In this paper we prove some inequalities for finite sums and infinite series with positive terms. As an application of these results we obtain some inequalities for entropies of discrete probability distributions.

The Zakharov-Shabat scattering transform is an exact solution technique for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which describes the time evolution of weakly nonlinear wave trains. Envelope soliton and uniform wave train solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation are separable in scattering transform space. The scattering transform is a potential analysis and synthesis technique for natural wave trains. Discrete versions of the direct and inverse scattering transform are presented, together with proven algorithms for their numerical computation from typical ocean wave records. The consequences of discrete resolution are considered.

In this paper, we compare the direct boundary element method (BEM) and the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) for solving the direct interior Helmholtz problem, in terms of their numerical accuracy and efficiency, as well as their applicability and reliability in the frequency domain. For BEM formulation, there are two possible choices for fundamental solutions, which can lead to quite different conclusions in terms of their reliability in the frequency domain. For DRBEM formulation, it is shown that although the DBREM can correctly predict eigenfrequencies even for higher modes, it fails to yield a reasonably accurate numerical solution for the problem when the frequency is higher than the first eigenfrequency. 2000 Mathematics subject classification: primary 65N38; secondary 35Q35. Keywords and phrases: the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM), Helmholtz equation, irregular frequencies.

This paper contains a detailed formulation of advanced tumor therapy with neutron beams as a mixed boundary initial value problem for multigroup neutron diffusion in a composite 3D multiregional system. By applying a vector-matrix composite region finite-integral transformation we derive the principal operational solution to this problem as the group-regional neutron flux distribution inside the tumor 3D subregions. The principal solution is then converted into expressions of various order approximation, which may be directly programmed on a computer.

A variety of approaches have been developed for the detection of features such as edges, lines, and corners in images. Many techniques presuppose the feature type, such as a step edge, and use the differential properties of the luminance function to detect the location of such features. The local energy model provides an alternative approach, detecting a variety of feature types in a single pass by analysing order in the phase components of the Fourier transform of the image. The local energy model is usually implemented by calculating the envelope of the analytic signal associated with the image function. Here we analyse the accuracy of such an implementation, and show that in certain cases the feature location is only approximately given by the local energy model. Orientation selectivity is another aspect of the local energy model, and we show that a feature is only correctly located at a peak of the local energy function when local energy has a zero gradient in two orthogonal directions at the peak point.

Modelling fluid turbulence is perhaps one of the hardest problems in Applied Mathematics. In a recent paper, the author argued that the classical Navier–Stokes equation is not sufficient to describe the transition to turbulence, but that a Reiner–Rivlin type equation is needed instead. This is explored here for the simplest of all viscous fluid flows, the Couette flow, which is a simple shear between two moving plates. It is found that at high wavenumbers, the transition to unstable flow at the critical Reynolds number is characterized by a large number of eigenvalues of the Orr–Sommerfeld equation moving into the unstable zone essentially simultaneously. This would generate high-dimensional chaos almost immediately, and is a suggested mechanism for the transition to turbulence. Stability zones are illustrated for the flow, and a simple asymptotic solution confirms some of the features of these numerical results.

The problem of thermal ignition in a reactive slab with unsymmetric temperatures equal to 0 and T is considered. Steady state upper and lower solutions are constructed. It is found that T plays a critical role. Results similar to the case with symmetric boundary temperatures are expected when T is small. When T is sufficiently large, there is only one steady state upper or lower solution. The time dependent problem is then considered. Phenomena suggested by studying the upper and lower steady state solutions are confirmed.

An integral involving a combination of Legendre polynomials, exponential and algebraic terms is solved using the generating function. Special cases of this result are compared with known expansions, and the previously known results are shown to be extendible to a particularly pleasing result as a limiting case. Comparisons provide some new combinatorial identities involving binomials. Finally, an effective numerical procedure is described which evaluates the integral to machine accuracy.

Selective withdrawal from a stratified stream is considered. The average density of the withdrawn fluid and the flow pattern are found, within the limitations on the densimetric Froude number and the withdrawal rate specified in this paper, to depend on the strength and location of the sink, and very little on any slight variation in the velocity distribution far upstream and the densimetric Froude number. The upstream density distribution is assumed linear, but many other density distributions can be similarly treated.

An advanced pantograph-type partial differential equation, supplemented with initial and boundary conditions, arises in a model of asymmetric cell division. Methods for solving such problems are limited owing to functional (nonlocal) terms. The separation of variables entails an eigenvalue problem that involves a nonlocal ordinary differential equation. We discuss plausible eigenvalues that may yield nontrivial solutions to the problem for certain choices of growth and division rates of cells. We also consider the asymmetric division of cells with linear growth rate which corresponds to “exponential growth” and exponential rate of cell division, and show that the solution to the problem is a certain Dirichlet series. The distribution of the first moment of the biomass is shown to be unimodal.

