With appropriate smoothness and decay conditions, it has been shown that the deficiency index and spectral properties of unbounded differential operators are superpositions of the contributions from the individual clusters. The difference operators with almost constant coefficients are limit point at infinity and the absolutely continuous spectrum of their selfadjoint extensions coincide with that of the limiting selfadjoint extension operators.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, February 15, 2015. / In this thesis, the forward and inverse Spectral Theory for first order Hermitian systems with complex potentials and periodic boundary conditions are studied. The aim of this work is to prove two inverse periodicity Theorems and two uniqueness results for determinants of quasiperiodic boundary value problems.

<p> The object of this dissertation is to investigate the properties, associated boundary conditions and generalized resolvents of symmetric ordinary differential operators associated with formally self-adjoint nth order ordinary differential expressions with complex coefficients. </p> <p> While symmetric differential operators with equal deficiency indices have been studied in some detail, expecially the particular case when the underlying differential expression has real coefficients, little research has been done on the properties of symmetric differential operators with unequal deficiency indices which are associated with a differential expression with complex coefficients. </p> <p> By extending the symmetric differential operators with unequal deficiency indices to suitable operators with equal deficiency indices in larger Hilbert spaces and introducing a new type of boundary conditions to these extensions, we obtain important information about the original symmetric differential operators with unequal deficiency indices. We are able to generate some well-known theorems of I. M. Glazman (1950) and E. A. Coddington (1954) dealing with the characterization of self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators in terms of boundary conditions, the relation between the deficiency indices of operators on the whole real line and on the half-line, and the resolvent of self-adjoint extensions, from the theory of symmetric, in particular real, differential operators with equal deficiency indices. We also generalize the result of W. N. Everitt (1959) concerning the number of integrable-square solutions of differential equations with one particular and one singular end-point to the case in which both end-points are singular. Finally, under certain assumptions, we extend some of the fundamental results of K. Kodaira (1950) based upon the methods of algebraic geometry, concerning Green's functions and the minimal symmetric differential operator associated with an even-order formally self-adjoint ordinary differential expansion with real coefficients to the case of Green's functions and the minimal symmetric differential operator associated with an even-order formally self-adjoint ordinary differential expression with complex coefficients. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Sensitivity analysis is a useful mathematical tool for many designers, engineers and mathematicians. This work presents a study of sensitivity equation methods for elliptic boundary value problems posed on parameter dependent domains. The current focus of our efforts is the construction of a rigorous mathematical framework for sensitivity analysis and the subsequent development of efficient, accurate algorithms for sensitivity computation. In order to construct the framework, we use the classical theory of partial differential equations along with the method of mappings and the Implicit Function Theorem. Examples are given which illustrate the use of the framework, and some of the shortcomings of the theory are also identified. An overview of some computational methods which make use of the method of mappings is also included. Numerical results for a specific example show that convergence (energy norm) of the sensitivity approximations can be influenced by the specific structure of the computational scheme. / Ph. D.

In this thesis we consider continuity and positivity properties of pseudo-differential operators in Gelfand-Shilov and Pilipović spaces, and their distribution spaces. We also investigate composition property of pseudo-differential operators with symbols in quasi-Banach modulation spaces. We prove that positive elements with respect to the twisted convolutions, possesing Gevrey regularity of certain order at origin, belong to the Gelfand-Shilov space of the same order. We apply this result to positive semi-definite pseudo-differential operators, as well as show that the strongest Gevrey irregularity of kernels to positive semi-definite operators appear at the diagonals. We also prove that any linear operator with kernel in a Pilipović or Gelfand-Shilov space can be factorized by two operators in the same class. We give links on numerical approximations for such compositions and apply these composition rules to deduce estimates of singular values and establish Schatten-von Neumann properties for such operators.   Furthermore, we derive sufficient and necessary conditions for continuity of the Weyl product with symbols in quasi-Banach modulation spaces.

Abstract not available

One deals in this work with the existence and the uniqueness of natural projectively equivariant quantizations by means of the theory of Cartan connections. One shows that a natural projectively equivariant quantization exists for differential operators acting between $lambda$ and $mu$-densities if and only if the corresponding $sl(m+1,mathbb{R})$-equivariant quantization on $mathbb{R}^{m}$ exists. With this end in view, one writes the quantization by means of a formula in terms of the normal Cartan connection associated to the projective structure of a connection. One deduces next an explicit formula for the natural projectively equivariant quantization. One shows the non-uniqueness of such a quantization by means of the curvature of the normal Cartan connection. Finally, one shows the existence of natural and projectively equivariant quantizations for differential operators acting between sections of other natural fiber bundles transposing the method used in $mathbb{R}^{m}$ to analyse the existence of $sl(m+1,mathbb{R})$-equivariant quantizations, this method being linked to the Casimir operator./ On traite dans cet ouvrage de l'existence et de l'unicité de quantifications naturelles projectivement équivariantes au moyen de la théorie des connexions de Cartan. On démontre qu'une quantification naturelle projectivement équivariante existe pour des opérateurs différentiels agissant entre $lambda$ et $mu$-densités si et seulement si la quantification $sl(m+1,mathbb{R})$- équivariante correspondante sur $mathbb{R}^{m}$ existe. Pour cela, on exprime la quantification au moyen d'une formule en termes de la connexion de Cartan normale associée à la structure projective d'une connexion. On en déduit ensuite une formule explicite pour la quantification naturelle projectivement invariante. On démontre après la non-unicité d'une telle quantification par le biais de la courbure de la connexion de Cartan normale. Enfin, on démontre l'existence de quantifications naturelles projectivement équivariantes pour des opérateurs différentiels agissant entre sections d'autres fibrés naturels en transposant la méthode utilisée dans $mathbb{R}^{m}$ pour analyser l'existence de quantifications $sl(m+1,mathbb{R})$-équivariantes, méthode liée à l'opérateur de Casimir.

