A perturbation theorem for symmetric differential expressions is given and applied to even-order expressions. We assume the coefficients p0(t), pn(t) to be eventually positive and to have real powers of t as dominating terms. Then we are able to admit for the absolute values of the other coefficients a rate of growth depending on the growth of both of the coefficients p0, pn in order to obtain minimal deficiency indices.

A comprehensive appraisal of the title problem is presented in terms of a characterizing nondimensional co-ordinate ξ which is based upon the half excess of the momentum of the jet, J. Perturbation features of the problem appear as regular and singular boundary conditions in ξ upstream and downstream respectively. The conservation of momentum excess provides a monitor on the consistency of regular and singular perturbation series solutions. In particular the conservation constraint on the downstream singular perturbation solution confirms the inadequacy of expansions in inverse half powers of ξ and justifies formally the introduction of logarithmic terms.

The formulation provides the basis for a complete numerical integration over the semi-infinite region. Accordingly detailed knowledge of velocity excess along the axis of the jet is obtained and an undetermined coefficient in the asymptotic downstream perturbation solution may be estimated.

The equation to be considered is

where pi(t), 0≦i≦n, and q(t) are continuous and positive on some half-line [a, ∞). It is known that (*) always has “strictly monotone” nonoscillatory solutions defined on [a, ∞), so that of particular interest is the extreme situation in which such strictly monotone solutions are the only possible nonoscillatory solutions of (*). In this paper sufficient conditions are given for this situation to hold for (*). The structure of the solution space of (*) is also studied.

In this paper we consider the initial-boundary value problem for the semihnear diffusion equation ul=uxx+f(u) on the half-line x>0, when for 0<a<1 f(0)=f(a)=f(1)=0 and f(u)<0 on (0, a), f(u)>0 on (a, 1). For a wide class of initial and boundary values a uniformly valid asymptotic expression is given to which the solution converges exponentially. This expression is composed of a travelling wave and a solution of the stationary problem.

In this paper we determine the asymptotic behaviour of entropy numbers of embedding maps between Besov sequence spaces and Besov function spaces. The results extend those of M. Š. Birman, M. Z. Solomjak and H. Triebel originally formulated in the language of ε-entropy. It turns out that the characterization of embedding maps between Besov spaces by entropy numbers can be reduced to the characterization of certain diagonal operators by their entropy numbers.

Finally, the entropy numbers are applied to the study of eigenvalues of operators acting on a Banach space which admit a factorization through embedding maps between Besov spaces.

The statements of this paper are obtained by results recently proved elsewhere by the author.

Let τ denote the second-order elliptic expression

where the coefficients bj and q are complex-valued, and let Ω be a spherical shell Ω = {x:x ∈ ℝn, l <|x|<m} with l≧0, m≦∞. Under the conditions assumed on the coefficients of τ and with either Dirichlet or Neumann conditions on the boundary of Ω, τ generates a quasi-m-sectorial operator T in the weighted space L2(Ω;w). The main objective is to locate the spectrum and essential spectrum of T. Best possible results are obtained.

Let S be a symmetric subspace in a Hilbert space ℋ2 with finite equal deficiency indices and let S* be its adjoint subspace in ℋ2. We consider those self-adjoint subspace extensions ℋ of S into some larger Hilbert spaces ℋ2 = (ℋ × ℂm)2 which satisfy H⋂({0} × ℂm)2 = {{0,0}}. These extensions H are characterized in terms of inhomogeneous boundary conditions for S*; they are associated with eigenvalue problems for S* depending on λ-linear boundary conditions, which we also characterize.

Asymptotic estimates for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a directed set of Sturm–Liouville operators are obtained. Particular attention is paid to the influence of the diffusion coefficient, as it becomes arbitrarily large.

The polynomials which are orthogonal with respect to

when α> – 1, M>0 are considered when α<–1 and/or M<0. The Cauchy regularization of 〈·, ·〉 provides orthogonality and generates a Pontrjagin (Krein) space spanned by the polynomials. The polynomials are eigenfunctions associated with a self-adjoint, fourth order differential operator.

In this paper, two classes of linear bornological spaces are considered, the Kolmogorov spaces and the spaces of type b. These spaces satisfy conditions which are weakenings of the definition of infratopological linear bornological spaces. Various properties of these spaces are proved, and two examples are given, showing the independence of the two conditions introduced.

In this paper, a class of Boolean rings containing the class discussed in papers by Seever (1968) and Faires (1976), is defined in such a way that an extension of the classical Vitali–Hahn–Saks theorem holds for exhausting additive set functions. Some new compact topological spaces K for which C(K) is a Grothendieck space are constructed and a Nikodym type theorem is deduced from it. The Boolean algebras of Seever and Faires and those we study here are defined by ‘interpolation properties’ between disjoint sequences in the algebra. We give an example at the end of the paper that illustrates the difficulties arising when we try to find a larger class of Boolean algebras, defined in terms of such properties, for which the Vitali–Hanh–Saks theorem holds.

Valdivia (1978) introduced the class of suprabarrelled spaces, and (1979) deduced some uniform boundedness properties for scalar valued exhausting additive set functions on a σ-algebra from the suprabarrelledness of certain spaces. In this paper, it is shown that those uniform boundedness properties hold for G-valued exhausting additive set functions, G being a commutative topological group, on a larger class of Boolean algebras. Such properties are proved in Valdivia (1979) by means of duality theory arguments and ‘sliding hump’ methods, whereas here they are derived from the Baire category theorem. This generalization enables us to find a wide class of compact topological spaces K such that the subspaces of C(K) which satisfy a mild property are suprabarrelled.