Concordia-McGill Analysis Seminar

Starting June 1, 2006, the seminar web page will move back to this location.

WINTER 2006


Vladimir Peller (Michigan State University)
Analytic approximation of rational matrix functions

Wednesday, May 31, 2:30pm (NOTE DIFFERENT DAY)
McGill University, BH 920

Abstract: If $f$ is a rational function without poles on the unit circle that has at least one pole in the unit disc and $g$ is its best uniform (on the unit circle) approximation by functions analytic in the unit disk, then $g$ is also rational and its degree is less than the degree of $f$. This is a classical well-known result.
In the case of matrix functions, the corresponding problem is considerably more complicated. First of all, a best approximant is almost never unique. It is natural to impose additional requirements to obtain the "very best" (or superoptimal) approximant. The next step is to give the right definition of the degree of a rational matrix function. Finally, the problem is how to estimate the degree of the superoptimal approximant in terms of the degree of the initial matrix function.
It turns out that for ``almost all'' rational matrix functions a result similar to the scalar one holds. However, it can happen that the degree of the superoptimal approximant can jump. In the case of $2\times 2$ matrix functions, if the degree of the initial rational matrix function is $k$, then the degree of the superoptimal approximant is at most $2k-3$. This is the best possible estimate.
Andrew McIntyre (Concordia, CRM-ISM)
Determinant of Laplacians on Riemann surfaces

Friday, April 7, 1:00pm (NOTE EARLIER TIME)
Concordia University, LB 921-4

Abstract: The Laplacian acting on a line bundle over a Riemann surface has a regularized determinant which arises in geometry and in physics. In the late '80s it was shown to have a product expansion, which is essentially equivalent to the Selberg trace formula, i.e. the functional equation for the Selberg zeta function. I will discuss a new generalization of this product expansion which reflects the holomorphic structure of the relevant moduli spaces, and describe ongoing work relating it to geometric invariants.
Roman Dwilewicz (University of Missouri at Rolla)
Cauchy-Riemann Theory. A short introduction.

Thursday, March 30, 2:00pm
Concordia University, LB 921-4

Abstract:Cauchy-Riemann (CR) theory nicely combines Complex Analysis, Partial Differential Equations, Geometric Analysis, Geometry (Algebraic and Differential) and other areas. In the talk I present basic CR problems, their connections to the above mentioned areas, and state some approximation and extension theorems.
Zbigniew Slodkowski (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Invariant Extensions of Holomorphic Motions

Friday, March 24, 2:00pm
Concordia University, LB 921-4

Abstract: Holomorphic motions are isotopies of injections of a subset of the Riemann sphere into the Riemann sphere that depend holomorphically on the parameter. (The injections themselves are usually not holomorphic.) This notion arose naturally in the context of dynamics of rational maps, where it was introduced by Mane, Sad and Sullivan. Holomorphic motions found applications in other areas as well, most notably in the Teichmuller theory. For most of these applications, questions concerning extensibility of holomorphic motions, in particular existence of invariant equations are crucial. A series of problems in this direction was posed by Sullivan and Thurston.
C. Zhu (University of Montreal)
Approximation by rational functions in weighted Hardy spaces

Friday, March 17, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920


Abstract: In weighted Hardy spaces over the unit disc with weight functions satisfying Muckenhoupt's (Ap) condition, we consider a complete system of rational functions and study the order of the approximation by linear combinations of the elements in the system.
Michael Levitin (Heriot-Watt University)
Symmetry tricks in spectral geometry

Friday, March 10, 2:00pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: We show the use of symmetry tricks in solving two problems of spectral geometry. One is a partial case $g=2$ of the question ``How large can the first eigenvalue be on a surface of genus $g$?''. Another is a modification of the famous Mark Kac's question, ``Can one hear the shape of a drum?''. The questions (or, rather, our answers) are surprisingly related.
Alexander Strohmaier (Universitaet Bonn)
Analytic Continuation of Resolvent Kernels on noncompact Symmetric Spaces

