This paper is concerned with the chromatic polynomials of ‘bracelets’: specifically, graphs constructed by taking n copies of a complete graph and linking them together in a ring. Using a sieve method, explicit formulae for the dominant and subdominant terms of the chromatic polynomial are obtained. Finally, a simple description of the effect of twisting the links is obtained.

Let F be a field of characteristic other than 2. Let F(2) denote the compositum over F of all quadratic extensions of F, let F(3) denote the compositum over F(2) of all quadratic extensions of F(2) that are Galois over F, and let F{3} denote the compositum over F(2) of all quadratic extensions of F(2). This paper shows that F(3) = F{3} if and only if F is a rigid field, and that F(3) = K(3) for some extension K of F if and only if F is Pythagorean and K = F(√−1). The proofs depend mainly on the behavior of quadratic forms over quadratic extensions, and the corresponding norm maps.

A new property of a complete intersection in a graded Noetherian ring is proved; this result, in conjunction with the Jacobian criterion, is then applied to the description of the loci of singularities in a family of affine varieties introduced in a well-known paper on forms of many variables.

Let Z be the centre of the group algebra of a symmetric group [Sscr ](n) over a field F characteristic p. One of the principal results of this paper is that the image of the Frobenius map z → zp, for z ∈ Z, lies in span Zp′ of the p-regular class sums. When p = 2, the image even coincides with Z2′. Furthermore, in all cases Zp′ forms a subalgebra of Z. Let pt be the p-exponent of [Sscr ](n). Then jpt = 0, for each element j of the Jacobson radical J of Z. It is shown that there exists j ∈ J such that jpt−1 ≠ 0. Most of the results are formulated in terms of the p-blocks of [Sscr ](n).

Suppose that H is a finite subgroup of a linear algebraic group, G. It was proved by Donkin that there exists a finite-dimensional rational representation of G whose restriction to H is free. This paper gives a short proof of this in characteristic 0. The author also studies more closely which representations of H can appear as a restriction of G.

It is shown that for any prime p, and any non-negative integer w less than p, there exist p-blocks of symmetric groups of defect w, which are Morita equivalent to the principal p-block of the group Sp [rmoust ] Sw. Combined with work of J. Rickard, this proves that Broué's abelian defect group conjecture holds for p-blocks of symmetric groups of defect at most 5.

A proof is given that for primes r, s, not both 2, and for finite simple classical groups G of sufficiently large rank, the probability that two randomly chosen elements in G of orders r and s generate G tends to 1 as |G| → ∞.

Let (Pn) be a sequence of polynomials which converges with a geometric rate on some arc in the complex plane to an analytic function. It is shown that if the sequence has restricted growth on a closed plane set E which is non-thin at ∞, then the limit function has a maximal domain of existence, and (Pn) converges with a locally geometric rate on this domain. If (snk) is a sequence of partial sums of a power series, a similar growth restriction on E forces the power series to have Ostrowski gaps. Moreover, the requirement of non-thinness of E at ∞ is necessary for these conclusions.

Several results are proved, related to an old problem posed by G. R. MacLane, namely whether functions in the class [Ascr ] that are locally univalent can have arc tracts. In particular, a proof is given of an assertion of MacLane that if f ∈ [Ascr ] is locally univalent and has no arc tracts, then f′ ∈ [Ascr ].

Based on computing spherical lengths of polygonal curves and spherical areas of domains bounded by polygonal curves on the complex plane, this paper proves a property of holomorphic functions and, as an application, gives a very brief proof of a famous inequality obtained by L. V. Ahlfors which easily implies Picard's theorem. Taken together with the arguments given by Alhfors, therefore, this paper in fact gives an elementary, brief and geometrical proof of Picard's theorem.

This paper gives new sufficient conditions for the density of the set of norm attaining multilinear forms in the space of all continuous multilinear forms on a Banach space. The symmetric case is also discussed.

Let G denote the p-adic group GL(n), and let S(G) denote the Schwartz algebra of G. We construct a Chern character from the K-theory of the reduced C*-algebra of G to the periodic cyclic homology of S(G) which becomes an isomorphism after tensoring over ℤ with [Copf ].

This paper provides a proof that an n-dimensional complete open Riemannian manifold M with sectional curvature KM [ges ] −1 is diffeomorphic to a Euclidean n-space Rn if the volume growth of geodesic balls in M is close to that of the balls in an n-dimensional hyperbolic space Hn(−1) of sectional curvature −1.

It is proved that the existence of zero modes of Weyl–Dirac operators is a rare phenomenon. An estimate of the multiplicity is given in term of the magnetic potential.