Applied Mathematics Commons^™

Complementary Extremum Principles, J. Swetits, C. Rogers

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Important complementary extremum principles are generated without recourse to general variational theory. The results are illustrated by an application to a class of boundary value problems in Magnetohydrodynamics.

Nonlinear Resonance In Celestial Mechanics With Applications To The Rotation Of Mercury, Timothy John Burns

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Two planar, fixed-orbit models of the rotation of the planet Mercury are studied using the method of averaging. The first model includes only the solar torques on the planet's permanent asymmetry and on its solar tidal bulge. For this model, it is shown that the zero of the averaged tidal torque corresponds to an asymptotically stable periodic solution of the second kind which, for two tidal torque representations, is close to the asymptotically stable equilibrium point corresponding to an exact 3:2 spin-orbit resonance. This periodic solution restricts the possible initial rotation states of Mercury, and it may account for the …

Numerical Methods For Multipoint Boundary Value Problems, Mahoud Abdul-Ghani Sarhan

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Existence and uniqueness theory for ordinary differential systems subject to linear constraints is presented in some detail. Finite difference schemes, shooting methods, orthonormalization procedures and projection methods are studied. Orthonormalization procedures are shown to be ineffective for the general linear problem. Projection methods for linear differential systems with fairly general multipoint boundary conditions are thoroughly developed. Two particular examples of such methods are given: Galerkin and collocation. The various numerical methods considered are evaluated and compared. Several examples are discussed and numerical results are displayed .

Existence In Mathematics, Willis Alberda

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Contemplation of the existence of mathematical entities for very apparent reasons generates a mental cycling of arguments dealing with the nature of mathematical truth, meaning in mathematics, and the obviously related question of which of these two problems should be solved first. The problem of the existence of mathematical entities dates from the first thoughts and ideas of a mathematical nature. The problem of existence in mathematics is fundamental to the domain of speculation and research on the foundations of mathematics. When we try to put ourselves in the place of those philosophers who first explored this problem we must …

Infinity & Reality, John W. Warner

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper examines the topics of infinity and reality as relevant to the conference, proposing a possible relationship between the two in order to stimulate further discussions.

Epistomology To Ontology, Charles R. Hampton

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper offers commentary on the various philosophical approaches to the foundations of mathematics and then indicates how these ideas have implications in consideration of the existence question.

Recent Problems In The Foundationsof Mathematics, Terence H. Perciante

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper examines the foundational crises that have haunted twentieth-century mathematics, beginning with a brief review of the effects generated by Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Bolyai who each developed non-Euclidean parallel axiom. Though of mathematical interest in their own right, the significance of the new geometries was greatly magnified when it was discerned that they could be used to adequately model physical space, even to the extent that Einstein’s theory of relativity later employed as its model a non-Euclidean geometry developed by Riemann. The question that obviously presented itself was how could any given geometry be called true when it and …

The Foundations Of Mathematics And The Mathematics Curriculum, Bayard Baylis

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

In teaching the foundations of mathematics within the framework of a Christian college, and particularly that of a Christian liberal arts college, there are two groups of students which must be served. The first consisted of the non-mathematics majors—those non-scientifically oriented “general anything” students who, as a catalog might put it, are to receive “an introduction to and an appreciation of the history, foundations, culture and applications of mathematics.” The second group consists of the mathematics majors, and the few science majors who have not been frightened away by the calculus. The gulf between these two groups is sufficiently large, …

A Brief Introduction To Gödel’S Theorems, Michael Detlefsen

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Gödel’s two famous incompleteness theorems are results that have come up a number of times in the discussions at the 1977 ACMS conference. This paper provides a brief and relatively non-technical statement on these results and of their significance for the foundations of mathematics.

Current Work On Mathematical Truth, Michael Detlefsen

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

The overall aim of this paper is to serve as an introduction to the work currently being done on the topic of mathematical truth. It provides an overview of the major developments concerning mathematical truth and also evaluates those developments as potential contributions to mathematician’s understanding of the subject.

Recent Parallels Between The Philosophy Of Science And Mathematics, Joseph Spradley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Following World War I European philosophy of science formed an alliance with mathematics culminating in an attitude of certainty and autonomy that rejected all non empirical claims to truth and purported to make all science presupposition less. The rise and fall of logical positivism has been one of the major themes of of twentieth century thought and illustrates the danger of placing too much emphasis on science and mathematics as an ideal for all knowledge. The restriction of rational inquiry to the modes of scientific verification and the processes of mathematical logic was far too confining for the containment of …

Formalizing The Liar Paradox, Frank Meyer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

God: All Sufficient Or Infinite, Thomas E. Iverson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Getting Their Interest - Initiating Students Into The Study Of Foundational Issues In Mathematics, Harold Heie

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Wanted: Christian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Mathematics, Arthur F. Holmes

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper describes the three types of theory about universals, beginning in each case with a classical historical formulation and moving to its restatement in recent analytic philosophy. It will then suggest ways in which Christian perspectives bear on theories of universals and so on mathematics.

A Christian Point Of View, A. Wayne Roberts

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Does the fact that you are a Christian affect the way that you teach mathematics? This paper seeks to answer the question, what contributions can a mathematics teacher in a Christian school make to the distinctive purpose of such a school?