Monday, March 6, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: We investigate special situations when the resolvent kernel of the Laplace operator on a manifold X admits a meromorphic continuation across the spectrum. It is well known that for euclidean space the resolvent kernel extends to a holomorphic function on a double cover of the complex plane in case the dimension is odd, and a logarithmic cover otherwise. We show that a similar statement holds if X=G/K is a symmetric space of noncompact type. In this case the answer depends on the rank of X rather than the dimension. In case G has only one conjugacy class of Cartan subalgebras the resolvent kernel extends to a holomorphic function on a branched cover of the complex plane with the only branching point being the bottom of the spectrum.
Sidney Trudeau (McGill University)
On permuted sums of lacunary sequences

Friday, March 3, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: Many results that hold for lacunary sequences with large ratio extend to sequences with smaller ratio by realizing the latter as finite unions of the former. We show that while a set of permuted sums is a Littlewood-Paley p-set for large enough ratio, the result does not immediately extend to smaller ratios.
Mohammad Sababheh (McGill University)
Contructive proofs of Hardy-type inequalities

Monday, February 27, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: We discuss the general method of proving Hardy inequalities. In particular, we discuss some constructions related to the proof of the Littlewood conjecture in some detail, and then we use this to prove some Hardy-type inequalities.

Yuri Gliklikh (Voronezh State University)
Necessary and sufficient conditions for global in time existence of solutions of ordinary, stochastic and parabolic differential equations

Friday, February 17, 2:00pm
Concordia University, LB 921-4

Abstract: We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for global in time existence of solutions of ordinary differential, stochastic differential and parabolic equations. The conditions are formulated in terms of complete Riemannian metrics on extended phase spaces (conditions with two-sided estimates) or in terms of derivatives of proper functions on extended phase spaces (conditions with one-sided estimates).
Ivo Klemes (McGill University)
Alexandrov's inequality and some conjectures on Toeplitz Matrices

Friday, February 10, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: We prove some sharp determinant inequalities for certain "Toeplitz-like" matrices over C. The method involves Alexandrov's inequality for mixed discriminants. The motivation of the problem is Littlewood's conjecture on the L1 norm of exponential sums. In certain cases, we prove analogous determinant results over Zp using polarized Bazin-Reisz-Picquet identities.
Javad Mashreghi (Universite Laval)
On the derivative of Blaschke products

Friday, February 3, 2:30pm
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract (pdf file)
Vitali Bergelson (Ohio State University)
Ergodic Theorems Along Polynomials

Friday, January 20, 2:15pm (Note earlier time)
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: Various recurrence and convergence results obtained in recent years indicate that dynamical systems exhibit regular behavior along polynomial times. While these results were mainly motivated by applications to number theory and combinatorics, this phenomenon deserves attention from the point of view of potential applications to physics. For example, Poincare recurrence theorem as well as convergence theorems of von Neumann and Birkhoff type hold along any sequence of the form p(n), n=1,2,... where p(n) is a polynomial with integer coefficients satisfying p(0) = 0, and it would be of interest to give physical interpretation of these facts. After reviewing some known results we shall discuss the ntriguing dichotomy between theorems related to polynomial and exponential behavior. The last part of the talk will be devoted to open problems and conjectures.
Paul Gauthier (Universite de Montreal)
Overconvergence of Taylor series

Friday, January 13, 2:30pm (To be confirmed)
McGill University, Burnside Hall 920


FALL 2005


Dimiter Dryanov (Concordia)
Canonical Sets in Approximation Theory

Friday, December 9, Time 2:00pm
Concordia University, LB 540 (Library Buildling, downtown)

Abstract: A canonical set permits construction of the solution of a given problem by using data on this set. According to a result due to Markoff and Bernstein, the best polynomial L1-approximant to a function, under some conditions, is in fact its Lagrange interpolant with nodes the set of the zeros of a Chebyshev polynomial of second kind which is a canonical set for the problem in the univariate case. I shall present results on best multivariate L1-approximation by blending functions which are kernels of differential operators. The best approximants are characterized in terms of canonical sets and they are constructed as new transfinite Hermite interpolants on the canonical sets. I shall discuss also a multivariate extension of a well known Duffin and Schaeffer polynomial inequality in terms of canonical sets. Canonical set constructions can be used to obtain new cubature formulae for numerical integration and for optimal recovery of multivariate functions.


