We prove that a (bounded, linear) operator acting on an infinite-dimensional, separable, complex Hilbert space can be written as a product of two quasi-nilpotent operators if and only if it is not a semi-Fredholm operator. This solves the problem posed by Fong and Sourour in 1984. We also consider some closely related questions. In particular, we show that an operator can be expressed as a product of two nilpotent operators if and only if its kernel and co-kernel are both infinite dimensional. This answers the question implicitly posed by Wu in 1989.

Using a standard theory of differential operators in Lebesgue spaces, we re-prove and generalize some results of Chernyavskaya and Shuster, giving (mostly sufficient) conditions that minimal operators determined by expressions of the form −(ry′)′ + qy with domain and range in possibly different Lp spaces on intervals with at least one singular endpoint have bounded inverses.

In this paper, the second-order nonlinear elliptic system with α, γ < 1 and β ≥ 1, is considered in RN, N ≥ 3. Under suitable hypotheses on functions fi, gi, hi (i = 1, 2) and P, it is shown that this system possesses an entire positive solution , 0 < θ < 1, such that both u and v are bounded below and above by constant multiples of |x|2−N for all |x| ≥ 1.

In this note we give a complete description of the composition algebras A over fields of characteristic ≠ 2, 3 in the following cases: if A has an anisotropic norm and x2x = xxx2 for every element; when A has a unitary central idempotent, it satisfies the identity (x2x2)x2 = x2(x2x2), and A is of finite dimension or has anisotropic norm. As a consequence, we obtain the existence, up to an isomorphism, of only seven absolute-valued algebras with a non-zero central idempotent where the last identity holds. This result completes the study of the absolute-valued algebras of this kind that was initiated by El-Mallah and Agawany.

We also introduce the class of e-quadratic algebra, which contains the quadratic algebras, but also includes large classes of composition and absolute-valued algebras. Many results on composition, absolute-valued and e-quadratic algebras are shown, and new proofs of some well-known theorems are given.

We establish a new Liouville-type comparison principle for entire weak solutions of quasilinear elliptic partial differential inequalities of the form A(u) ≤ A(v) on Rn, n ≥ 2. Typical examples of the operator A(w) are the p-Laplacian and its well-known modifications for 1 < p ≤ 2.

This paper considers curves in Rn. It defines affine arc length and affine curvatures. The family of affine distance functions is generalized, along with the family of affine height functions. A new basis is constructed that makes the conditions for Ak singularity types easier to calculate, and applications are given to geometrical problems.

We prove a semi-continuity theorem for an integral functional made up by a polyconvex energy and a surface term. Our result extends a well-known result by Ball to the BV framework.

We show that the space of Sturm–Liouville operators characterized by H = (q, α, β) ∈ L1 (0, 1) × [0, π)2 such that is homeomorphic to the partition set of the space of all admissible sequences which form sequences that converge to q, α, and β individually. This space, Γ, of quasi-nodal sequences is a superset of, and is more natural than, the space of asymptotically nodal sequences defined in Law and Tsay (On the well-posedness of the inverse nodal problem. Inv. Probl.17 (2001), 1493–1512). The definition of Γ relies on the L1 convergence of the reconstruction formula for q by the exactly nodal sequence.

We prove the existence of multiple bound states of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation −Δu + V(x)u = f(u). Here the linear potential V is continuous and bounded from below, and the nonlinearity f is of asymptotically linear type. We show that, under certain assumptions on the spectrum of the Schrödinger operator −Δ + V and the asymptotic behaviour of f(u)/u, the above equation has at least four non-trivial solutions, two of them sign changing.

For a large class of functions f, we consider the nonlinear biharmonic eigenvalue problem We describe the behaviour of the branch of solutions emanating from an eigenvalue of odd multiplicity below the essential spectrum of the linearized problem. The discussion is based on the degree theory for C2 proper Fredholm maps developed by Fitzpatrick, Pejsachowicz and Rabier.

