A way is suggested of modifying the kernel of an integral equation of the second kind so that truncation of the algebraic system of equations corresponding to the new kernel is subject to less error than that for the original kernel. A computable bound for the error is derived.

The relationship between the modulation of electron beams at optical frequencies (the Schwarz-Hora effect) and at microwave frequencies is discussed. At optical frequencies the interaction between the modulating field and the electron beam must be described quantum mechanically, although the field itself may be described classically; in the microwave case the process may be described entirely classically. The interaction modifies the state functions of the individual electrons, but the observable modulation of the total electron beam results from the coherence of the modulating field. The main features of the Schwarz-Hora effect result from ‘single photon’ processes, but the beam modulation in the klystron is a ‘multi-photon’ process.

The exponential decay of the depth of modulation with distance from the interaction region, observable in the optical frequency case but not in the klystron, is not an inherently quantal effect. The periodic variation of the depth of modulation with distance along the beam, observed in the optical frequency case, is an essentially quantum mechanical effect, and is different, in its origins and in its dependence on the modulation frequency, from the space-charge waves which are observed on a klystron beam.

This paper is concerned with the asymptotic properties of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the boundary value problem

With suitable restrictions placed on the real-valued coefficient q the spectrum of this problem, with respect to the eigenvalue parameter λ, is discrete; let {λn; n = 1, 2, …} and {ψn; n = 1, 2, …} be the eigenvalues and associated eigenfunctions. Asymptotic formulae are obtained for N(λ), the number of eigenvalues not exceeding the real number λ, and for ψn(x) as n→∞ where x is a fixed, positive real number.

The differential expression Mf = −f″+qf, on a half-line [a, ∞), is said to be ‘separated’ in L2(a, ∞) if the collection of all functions f ∈ L2(a, ∞) such that Mf is defined and also in L2(a, ∞), has the property that both the terms f″ and qf are separately in L2(a, ∞). When q is positive and differentiable on [a, ∞) this paper obtains sufficient conditions on the coefficient q for M to be separated; these take the form of bounds for q′q−3/2 on [a, ∞).

The suggestion is made that in certain cases the light particles emitted in ternary fission may be released otherwise than in the ground state—and, in particular, that low-lying particle-unstable states may be involved. This suggestion is examined quantitatively in respect of the release of 8Be in the first excited short-lived state of 2·9 MeV excitation, and is shown to provide a satisfactory interpretation of the observation of quaternary fission in the α,α mode recently reported by Kataria et al. (1973). It appears probable that the other modes of quaternary fission observed by these authors should be similarly interpreted.

The differential expression M[f] = −f″+qf, on a half-line [a, ∞), is said to be ‘separated’ in L2(a, ∞) if the collection of all functions f ∈ L2(a, ∞) such that M[f] is defined and also in L2(a, ∞), has the property that both terms f″ and qf ar separately in L2(a, ∞). When q is positive and differentiable on [a, ∞) it is known that separation holds for M[·] if q satisfies the condition |q| ≦ on [a, ∞)(*) provided the constant c satisfies 0 < c < 2. This paper constructs a class of examples of the coefficient q to show that (*) does not necessarily yield separation if c > 4/√3>2. The precise upper bound of c for which (*) yields separation is not known.

The existence of a work by Aristotle on the constitution of Athens is attested by the historians Philochorus, writing before 306 B.C., and Timaeus, writing about 300 B.C. No trace of such a work was known until 1891, when the almost complete text of one was recovered from the sands of Egypt by F. G. Kenyon of the British Museum. It was then recognised that two small and much damaged sheets found ten years before also contained parts of this work.

The measure of non-compactness of linear integral operators on the half-line [0, ∞) of a special type is studied. In particular, a necessary and sufficient condition is established for an operator of this type to define a compact operator from L2(0, ∞) into itself. These results are then used to discuss the spectrum of second-order differential operators. A necessary and sufficient condition for the spectrum to be discrete is established together with estimates for the distance of a point in the resolvent set from the essential spectrum.

The recent suggestion (Feather 1974) that the short-range α-particles of fission are emitted predominantly from post-neutron-emission fragments in the mass-number range 140 to 145 is shown to have implications in relation to the fine-structure of the mass-yield curve. An examination of the mass-yield curves of Unik et al. (1973) discloses, in many of them, a fine-structure feature of the type predicted.

The sharing of a common self-polar simplex by n−1 quadrics in [n] confers special features on their curve of intersection Γn. The three-dimensional locus Mn of chords of Γn. has certain singularities, some of which are described. In conclusion, a few comments refer to the case n = 4 when Mn is defined by a single equation.

In this paper we determine the structure of some new types of ordered inverse semigroup in which the ordering need not be the natural ordering. In particular, we generalise some results of McFadden and O'Carroll on F-inverse semigroups.