No Arabic abstract
The problem of computing spectra of operators is arguably one of the most investigated areas of computational mathematics. Recent progress and the current paper reveal that, unlike the finite-dimensional case, infinite-dimensional problems yield a highly intricate infinite classification theory determining which spectral problems can be solved and with which type of algorithms. Classifying spectral problems and providing optimal algorithms is uncharted territory in the foundations of computational mathematics. This paper is the first of a two-part series establishing the foundations of computational spectral theory through the Solvability Complexity Index (SCI) hierarchy and has three purposes. First, we establish answers to many longstanding open questions on the existence of algorithms. We show that for large classes of partial differential operators on unbounded domains, spectra can be computed with error control from point sampling operator coefficients. Further results include computing spectra of operators on graphs with error control, the spectral gap problem, spectral classifications, and discrete spectra, multiplicities and eigenspaces. Second, these classifications determine which types of problems can be used in computer-assisted proofs. The theory for this is virtually non-existent, and we provide some of the first results in this infinite classification theory. Third, our proofs are constructive, yielding a library of new algorithms and techniques that handle problems that before were out of reach. We show several examples on contemporary problems in the physical sciences. Our approach is closely related to Smales program on the foundations of computational mathematics initiated in the 1980s, as many spectral problems can only be computed via several limits, a phenomenon shared with the foundations of polynomial root finding with rational maps, as proved by McMullen.
This paper establishes some of the fundamental barriers in the theory of computations and finally settles the long-standing computational spectral problem. That is to determine the existence of algorithms that can compute spectra $mathrm{sp}(A)$ of classes of bounded operators $A = {a_{ij}}_{i,j in mathbb{N}} in mathcal{B}(l^2(mathbb{N}))$, given the matrix elements ${a_{ij}}_{i,j in mathbb{N}}$, that are sharp in the sense that they achieve the boundary of what a digital computer can achieve. Similarly, for a Schrodinger operator $H = -Delta+V$, determine the existence of algorithms that can compute the spectrum $mathrm{sp}(H)$ given point samples of the potential function $V$. In order to solve these problems, we establish the Solvability Complexity Index (SCI) hierarchy and provide a collection of new algorithms that allow for problems that were previously out of reach. The SCI is the smallest number of limits needed in the computation, yielding a classification hierarchy for all types of problems in computational mathematics that determines the boundaries of what computers can achieve in scientific computing. In addition, the SCI hierarchy provides classifications of computational problems that can be used in computer-assisted proofs. The SCI hierarchy captures many key computational issues in the history of mathematics including the insolvability of the quintic, Smales problem on the existence of iterative generally convergent algorithm for polynomial root finding, the computational spectral problem, inverse problems, optimisation etc.
(Renegar, 2016) introduced a novel approach to transforming generic conic optimization problems into unconstrained, uniformly Lipschitz continuous minimization. We introduce radial transformations generalizing these ideas, equipped with an entirely new motivation and development that avoids any reliance on convex cones or functions. Perhaps of greatest practical importance, this facilitates the development of new families of projection-free first-order methods applicable even in the presence of nonconvex objectives and constraint sets. Our generalized construction of this radial transformation uncovers that it is dual (i.e., self-inverse) for a wide range of functions including all concave objectives. This gives a powerful new duality relating optimization problems to their radially dual problem. For a broad class of functions, we characterize continuity, differentiability, and convexity under the radial transformation as well as develop a calculus for it. This radial duality provides a strong foundation for designing projection-free radial optimization algorithms, which is carried out in the second part of this work.
It has been shown recently that spectral flow admits a natural integer-valued extension to essential spectrum. This extension admits four different interpretations; two of them are singular spectral shift function and total resonance index. In this work we study resonance index outside essential spectrum. Among results of this paper are the following. 1. Total resonance index satisfies Robbin-Salamon axioms for spectral flow. 2. Direct proof of equality total resonance index = intersection number. 3. Direct proof of equality total resonance index = total Fredholm index. 4. (a) Criteria for a perturbation~$V$ to be tangent to the~resonance set at a point~$H,$ where the resonance set is the infinite-dimensional variety of self-adjoint perturbations of the initial self-adjoint operator~$H_0$ which have~$lambda$ as an eigenvalue. (b) Criteria for the order of tangency of a perturbation~$V$ to the resonance set. 5. Investigation of the root space of the compact operator $(H_0+sV-lambda)^{-1}V$ corresponding to an eigenvalue $(s-r_lambda)^{-1},$ where $H_0+r_lambda V$ is a point of the resonance set. This analysis gives a finer information about behaviour of discrete spectrum compared to spectral flow. Finally, many results of this paper are non-trivial even in finite dimensions, in which case they can be and were tested in numerical experiments.
This paper is a continuation of my previous work on absolutely continuous and singular spectral shift functions, where it was in particular proved that the singular part of the spectral shift function is an a.e. integer-valued function. It was also shown that the singular spectral shift function is a locally constant function of the coupling constant $r,$ with possible jumps only at resonance points. Main result of this paper asserts that the jump of the singular spectral shift function at a resonance point is equal to the so-called resonance index, --- a new (to the best of my knowledge) notion introduced in this paper. Resonance index can be described as follows. For a fixed $lambda$ the resonance points $r_0$ of a path $H_r$ of self-adjoint operators are real poles of a certain meromorphic function associated with the triple $(lambda+i0; H_0,V).$ When $lambda+i0$ is shifted to $lambda+iy$ with small $y>0,$ that pole get off the real axis in the coupling constant complex plane and, in general, splits into some $N_+$ poles in the upper half-plane and some $N_-$ poles in the lower half-plane (counting multiplicities). Resonance index of the triple $(lambda; H_{r_0},V)$ is the difference $N_+-N_-.$ Based on the theorem just described, a non-trivial example of singular spectral shift function is given.
We investigate the instability index of the spectral problem $$ -c^2y + b^2y + V(x)y = -mathrm{i} z y $$ on the line $mathbb{R}$, where $Vin L^1_{rm loc}(mathbb{R})$ is real valued and $b,c>0$ are constants. This problem arises in the study of stability of solitons for certain nonlinear equations (e.g., the short pulse equation and the generalized Bullough-Dodd equation). We show how to apply the standard approach in the situation under consideration and as a result we provide a formula for the instability index in terms of certain spectral characteristics of the 1-D Schrodinger operator $H_V=-c^2frac{d^2}{dx^2}+b^2 +V(x)$.