We obtain upper and lower bounds for tr (e−th−etΔ), where H = −Δ + V is a Schrödinger operator on L2 (ℝm), and ℝ is the Laplace operator for ℝm. The bounds are obtained for a class of negative valued Borel measurable potentials with compact support and in L∞(ℝm).

Let Mn be a manifold supposed “nicely curved” isometrically immersed in ℝn+p. Starting from a generalised Gauss map associated to the splitting of the normal bundle defined from the values of the fundamental forms of M of order k (k ≧ 0), we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the map to be totally geodesic and harmonic . For k = 0 is the classical Gauss map and our formula reduces to Ruh–Vilm's formula with a more precise formulation due to the consideration of the splitting of the normal bundle.

We also give necessary conditions for M, supposed complete, to admit an isometric immersion with . This theorem generalises a theorem of Vilms on the manifolds with second fundamental forms parallel (case k = 0). The result is interesting as the class of manifolds satisfying the condition is larger than the class of manifolds satisfying .

This paper is the continuation of the papers by Born (1939, Part I) and by Born and myself (1940, Parts II and III). Here the theory is extended to the case of spinor wave functions satisfying the Dirac equation.

This paper is concerned with the periodic (in time) solutions to an one-dimensional semilinear wave equation with x-dependent coefficients. Such a model arises from the forced vibrations of a nonhomogeneous string and propagation of seismic waves in nonisotropic media. By combining variational methods with saddle point reduction technique, we obtain the existence of at least three periodic solutions whenever the period is a rational multiple of the length of the spatial interval. Our method is based on a delicate analysis for the asymptotic character of the spectrum of the wave operator with x-dependent coefficients, and the spectral properties play an essential role in the proof.

We prove the existence of weak solutions for the strongly nonlinear parabolic problem

in the anisotropic Sobolev space , where the data f are assumed to be in the dual, and the nonlinear term g(x, t, s) has growth and sign conditions on s.

This paper deals with the large-time behaviour of solutions to the exterior problem of the non-Newtonian filtration equation with first-order term and nonlinear boundary source. In particular, the critical global exponent and the critical Fujita exponent are determined or estimated. An interesting phenomenon is shown: there exists a threshold value for the coefficient of the first-order term such that the critical global exponent is strictly less than the critical Fujita exponent when the coefficient is under this threshold, while these two exponents are identically equal when the coefficient is over this value.

Sturm–Liouville differential equations are studied under non-separated boundary conditions whose coefficients are first degree polynomials in the eigenparameter. Situations are examined where there are at most finitely many non-real eigenvalues and also where there are only finitely many real ones.

Two non-trivial solutions for semilinear elliptic resonant problems are obtained via the Lyapunov—Schmidt reduction and the three-critical-points theorem. The difficulty that the variational functional does not satisfy the Palais—Smale condition is overcome by taking advantage of the reduction and a careful analysis of the reduced functional.

Let A be a self-adjoint operator on a Hilbert space. It is well known that A admits a unique decomposition into a direct sum of three self-adjoint operators Ap, Aac and Asc such that there exists an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors for the operator Ap, the operator Aac has purely absolutely continuous spectrum and the operator Asc has purely singular continuous spectrum. We show the existence of a natural further decomposition of the singular continuous component Asc into a direct sum of two self-adjoint operators and . The corresponding subspaces and spectra are called decaying and purely non-decaying singular subspaces and spectra. Similar decompositions are also shown for unitary operators and for general normal operators.

We discuss a variational model, given by a weighted sum of perimeter, bending and Riesz interaction energies, that could be considered as a toy model for charged elastic drops. The different contributions have competing preferences for strongly localized and maximally dispersed structures. We investigate the energy landscape in dependence of the size of the ‘charge’, that is, the weight of the Riesz interaction energy.