Neodymium magnets were independently discovered in 1984 by General Motors and Sumitomo. Today, they are the strongest type of permanent magnets commercially available. They are the most widely used industrial magnets with many applications, including in hard disk drives, cordless tools and magnetic fasteners. We use a vector potential approach, rather than the more usual magnetic potential approach, to derive the three-dimensional (3D) magnetic field for a neodymium magnet, assuming an idealized block geometry and uniform magnetization. For each field or observation point, the 3D solution involves 24 nondimensional quantities, arising from the eight vertex positions of the magnet and the three components of the magnetic field. The only unknown in the model is the value of magnetization, with all other model quantities defined in terms of field position and magnet location. The longitudinal magnetic field component in the direction of magnetization is bounded everywhere, but discontinuous across the magnet faces parallel to the magnetization direction. The transverse magnetic fields are logarithmically unbounded on approaching a vertex of the magnet.

A small gas bubble in a liquid, when driven by intense ultrasound, collapses and emits light in a process called Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence (SBSL). While the dynamics of driven bubbles are well studied, less is known of the physical conditions in the gas or whether it is necessary to include ionisation in simpler studies of bubble dynamics. In this study, a model was derived from Rayleigh-Plesset dynamics, a van der Waals equation of state and the first law of thermodynamics (including interfacial heat transfer and ionisation). Stronger model ionisation reduced the maximum collapse temperature, and altered other collapse characteristics. Chaotic parameter regions are proximal to, but not coincident with, known stable SL regions. Resonant behaviour was only markedly affected by ionisation close to these chaotic regions.

New polynomial solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for steady uni-directional flow of viscous incompressible fluid, with a free surface, down inclined channels of specialized cross-section are considered. An inverse method is uded to obtain the geometrical shape of the channel by equating the polynomials solution to zero (i.e. the no-slip condition) and thence determining the boundary shape.

A synthesis is presented of two recent studies on modelling the nonlinear neuro-mechanical hearing processes in mosquitoes and in mammals. In each case, a hierarchy of models is considered in attempts to understand data that shows nonlinear amplification and compression of incoming sound signals. The insect’s hearing is tuned to the vicinity of a single input frequency. Nonlinear response occurs via an arrangement of many dual capacity neuro-mechanical units called scolopidia within the Johnston’s organ. It is shown how the observed data can be captured by a simple nonlinear oscillator model that is derived from homogenization of a more complex model involving a radial array of scolopidia. The physiology of the mammalian cochlea is much more complex, with hearing occurring via a travelling wave along a tapered, compartmentalized tube. Waves travel a frequency-dependent distance along the tube, at which point they are amplified and “heard”. Local models are reviewed for the pickup mechanism, within the outer hair cells of the organ of Corti. The current debate in the literature is elucidated, on the relative importance of two possible nonlinear mechanisms: active hair bundles and somatic motility. It is argued that the best experimental agreement can be found when the nonlinear terms include longitudinal coupling, the physiological basis of which is described. A discussion section summarizes the lessons learnt from both studies and attempts to shed light on the more general question of what constitutes a good mathematical model of a complex physiological process.

Spatial data sets can be analysed by counting the number of objects in equally sized bins. The bin counts are related to the Pólya urn process, where coloured balls (for example, white or black) are removed from the urn at random. If there are insufficient white or black balls for the prescribed number of trials, the Pólya urn process becomes untenable. In this case, we modify the Pólya urn process so that it continues to describe the removal of volume within a spatial distribution of objects. We determine when the standard formula for the variance of the standard Pólya distribution gives a good approximation to the true variance. The variance quantifies an index for assessing whether a spatial point data set is at its most randomly distributed state, called the complete spatial randomness (CSR) state. If the bin size is an order of magnitude larger than the size of the objects, then the standard formula for the CSR limit is indicative of when the CSR state has been attained. For the special case when the object size divides the bin size, the standard formula is in fact exact.

In this paper, we study the existence of positive solutions for the one-dimensional p-Laplacian differential equation, subject to the multipoint boundary condition by applying a monotone iterative method.

We consider a bilinear optimal control problem for a von Kármán plate equation. The control is a function of the spatial variables and acts as a multiplier of the velocity term. We first state the existence of solutions for the von Kármán equation and then derive optimality conditions for a given objective functional. Finally, we show the uniqueness of the optimal control.

In this paper we consider a pair of horizontal conducting loops in the air above a horizontally layered ground. The transmitting loop is driven by a current source which rises from zero at time zero to a final constant value at time τ. We first compute the e.m.f. induced in the receiving loop and derive an asymptotic series for the e.m.f. at late times. Secondly, we estimate the error in truncating the asymptotic series at N terms and design a reliable numerical algorithm for summing the asymptotic series.

This is a review of thin-body and slender-body theories, with indications of some new applications. Topics discussed include bodies with near-constant surface pressure, subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics, ship hydrodynamics, slender bodies in Stokes flow, slender footings in elastic media, and slender moonpools. Mathematical features of the thin- and slender-body approximations are also discussed, especially nonlocal convolution terms modelling three-dimensionality in the otherwise two-dimensional near field, end effects, and the role of the logarithm of the slenderness ratio. This review was presented by the first author as the IMA Lighthill Memorial Lecture at the British Applied Mathematics Colloquium (BAMC) 2004.

Iterative methods for solving systems of linear equations may be accelerated by coarse mesh rebalance techniques. The iterative technique, the Method of Implicit Non-stationary Iteration (MINI), is examined through a local-mode Fourier analysis and compared to relaxation techniques as a potential candidate for such acceleration. Results of a global-mode Fourier analysis for MINI, relaxation methods, and the conjugate gradient method are reported for two test problems.