Higher order Schwarzian derivatives in interval dynamics

We introduce an infinite sequence of higher order Schwarzian derivatives closely related to the theory of monotone matrix functions. We generalize the classical Koebe lemma to maps with positive Schwarzian derivatives up to some order, obtaining control over derivatives of high order. For a large class of multimodal interval maps we show that all inverse branches of first return maps to sufficiently small neighbourhoods of critical values have their higher order Schwarzian derivatives positive up to any given order.

The Canonical Ensemble and the Central Limit Theorem

Some of the more powerful results of mathematical statistics are becoming of increasing importance in statistical mechanics. Here the use of the central limit theorem in conjunction with the canonical ensemble is shown to lead to an interesting and important new insight into results associated with the canonical ensemble. This theoretical work is illustrated numerically and it is shown how this numerical work can form the basis of an undergraduate laboratory experiment which should help to implant ideas of statistical mechanics in students minds.