In the preceding paper we proved an explicit index formula for elliptic pseudodifferential operators on a two-dimensional manifold with conical points. Apart from the Atiyah-Singer integral, it contains two additional terms, one of the two being the 'eta' invariant defined by the conormal symbol. In this paper we clarify the meaning of the additional terms for differential operators.

The index formula for elliptic pseudodifferential operators on a two-dimensional manifold with conical points contains the Atiyah-Singer integral as well as two additional terms. One of the two is the 'eta' invariant defined by the conormal symbol, and the other term is explicitly expressed via the principal and subprincipal symbols of the operator at conical points. In the preceding paper we clarified the meaning of the additional terms for first-order differential operators. The aim of this paper is an explicit description of the contribution of a conical point for higher-order differential operators. We show that changing the origin in the complex plane reduces the entire contribution of the conical point to the shifted 'eta' invariant. In turn this latter is expressed in terms of the monodromy matrix for an ordinary differential equation defined by the conormal symbol.

In this thesis, we discuss the formulation of variational problems on supermanifolds. Supermanifolds incorporate bosonic as well as fermionic degrees of freedom. Fermionic fields take values in the odd part of an appropriate Grassmann algebra and are thus showing an anticommutative behaviour. However, a systematic treatment of these Grassmann parameters requires a description of spaces as functors, e.g. from the category of Grassmann algberas into the category of sets (or topological spaces, manifolds). After an introduction to the general ideas of this approach, we use it to give a description of the resulting supermanifolds of fields/maps. We show that each map is uniquely characterized by a family of differential operators of appropriate order. Moreover, we demonstrate that each of this maps is uniquely characterized by its component fields, i.e. by the coefficients in a Taylor expansion w.r.t. the odd coordinates. In general, the component fields are only locally defined. We present a way how to circumvent this limitation. In fact, by enlarging the supermanifold in question, we show that it is possible to work with globally defined components. We eventually use this formalism to study variational problems. More precisely, we study a super version of the geodesic and a generalization of harmonic maps to supermanifolds. Equations of motion are derived from an energy functional and we show how to decompose them into components. Finally, in special cases, we can prove the existence of critical points by reducing the problem to equations from ordinary geometric analysis. After solving these component equations, it is possible to show that their solutions give rise to critical points in the functor spaces of fields. / In dieser Dissertation wird die Formulierung von Variationsproblemen auf Supermannigfaltigkeiten diskutiert. Supermannigfaltigkeiten enthalten sowohl bosonische als auch fermionische Freiheitsgrade. Fermionische Felder nehmen Werte im ungeraden Teil einer Grassmannalgebra an, sie antikommutieren deshalb untereinander. Eine systematische Behandlung dieser Grassmann-Parameter erfordert jedoch die Beschreibung von Räumen durch Funktoren, z.B. von der Kategorie der Grassmannalgebren in diejenige der Mengen (der topologischen Räume, Mannigfaltigkeiten, ...). Nach einer Einführung in das allgemeine Konzept dieses Zugangs verwenden wir es um eine Beschreibung der resultierenden Supermannigfaltigkeit der Felder bzw. Abbildungen anzugeben. Wir zeigen, dass jede Abbildung eindeutig durch eine Familie von Differentialoperatoren geeigneter Ordnung charakterisiert wird. Darüber hinaus beweisen wir, dass jede solche Abbildung eineindeutig durch ihre Komponentenfelder, d.h. durch die Koeffizienten einer Taylorentwickelung bzgl. von ungeraden Koordinaten bestimmt ist. Im Allgemeinen sind Komponentenfelder nur lokal definiert. Wir stellen einen Weg vor, der diese Einschränkung umgeht: Durch das Vergrößern der betreffenden Supermannigfaltigkeit ist es immer möglich, mit globalen Koordinaten zu arbeiten. Schließlich wenden wir diesen Formalismus an, um Variationsprobleme zu untersuchen, genauer betrachten wir eine super-Version der Geodäte und eine Verallgemeinerung von harmonischen Abbildungen auf Supermannigfaltigkeiten. Bewegungsgleichungen werden von Energiefunktionalen abgeleitet und wir zeigen, wie sie sich in Komponenten zerlegen lassen. Schließlich kann in Spezialfällen die Existenz von kritischen Punkten gezeigt werden, indem das Problem auf Gleichungen der gewöhnlichen geometrischen Analysis reduziert wird. Es kann dann gezeigt werden, dass die Lösungen dieser Gleichungen sich zu kritischen Punkten im betreffenden Funktor-Raum der Felder zusammensetzt.