In the two-dimensional case, we first prove that for simply connected sets of small elastica energy, the elastica deficit controls the isoperimetric deficit. Building on this result, we show that for small charge the only minimizers of the full variational model are either balls or centred annuli. We complement these statements by a non-existence result for large charge. In three dimensions, we prove area and diameter bounds for configurations with small Willmore energy and show that balls are the unique minimizers of our variational model for sufficiently small charge.

We study Lotka–Volterra models with fractional Laplacian. To do this we study in detail the logistic problem and show that the sub–supersolution method works for both the scalar problem and for systems. We apply this method to show the existence and non-existence of positive solutions in terms of the system parameters.

We consider a phase-field model for diffusion-induced grain boundary motion. The model couples a parabolic variational inequality to a degenerate diffusion equation. Using a regularization technique, we prove an existence theorem for the resulting system. We also obtain a uniqueness result, provided the solution has some additional regularity.

We study the homogenization of ferromagnetic equations with periodic coefficients in space dimension 2. The obtained nonlinear homogenized law can only be written using a two-scale framework, which couples microscopic and macroscopic scales. It also involves corrector terms, at the microscopic scale, in the form of pseudo-differential operators. We prove the L2 two-scale strong convergence in the laminar case (one-dimensional periodicity).

We study a boundary-value problem for a particular semilinear elliptic equation on Rn (n ≥ 2), whose solutions represent generalized stream functions for steady axisymmetric ideal fluid flows. Solutions are shown to exist that generalize those already known in dimensions 2 and 3. An isoperimetric characterization is given for our solutions, which represent generalized spherical vortex-rings. As a corollary, a sharp Sobolev-type inequality is obtained.

We study the question of whether the famous Golod-Shafarevich estimate, which gives a lower bound for the Hilbert series of a (non-commutative) algebra, is attained. This question was considered by Anick in his 1983 paper, ‘Generic algebras and CW-complexes’ (Princeton University Press), where he proved that the estimate is attained for the number of quadratic relations d ≤ ¼n2 and d ≥ ½n2, and conjectured that it is the case for any number of quadratic relations. The particular point where the number of relations is equal to ½n(n – 1) was addressed by Vershik. He conjectured that a generic algebra with this number of relations is finite dimensional.

We prove that over any infinite field, the Anick conjecture holds for d ≥ (n2 + n) and an arbitrary number of generators n, and confirm the Vershik conjecture over any field of characteristic 0. We give also a series of related asymptotic results.

A previous attempt to systematize various conditions from multiparameter spectral theory is extended to weaker forms of definiteness. The latter not only occur in the established literature but are also under active investigation at present. Several algebraic and geometrical formulations exist, and questions concerning their equivalence are approached in a unified fashion where possible.

Let D be an open connected subset of the open unit ball in Ṟd, d ≧ 2. We give an estimate of the harmonic measure of ∂D∩{|x| = 1} with respect to D. This estimate depends in a simple way on the geometry of D. An essential tool is a rearrangement theorem for differential inequalities. When d = 2, examples are given which illustrate the precision of the results.

Using asymptotic estimates for the Green's function of irregular multipoint eigenvalue problems, we state sufficient conditions for the uniform convergence of the expansion of functions into a series of eigenfunctions.

An inequality of C. R. Putnam involving a Dirichlet functional in the singular theory of the Sturm-Liouville differential equation is generalised. The corresponding result for the Sturm-Liouville theory over a compact interval is established and this is extended to the singular case by means of a Tauberian argument.

This paper presents a study of linear operators associated with the linearisation of general semilinear strongly damped wave equations around stationary solutions. The structure of the spectrum of such operators is considered in detail, with an emphasis on stability questions. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the stability of the trivial solution of the linear equation are given, together with conditions for this solution to become unstable. In the latter case, the mechanisms which are responsible for the change of stability are analysed. These results are then applied to obtain stability and instability conditions for the semilinear problem. In particular, a condition is given which ensures that the dimensions of the centre and unstable manifolds of a stationary solution are the same as when that solution is considered as a stationary solution of an associated parabolic problem.