Asymmetric ac fluxon depinning in a Josephson junction array: A highly discrete limit

Directed motion and depinning of topological solitons in a strongly discrete damped and biharmonically ac-driven array of Josephson junctions is studied. The mechanism of the depinning transition is investigated in detail. We show that the depinning process takes place through chaotization of an initially standing fluxon periodic orbit. Detailed investigation of the Floquet multipliers of these orbits shows that depending on the depinning parameters (either the driving amplitude or the phase shift between harmonics) the chaotization process can take place either along the period-doubling scenario or due to the type-I intermittency.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

A_k singularities of wave fronts

In this paper, we discuss the recognition problem for A_k-type singularities on wave fronts. We give computable and simple criteria of these singularities, which will play a fundamental role in generalizing the authors' previous work "the geometry of fronts" for surfaces. The crucial point to prove our criteria for A_k-singularities is to introduce a suitable parametrization of the singularities called the "k-th KRSUY-coordinates". Using them, we can directly construct a versal unfolding for a given singularity. As an application, we prove that a given nondegenerate singular point p on a real (resp. complex) hypersurface (as a wave front) in R^{n+1} (resp. C^{n+1}) is differentiably (resp. holomorphically) right-left equivalent to the A_{k+1}-type singular point if and only if the linear projection of the singular set around p into a generic hyperplane R^n (resp. C^n) is right-left equivalent to the A_k-type singular point in R^n (resp. C^{n}). Moreover, we show that the restriction of a C-infinity-map f:R^n --> R^n to its Morin singular set gives a wave front consisting of only A_k-type singularities. Furthermore, we shall give a relationship between the normal curvature map and the zig-zag numbers (the Maslov indices) of wave fronts.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Generic coverings of plane with A-D-E-singularities

We generalize results of the paper math.AG/9803144, in which Chisini's conjecture on the unique reconstruction of f by the curve B is investigated. For this fibre products of generic coverings are studied. The main inequality bounding the degree of a covering in the case of existence of two nonequivalent coverings with the branch curve B is obtained. This inequality is used for the proof of the Chisini conjecture for m-canonical coverings of surfaces of general type for $m\ge 5$.Comment: 43 pages, 20 figures; to appear in Izvestiya Mat

Hilbert's 16th Problem for Quadratic Systems. New Methods Based on a Transformation to the Lienard Equation

Fractionally-quadratic transformations which reduce any two-dimensional quadratic system to the special Lienard equation are introduced. Existence criteria of cycles are obtained

Generic singularities of symplectic and quasi-symplectic immersions

For any k<2n we construct a complete system of invariants in the problem of classifying singularities of immersed k-dimensional submanifolds of a symplectic 2n-manifold at a generic double point.Comment: 12 page

Connections on modules over quasi-homogeneous plane curves

Let k be an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, and let $A = k[x,y]/(f)$ be a quasi-homogeneous plane curve. We show that for any graded torsion free A-module M, there exists a natural graded integrable connection, i.e. a graded A-linear homomorphism $\nabla: \operatorname{Der}_k(A) \to \operatorname{End}_k(M)$ that satisfy the derivation property and preserves the Lie product. In particular, a torsion free module N over the complete local ring $B = \hat A$ admits a natural integrable connection if A is a simple curve singularity, or if A is irreducible and N is a gradable module.Comment: AMS-LaTeX, 12 pages, minor changes. To appear in Comm. Algebr

Singularities of Blaschke normal maps of convex surfaces

We prove that the difference between the numbers of positive swallowtails and negative swallowtails of the Blaschke normal map for a given convex surface in affine space is equal to the Euler number of the subset where the affine shape operator has negative determinant.Comment: 5 pages Version 3; to appear in Comptes Rendus Mathematiqu

Random walks in Euclidean space

Consider a sequence of independent random isometries of Euclidean space with a previously fixed probability law. Apply these isometries successively to the origin and consider the sequence of random points that we obtain this way. We prove a local limit theorem under a suitable moment condition and a necessary non-degeneracy condition. Under stronger hypothesis, we prove a limit theorem on a wide range of scales: between e^(-cl^(1/4)) and l^(1/2), where l is the number of steps.Comment: 62 pages, 1 figure, revision based on referee's report, proofs and results unchange

A general method for finding extremal states of Hamiltonian dynamical systems, with applications to perfect fluids

In addition to the Hamiltonian functional itself, non-canonical Hamiltonian dynamical systems generally possess integral invariants known as ‘Casimir functionals’. In the case of the Euler equations for a perfect fluid, the Casimir functionals correspond to the vortex topology, whose invariance derives from the particle-relabelling symmetry of the underlying Lagrangian equations of motion. In a recent paper, Vallis, Carnevale & Young (1989) have presented algorithms for finding steady states of the Euler equations that represent extrema of energy subject to given vortex topology, and are therefore stable. The purpose of this note is to point out a very general method for modifying any Hamiltonian dynamical system into an algorithm that is analogous to those of Vallis etal. in that it will systematically increase or decrease the energy of the system while preserving all of the Casimir invariants. By incorporating momentum into the extremization procedure, the algorithm is able to find steadily-translating as well as steady stable states. The method is applied to a variety of perfect-fluid systems, including Euler flow as well as compressible and incompressible stratified flow

Radial index and Poincar\'e-Hopf index of 1-forms on semi-analytic sets

The radial index of a 1-form on a singular set is a generalization of the classical Poincar\'e-Hopf index. We consider different classes of closed semi-analytic sets in R^n that contain 0 in their singular locus and we relate the radial index of a 1-form at 0 on these sets to Poincar\'e-Hopf indices at 0 of vector fiels defined on R^n.Comment: 38 page