Of Men, Models, And Mathematics, Charles Hatfield

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Skolem’S Paradox And The Predestination/Free-Will Discussion, Gene B. Chase

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

The purpose of this paper is to show that both sides of the predestination/free-will discussion are admissible in a way that is more profound than simply the wave-particle duality of light. In wave-particle duality there are two competing physical models of reality which are contradictory. This paper will show that not a contradiction but a difference in viewpoint is the fundamental issue in the discussion of predestination and free will. A discussion of Skolem’s paradox is helpful in this demonstration.

Introduction (1977), Robert Brabenec

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (1977), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Epistemology To Ontology, Charles R. Hampton

ACMS Journal 2004

This paper argues for mathematicians thinking about the philosophy of math, especially Christians. It briefly sketches the limitations of formalism, intuitionism, and logicism and uses Christian concept of creation to argue that one can take the best of each of these philosophies and avoid the pitfalls. It also argues for the real existence of mathematical objects apart from the human mind.

Recent Problems In The Foundations Of Mathematics, Terence H. Perciante

ACMS Journal 2004

This paper examines the foundational crises that have haunted twentieth-century mathematics, beginning with a brief review of the effects generated by Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Bolyai who each developed non-Euclidean parallel axiom. Though of mathematical interest in their own right, the significance of the new geometries was greatly magnified when it was discerned that they could be used to adequately model physical space, even to the extent that Einstein’s theory of relativity later employed as its model a non-Euclidean geometry developed by Riemann. The question that obviously presented itself was how could any given geometry be called true when it and …

Recent Parallels Between The Philosophy Of Science And Mathematics, Joseph Spradley

ACMS Journal 2004

Following World War I European philosophy of science formed an alliance with mathematics culminating in an attitude of certainty and autonomy that rejected all non empirical claims to truth and purported to make all science presupposition less. The rise and fall of logical positivism has been one of the major themes of of twentieth century thought and illustrates the danger of placing too much emphasis on science and mathematics as an ideal for all knowledge. The restriction of rational inquiry to the modes of scientific verification and the processes of mathematical logic was far too confining for the containment of …

Positive Perturbations Of Unbounded Operators, Joanne Dombrowski

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

This work studies the spectral properties of certain unbounded selfadjoint operators by considering positive perturbations of such operators and the unitary equivalence of the perturbed and unperturbed transformations. Conditions are obtained on the unitary operators implementing this equivalence which guarantee that the selfadjoint operators have an absolutely continuous part.

A Proof Of Convergence For The Tridiagonal Ql Algorithm In Floating-Point Arithmetic, James George Sanderson

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Numerous routines are available to find the eigenvalues of a real symmetric tridiagonal matrix. Since it is known to converge in exact arithmetic, the tridiagonal QL algorithm with origin shift is widely used. Here we analyze the algorithm in floating-point arithmetic. This analysis suggests two modifications to the EISPACK implementation TQLl that enable one to prove correctness and hence convergence of the routine.

Also, it is known that the implicit and explicit versions of the QL algorithm produce the same results in exact arithmetic. A counter-example to the floating-point analog of this theorem is presented.

The Use Of Prior Observations In Constructing Prediction Intervals For The Normal Distribution, Charles B. Davis

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

A prediction interval procedure uses information contained in a sample together with other relevant information to produce an interval which will contain the next observation to be taken from the population with confidence no less than a pre-determined /J. One prediction inter­val procedure renders another "inadmissible" at the fJ level if (1) both procedures maintain the B confidence level and (2) the former produces intervals which are at least as "short" as, and sometimes "shorter" than, those produced by the latter; "short" is defined in a natural fashion in terms of expected length or expected upper (lower) limit. as is …

An Abstract Matrix Model: The Column Model, Tomas Eufracio Salazar

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this dissertation we introduce an abstract model for matrix theory, The Column Model. We investigate some properties of the special class of partially ordered linear algebras that satisfy the conditions of the Model. We use the order structure of the Model to obtain some results on: idempotents in the Model, nonnegative elements of the Model having nonnegative generalized inverses, factor theorems in the Model and concepts in the Model that are related to the usual notion of eigenvalues of an m-by-m matrix. Since the set of m-by-m matrices belongs to the special class of partially ordered linear algebras satisfying …

A Metric Graph Structure For Information Retrieval, Karl Jerry Melendez

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Document retrieval systems accept a user request for information and respond with a list of documents which contain information relevant to the request. When the documents (or abstracts of the documents) are stored in a computer memory, a function can be defined which estimates the semantic distance between documents. If this function together with the set of documents forms a metric space, a graph, which I call a progressive graph, can be constructed to aid the search for the documents with relevant information.

Progressive graphs are studied and the search algorithms which use this graph structure are presented. The search …

Estimation Of Growth Curves By Least Square Splines, Dorothy Rybaczyk Pathak

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

The primary object of this dissertation is to present some con­tributions to the theory of estimation of growth curves by least square splines in the presence of unknown unequal variances. The theoretical developments rest heavily on the standard least square theory and the theory of polynomial spline functions. A modifica­tion of the Aitken procedure of weighted least squares is used to estimate regression parameters. It is shown that this modification of the Aitken procedure does not unduly influence the nice least square properties of estimators so obtained; the estimators re­ main unbiased, consistent and asymptotically efficient.

The techniques developed in …

The Absolute Continuity Of Phase Operators, Joanne Dombrowski, G. H. Fricke

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

This paper studies the spectral properties of a class of operators known as phase operators which originated in the study of harmonic oscillator phase. Ifantis conjectured that such operators had no point spectrum. It was later shown that certain phase operators were, in fact, absolutely continuous and that all phase operators at least had an absolutely continuous part. The present work completes the discussion by showing that all phase operators are absolutely continuous.