Maria Roginskaya (Chalmers University of Technology)
Singularity of pluriharmonic measures on the unit sphere

Monday, November 14, Time 2:30pm
Concordia University, LB 540 (Library Buildling, downtown)

Abstract: A measure on the sphere in C^n is called pluriharmonic if its harmonic extension inside the ball is pluriharmonic, i.e. is harmonic on any complex line. The existance of a (positive) singular pluriharmonic measure implies existance of a non-trivial inner function and has been proven by A.B.Aleksandrov in 1984. On the other hand a pluriharmonic measure can not have the lower Hausdorff dimension less than 2n-2. In this talk I want to discuss different aproaches to the lower estimate on the Hausdorff dimesnion of a pluriharmonic measure (both positive and signed cases). In particular I show that the aforementioned construction of a singular measure results in the measure of the lower Hausdorff dimension 2n-1 (largest possible).


Dimiter Vassilev (UC Riverside)
Asymptotic behavior and Lp space regularity of solutions to non-linear elliptic equations related to sharp Hardy-Sobolev inequalities and applications

Friday, November 11, Time 2:30pm
McGill University, BH 920

Abstract: We consider the problem of finding the extremals of some Hardy-Sobolev inequalities. The solution of this problem requires certain results on the Lp regularity and asymptotic behavior of the extremals, which are of independent interest. We present the latter in a more general setting, which will allow applications to the Yamabe equation on a non-compact manifold.


Andrei Comech (Texas A&M University)
Solitary waves in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems

Friday, October 28, Time 2:00pm
Concordia University, LB 540 (Library Buildling, downtown)

Abstract: We are interested in properties of solitary wave solutions in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems, such as nonlinear Schrodinger, Klein-Gordon, and (generalized) Korteweg -- de Vries equations. In particular systems, we consider stability of solitary waves and properties of global attractors. We will start with reviewing the history of the subject. Our ultimate goal: To prove that the attractor of nonlinear dispersive equations is finite-dimensional and consists of the set of all solitary waves. That is, that each finite energy solution approaches the set of ``nonlinear eigenfunctions''.


Emmanuel Fricain (Lyon & McGill)
Bases de noyaux reproduisant dans les espaces de De-Branges

Friday, October 21, Time 2:30pm
McGill University, BH 920


Georgi Karadzhov (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Concordia)
Carleson type theorems for certain convolution operators

Friday, October 7, Time 2:00-3:00pm
Concordia University, LB 540 (Library Buildling, downtown)


Maciej Zworski (UC Berkeley)
Fractal Weyl laws for semiclassical resonances

Friday, September 23, Time 2:00-3:00pm
McGill, Burnside Hall 920


Klaus Schmidt (Vienna)
Invariant Sets and Measures of Toral Automorphisms

Friday, September 2, Time 2:30-3:30pm
McGill, Burnside Hall 920

Abstract: Hyperbolic toral automorphisms have an abundance of closed invariant subsets and invariant probability measures, and the construction of these objects (e.g. by using Markov partitions) is well understood. In contrast, invariant sets and measures of nonhyperbolic toral automorphisms have very surprising properties and their construction presents many open questions.


SUMMER 2005


Scott Rodney (McMaster)
Properties of Weak Solutions to Sub-Elliptic Boundary Value and Neumann Problems and the Necessity of Sobolev and Poincare Inequalities.

Friday, July 29, Time 2:30-3:30
Concordia (Library building, 5th floor) Room LB 540
Abstract: In a recent paper of Eric Sawyer and Richard Wheeden it is proved that an operator is L^q subelliptic (weak solutions can be shown to be Holder continuous of order \alpha) provided one assumes a doubling and containment condition on the metric of Fefferman and Phong, the e existence of a family of smooth cut off functions relative to Fefferman&Phong balls, and Sobolev and Poincare inequalities. I will be concerned with the necessity of the Sobolev and Poincare inequalities as well as the existence of weak solutions to certain boundary value problems.

Past Years' Seminars:

2004/2005 Seminars

2003/2004 Seminars

2002/2003 Seminars

2001/2002 Seminars

2000/2001 Seminars

1999/2000 Seminars

Some other seminars in Montreal and Quebec:

  • 2005/2006 Seminar in Nonlinear Analysis and Dynamical Systems
  • CRM: Calendar of Activities
  • CRM: Analysis Lab
  • Laval Analysis Seminar
  • Working Seminar on Random Matrices, Isomonodromic Deformations and Riemann-Hilbert Problems
  • Quebec-Vermont Number Theory Seminar - Winter 2006