This paper deals with entire solutions of a bistable reaction—diffusion equation for which the speed of the travelling wave connecting two constant stable equilibria is zero. Entire solutions which behave as two travelling fronts approaching, with super-slow speeds, from opposite directions and annihilating in a finite time are constructed by using a quasi-invariant manifold approach. Such solutions are shown to be unique up to space and time translations.

We consider a homogenization problem for highly anisotropic conducting fibres embedded into an isotropic matrix. For a ‘double porosity’-type scaling in the expression of high contrast between the conductivity along the fibres and the conductivities in the transverse directions, we prove the homogenization theorem and derive two-scale homogenized equations using a version of the method of two-scale convergence, supplemented in the case when the spectral parameter λ = 0 by a newly derived variant of high-contrast Poincaré-type inequality. Further elimination of the 'rapid' component from the two-scale limit equations results in a non-local (convolution-type integro-differential) equation for the slowly varying part in the matrix, with the non-local kernel explicitly related to the Green function on the fibre. The regularity of the solution to the non-local homogenized equation is proved.

A modification of the implicit function theorem is advanced for cases where the continuity of the derivative fails. It is applied to a superposition principle for periodicpartial differential equations. The assumption of the principle, that there should exist a non-degenerate solution, is studied and instances of it realized using perturbation arguments and scaling. The positivity of solutions is considered.

We consider the existence of stationary or pinned waves of reaction–diffusion equations in heterogeneous media. By combining averaging, homogenization and dynamical-systems techniques we prove under mild non-degeneracy conditions that if the heterogeneity is periodic with period ε, pinned solutions persist at most for intervals in parameter space whose length is O(e−c/√ε).

To understand the heterogeneous spatial effect on predator–prey models, we study the behaviour of the positive steady states of a predator–prey model as certain parameters are small or large. We compare the case when the model has a spatial degeneracy with the case when it does not have such a degeneracy. Our results show that the effect of the degeneracy can be clearly observed in one limiting case, but not in the others.

We prove the compactness of the Whittaker sublocus of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces (complex algebraic curves). This is the subset of points representing hyperelliptic curves that satisfy Whittaker's conjecture on the uniformization of hyperelliptic curves via the monodromy of Fuchsian differential equations. In the last part of the paper we devote our attention to the statement made by R. A. Rankin more than 40 years ago, to the effect that the conjecture ‘has not been proved for any algebraic equation containing irremovable arbitrary constants’. We combine our compactness result with other facts about Teichmüller theory to show that, in the most natural interpretations of this statement we can think of, this result is, in fact, impossible.

Let D be a bounded domain in the complex plane whose boundary consists of m ≥ 2 pairwise disjoint simple closed curves and let A(bD) be the algebra of all continuous functions on bD which extend holomorphically through D. We show that a continuous function Φ on bD belongs to A(bD) if for each g ∈ A (bD) the harmonic extension of Re(gΦ) to D has a single-valued conjugate.

We investigate geometrically exact generalized continua of micromorphic type in the sense of Eringen. The two-field problem for the macrodeformation φ and the affine microdeformation P̄ ∈ GL+(3, R) in the quasistatic, conservative load case is investigated in a variational form. Depending on material constants, two existence theorems in Sobolev spaces are given for the resulting nonlinear boundary-value problems. These results comprise existence results for the micro-incompressible case P̄ ∈ SL(3, R) and the Cosserat micropolar case P̄ ∈ SO(3, R). In order to treat external loads, a new condition, called bounded external work, has to be included, which overcomes the conditional coercivity of the formulation. The possible lack of coercivity is related to fracture of the micromorphic solid. The mathematical analysis uses an extended Korn first inequality. The methods of choice are the direct methods of the calculus of variations.

We prove the uniqueness of positive solutions for a class of second-order nonlinear elliptic boundary-value problems with sublinear nonlinearities.

We prove that several definitions of integral multilinear mappings given in the literature are equivalent. We show that what we call S-factorizable multilinear mappings are integral, but that the converse is not true (contrary to earlier claims). Using S-factorizable polynomials we give characterizations of L∞-spaces, Asplund spaces, spaces not containing ℓ1 and spaces with the compact range property. Some of these characterizations seem to be new even for linear operators.