shown that if E is separable and C^p,q smooth and if f ϵ C^q(E,F) is C_p,q approximable on some neighborhood of every point of E, then F is C_p,q approximable on all of E.

In general it is unknown whether an arbitrary function in C¹(l², R) is C_2,1 approximable and an example of a function in C¹(l², R) which may not be C_2,1 approximable is given. A weak form of C_∞,q, q≥1, to functions in C^q(l², R) is proved: Let {U_α} be a locally finite cover of l² and let {T_α} be a corresponding collection of Hilbert-Schmidt operators on l². Then for any f ϵ C^q(l²,F) such that for all α

sup ‖ D^k(f(x)-g(x))[T_αh]‖ ≤ 1.

xϵU_α,‖h‖≤1, 0≤k≤q

The Riesz space structure of an Abelian W*-algebra

Let M be an Abelian W*-algebra of operators on a Hilbert space H. Let M₀ be the set of all linear, closed, densely defined transformations in H which commute with every unitary operator in the commutant M’ of M. A well known result of R. Pallu de Barriere states that if ɸ is a normal positive linear functional on M, then ɸ is of the form T → (Tx, x) for some x in H, where T is in M. An elementary proof of this result is given, using only those properties which are consequences of the fact that ReM is a Dedekind complete Riesz space with plenty of normal integrals. The techniques used lead to a natural construction of the class M₀, and an elementary proof is given of the fact that a positive self-adjoint transformation in M₀ has a unique positive square root in M₀. It is then shown that when the algebraic operations are suitably defined, then M₀ becomes a commutative algebra. If ReM₀ denotes the set of all self-adjoint elements of M₀, then it is proved that ReM₀ is Dedekind complete, universally complete Riesz spaces which contains ReM as an order dense ideal. A generalization of the result of R. Pallu de la Barriere is obtained for the Riesz space ReM₀ which characterizes the normal integrals on the order dense ideals of ReM₀. It is then shown that ReM₀ may be identified with the extended order dual of ReM, and that ReM₀ is perfect in the extended sense.

Some secondary questions related to the Riesz space ReM are also studied. In particular it is shown that ReM is a perfect Riesz space, and that every integral is normal under the assumption that every decomposition of the identity operator has non-measurable cardinal. The presence of atoms in ReM is examined briefly, and it is shown that ReM is finite dimensional if and only if every order bounded linear functional on ReM is a normal integral.

Relativistic quark models and the current algebra

In this thesis we are concerned with finding representations of the algebra of SU(3) vector and axial-vector charge densities at infinite momentum (the "current algebra") to describe the mesons, idealizing the real continua of multiparticle states as a series of discrete resonances of zero width. Such representations would describe the masses and quantum numbers of the mesons, the shapes of their Regge trajectories, their electromagnetic and weak form factors, and (approximately, through the PCAC hypothesis) pion emission or absorption amplitudes.

We assume that the mesons have internal degrees of freedom equivalent to being made of two quarks (one an antiquark) and look for models in which the mass is SU(3)-independent and the current is a sum of contributions from the individual quarks. Requiring that the current algebra, as well as conditions of relativistic invariance, be satisfied turns out to be very restrictive, and, in fact, no model has been found which satisfies all requirements and gives a reasonable mass spectrum. We show that using more general mass and current operators but keeping the same internal degrees of freedom will not make the problem any more solvable. In particular, in order for any two-quark solution to exist it must be possible to solve the "factorized SU(2) problem," in which the currents are isospin currents and are carried by only one of the component quarks (as in the K meson and its excited states).

In the free-quark model the currents at infinite momentum are found using a manifestly covariant formalism and are shown to satisfy the current algebra, but the mass spectrum is unrealistic. We then consider a pair of quarks bound by a potential, finding the current as a power series in 1/m where m is the quark mass. Here it is found impossible to satisfy the algebra and relativistic invariance with the type of potential tried, because the current contributions from the two quarks do not commute with each other to order 1/m³. However, it may be possible to solve the factorized SU(2) problem with this model.

The factorized problem can be solved exactly in the case where all mesons have the same mass, using a covariant formulation in terms of an internal Lorentz group. For a more realistic, nondegenerate mass there is difficulty in covariantly solving even the factorized problem; one model is described which almost works but appears to require particles of spacelike 4-momentum, which seem unphysical.

Although the search for a completely satisfactory model has been unsuccessful, the techniques used here might eventually reveal a working model. There is also a possibility of satisfying a weaker form of the current algebra with existing models.

Fast Lattice Green's Function Methods for Viscous Incompressible Flows on Unbounded Domains

In this thesis, a collection of novel numerical techniques culminating in a fast, parallel method for the direct numerical simulation of incompressible viscous flows around surfaces immersed in unbounded fluid domains is presented. At the core of all these techniques is the use of the fundamental solutions, or lattice Green’s functions, of discrete operators to solve inhomogeneous elliptic difference equations arising in the discretization of the three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on unbounded regular grids. In addition to automatically enforcing the natural free-space boundary conditions, these new lattice Green’s function techniques facilitate the implementation of robust staggered-Cartesian-grid flow solvers with efficient nodal distributions and fast multipole methods. The provable conservation and stability properties of the appropriately combined discretization and solution techniques ensure robust numerical solutions. Numerical experiments on thin vortex rings, low-aspect-ratio flat plates, and spheres are used verify the accuracy, physical fidelity, and computational efficiency of the present formulations.