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Whitneys extension problem asks the following: Given a compact set $Esubsetmathbb{R}^n$ and a function $f:Eto mathbb{R}$, how can we tell whether there exists $Fin C^m(mathbb{R}^n)$ such that $F|_E=f$? A 2006 theorem of Charles Fefferman answers this question in its full generality. In this paper, we establish a version of this theorem adapted for variants of the Whitney extension problem, including nonnegative extensions and the smooth selection problems. Among other things, we generalize the results of Fefferman-Israel-Luli (2016) to the setting of infinite sets.
String-averaging is an algorithmic structure used when handling a family of operators in situations where the algorithm at hand requires to employ the operators in a specific order. Sequential orderings are well-known and a simultaneous order means that all operators are used simultaneously (in parallel). String-averaging allows to use strings of indices, constructed by subsets of the index set of all operators, to apply the operators along these strings and then to combine their end-points in some agreed manner to yield the next iterate of the algorithm. String-averaging methods were discussed and used for solving the common fixed point problem or its important special case of the convex feasibility problem. In this paper we propose and investigate string-averaging methods for the problem of best approximation to the common fixed point set of a family of operators. This problem involves finding a point in the common fixed point set of a family of operators that is closest to a given point, called an anchor point. We construct string-averaging methods for solving the best approximation problem to the common fixed points set of either finite or infinite families of firmly nonexpansive operators in a real Hilbert space. We show that the simultaneous Halpern-Lions-Wittman-Bauschke algorithm, the Halpern-Wittman algorithm and the Combettes algorithm, which were not labeled as string-averaging methods, are actually special cases of these methods. Some of our string-averaging methods are labeled as static because they use a fixed pre-determined set of strings. Others are labeled as quasi-dynamic because they allow the choices of strings to vary, between iterations, in a specific manner and belong to a finite fixed pre-determined set of applicable strings.
Let $X$ be an infinite dimensional uniformly smooth Banach space. We prove that $X$ contains an infinite equilateral set. That is, there exists a constant $lambda>0$ and an infinite sequence $(x_i)_{i=1}^inftysubset X$ such that $|x_i-x_j|=lambda$ for all $i eq j$.
Generalized smooth functions are a possible formalization of the original historical approach followed by Cauchy, Poisson, Kirchhoff, Helmholtz, Kelvin, Heaviside, and Dirac to deal with generalized functions. They are set-theoretical functions defined on a natural non-Archimedean ring, and include Colombeau generalized functions (and hence also Schwartz distributions) as a particular case. One of their key property is the closure with respect to composition. We review the theory of generalized smooth functions and prove both the local and some global inverse function theorems.
Entrywise functions preserving the cone of positive semidefinite matrices have been studied by many authors, most notably by Schoenberg [Duke Math. J. 9, 1942] and Rudin [Duke Math. J. 26, 1959]. Following their work, it is well-known that entrywise functions preserving Loewner positivity in all dimensions are precisely the absolutely monotonic functions. However, there are strong theoretical and practical motivations to study functions preserving positivity in a fixed dimension $n$. Such characterizations for a fixed value of $n$ are difficult to obtain, and in fact are only known in the $2 times 2$ case. In this paper, using a novel and intuitive approach, we study entrywise functions preserving positivity on distinguished submanifolds inside the cone obtained by imposing rank constraints. These rank constraints are prevalent in applications, and provide a natural way to relax the elusive original problem of preserving positivity in a fixed dimension. In our main result, we characterize entrywise functions mapping $n times n$ positive semidefinite matrices of rank at most $l$ into positive semidefinite matrices of rank at most $k$ for $1 leq l leq n$ and $1 leq k < n$. We also demonstrate how an important necessary condition for preserving positivity by Horn and Loewner [Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 136, 1969] can be significantly generalized by adding rank constraints. Finally, our techniques allow us to obtain an elementary proof of the classical characterization of functions preserving positivity in all dimensions obtained by Schoenberg and Rudin.
Functions preserving Loewner positivity when applied entrywise to positive semidefinite matrices have been widely studied in the literature. Following the work of Schoenberg [Duke Math. J. 9], Rudin [Duke Math. J. 26], and others, it is well-known that functions preserving positivity for matrices of all dimensions are absolutely monotonic (i.e., analytic with nonnegative Taylor coefficients). In this paper, we study functions preserving positivity when applied entrywise to sparse matrices, with zeros encoded by a graph $G$ or a family of graphs $G_n$. Our results generalize Schoenberg and Rudins results to a modern setting, where functions are often applied entrywise to sparse matrices in order to improve their properties (e.g. better conditioning). The only such result known in the literature is for the complete graph $K_2$. We provide the first such characterization result for a large family of non-complete graphs. Specifically, we characterize functions preserving Loewner positivity on matrices with zeros according to a tree. These functions are multiplicatively midpoint-convex and super-additive. Leveraging the underlying sparsity in matrices thus admits the use of functions which are not necessarily analytic nor absolutely monotonic. We further show that analytic functions preserving positivity on matrices with zeros according to trees can contain arbitrarily long sequences of negative coefficients, thus obviating the need for absolute monotonicity in a very strong sense. This result leads to the question of exactly when absolute monotonicity is necessary when preserving positivity for an arbitrary class of graphs. We then provide a stronger condition in terms of the numerical range of all symmetric matrices, such that functions satisfying this condition on matrices with zeros according to any family of graphs with unbounded degrees are necessarily absolutely monotonic.