Kinematic geometry of mass-triangles and reduction of Schrödinger’s equation of three-body systems to partial differential equations solely defined on triangular parameters

Schrödinger’s equation of a three-body system is a linear partial differential equation (PDE) defined on the 9-dimensional configuration space, ℝ9, naturally equipped with Jacobi’s kinematic metric and with translational and rotational symmetries. The natural invariance of Schrödinger’s equation with respect to the translational symmetry enables us to reduce the configuration space to that of a 6-dimensional one, while that of the rotational symmetry provides the quantum mechanical version of angular momentum conservation. However, the problem of maximizing the use of rotational invariance so as to enable us to reduce Schrödinger’s equation to corresponding PDEs solely defined on triangular parameters—i.e., at the level of ℝ6/SO(3)—has never been adequately treated. This article describes the results on the orbital geometry and the harmonic analysis of (SO(3),ℝ6) which enable us to obtain such a reduction of Schrödinger’s equation of three-body systems to PDEs solely defined on triangular parameters.

Chemical Reactors. Problem 1: A simple ODE (chaos in the atmosphere) (2011-2012 Course)

Wording of problem 1: A simple ODE (chaos in the atmosphere).

Student Difficulties with units in differential equations in modelling contexts

First-year undergraduate engineering students' understanding of the units of factors and terms in first-order ordinary differential equations used in modelling contexts was investigated using diagnostic quiz questions. Few students appeared to realize that the units of each term in such equations must be the same, or if they did, nevertheless failed to apply that knowledge when needed. In addition, few students were able to determine the units of a proportionality factor in a simple equation. These results indicate that lecturers of modelling courses cannot take this foundational knowledge for granted and should explicitly include it in instruction.

Variational mean-field algorithm for efficient inference in large systems of stochastic differential equations

This work introduces a Gaussian variational mean-field approximation for inference in dynamical systems which can be modeled by ordinary stochastic differential equations. This new approach allows one to express the variational free energy as a functional of the marginal moments of the approximating Gaussian process. A restriction of the moment equations to piecewise polynomial functions, over time, dramatically reduces the complexity of approximate inference for stochastic differential equation models and makes it comparable to that of discrete time hidden Markov models. The algorithm is demonstrated on state and parameter estimation for nonlinear problems with up to 1000 dimensional state vectors and compares the results empirically with various well-known inference methodologies.

Smoothness Properties of Solutions of Caputo-Type Fractional Differential Equations

Mathematics Subject Classification: 26A33, 34A25, 45D05, 45E10

Modeling some real phenomena by fractional differential equations

This paper deals with fractional differential equations, with dependence on a Caputo fractional derivative of real order. The goal is to show, based on concrete examples and experimental data from several experiments, that fractional differential equations may model more efficiently certain problems than ordinary differential equations. A numerical optimization approach based on least squares approximation is used to determine the order of the fractional operator that better describes real data, as well as other related parameters.

An Extension of the Invariance Principle for a Class of Differential Equations with Finite Delay

An extension of the uniform invariance principle for ordinary differential equations with finite delay is developed. The uniform invariance principle allows the derivative of the auxiliary scalar function V to be positive in some bounded sets of the state space while the classical invariance principle assumes that. V <= 0. As a consequence, the uniform invariance principle can deal with a larger class of problems. The main difficulty to prove an invariance principle for functional differential equations is the fact that flows are defined on an infinite dimensional space and, in such spaces, bounded solutions may not be precompact. This difficulty is overcome by imposing the vector field taking bounded sets into bounded sets.

Combining Legendre's Polynomials and Genetic Algorithm in the Solution of Nonlinear Initial-Value Problems

This work develops a method for solving ordinary differential equations, that is, initial-value problems, with solutions approximated by using Legendre's polynomials. An iterative procedure for the adjustment of the polynomial coefficients is developed, based on the genetic algorithm. This procedure is applied to several examples providing comparisons between its results and the best polynomial fitting when numerical solutions by the traditional Runge-Kutta or Adams methods are available. The resulting algorithm provides reliable solutions even if the numerical solutions are not available, that is, when the mass matrix is singular or the equation produces unstable running processes.

AVERAGE CONTINUOUS CONTROL OF PIECEWISE DETERMINISTIC MARKOV PROCESSES

This paper deals with the long run average continuous control problem of piecewise deterministic Markov processes (PDMPs) taking values in a general Borel space and with compact action space depending on the state variable. The control variable acts on the jump rate and transition measure of the PDMP, and the running and boundary costs are assumed to be positive but not necessarily bounded. Our first main result is to obtain an optimality equation for the long run average cost in terms of a discrete-time optimality equation related to the embedded Markov chain given by the postjump location of the PDMP. Our second main result guarantees the existence of a feedback measurable selector for the discrete-time optimality equation by establishing a connection between this equation and an integro-differential equation. Our final main result is to obtain some sufficient conditions for the existence of a solution for a discrete-time optimality inequality and an ordinary optimal feedback control for the long run average cost using the so-called vanishing discount approach. Two examples are presented illustrating the possible applications of the results developed in the paper.

GLOBAL SOLUTIONS FOR ABSTRACT FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS WITH NONLOCAL CONDITIONS

In this paper we study the existence of global solutions for a class of abstract functional differential equation with nonlocal conditions. An application is considered.

Using bifurcations in the determination of lock-in ranges for third-order phase-locked loops

Transmission and switching in digital telecommunication networks require distribution of precise time signals among the nodes. Commercial systems usually adopt a master-slave (MS) clock distribution strategy building slave nodes with phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits. PLLs are responsible for synchronizing their local oscillations with signals from master nodes, providing reliable clocks in all nodes. The dynamics of a PLL is described by an ordinary nonlinear differential equation, with order one plus the order of its internal linear low-pass filter. Second-order loops are commonly used because their synchronous state is asymptotically stable and the lock-in range and design parameters are expressed by a linear equivalent system [Gardner FM. Phaselock techniques. New York: John Wiley & Sons: 1979]. In spite of being simple and robust, second-order PLLs frequently present double-frequency terms in PD output and it is very difficult to adapt a first-order filter in order to cut off these components [Piqueira JRC, Monteiro LHA. Considering second-harmonic terms in the operation of the phase detector for second order phase-locked loop. IEEE Trans Circuits Syst [2003;50(6):805-9; Piqueira JRC, Monteiro LHA. All-pole phase-locked loops: calculating lock-in range by using Evan`s root-locus. Int J Control 2006;79(7):822-9]. Consequently, higher-order filters are used, resulting in nonlinear loops with order greater than 2. Such systems, due to high order and nonlinear terms, depending on parameters combinations, can present some undesirable behaviors, resulting from bifurcations, as error oscillation and chaos, decreasing synchronization ranges. In this work, we consider a second-order Sallen-Key loop filter [van Valkenburg ME. Analog filter design. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston; 1982] implying a third order PLL The resulting lock-in range of the third-order PLL is determined by two bifurcation conditions: a saddle-node and a Hopf. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the basic reproduction number and the topological properties of the contact network: An epidemiological study in mainly locally connected cellular automata

We study the spreading of contagious diseases in a population of constant size using susceptible-infective-recovered (SIR) models described in terms of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and probabilistic cellular automata (PCA). In the PCA model, each individual (represented by a cell in the lattice) is mainly locally connected to others. We investigate how the topological properties of the random network representing contacts among individuals influence the transient behavior and the permanent regime of the epidemiological system described by ODE and PCA. Our main conclusions are: (1) the basic reproduction number (commonly called R(0)) related to a disease propagation in a population cannot be uniquely determined from some features of transient behavior of the infective group; (2) R(0) cannot be associated to a unique combination of clustering coefficient and average shortest path length characterizing the contact network. We discuss how these results can embarrass the specification of control strategies for combating disease propagations. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asymptotically almost periodic solutions for abstract neutral integro-differential equations

We study the existence of asymptotically almost periodic classical solutions for a class of abstract neutral integro-differential equation with unbounded delay. A concrete application to partial neutral integro-differential equations which arise in the study of heat conduction in fading memory material is considered. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Existence of asymptotically almost automorphic solutions to some abstract partial neutral integro-differential equations

The paper establishes the existence and uniqueness of asymptotically almost automorphic mild solution to an abstract partial neutral integro-differential equation with unbounded delay. An example is given to illustrate our results. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pseudo-almost periodic solutions for abstract partial functional differential equations

In this work we study the existence and uniqueness of pseudo-almost periodic solutions for a first-order abstract functional differential equation with a linear part dominated by a Hille-Yosida type operator with a non-dense domain. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd