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For $G$ a simple, simply-connected complex algebraic group and two dominant integral weights $\lambda, \mu$, we consider the dimensions of weight spaces $V_\lambda(\mu)$ of weight $\mu$ in the irreducible, finite-dimensional highest weight $\lambda$ representation. For natural numbers $N$, the function $N \mapsto \dim V_{N\lambda}(N\mu)$ is quasi-polynomial in $N$, the stretched Kostka quasi-polynomial. Using methods of geometric invariant theory (GIT), we compute the degree of this quasi-polynomial, resolving a conjecture of Gao and Gao. We also discuss periods of this quasi-polynomial determined by the GIT approach, and give computational evidence supporting a geometric determination of the minimal period., Comment: 13 pages

For an untwisted affine Kac-Moody Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ with Cartan and Borel subalgebras $\mathfrak{h} \subset \mathfrak{b} \subset \mathfrak{g}$, affine Demazure modules are certain $U(\mathfrak{b})$-submodules of the irreducible highest-weight representations of $\mathfrak{g}$. We introduce here the associated affine Demazure weight polytopes, given by the convex hull of the $\mathfrak{h}$-weights of such a module. Using methods of geometric invariant theory, we determine inequalities which define these polytopes; these inequalities come in three distinct flavors, specified by the standard, opposite, or semi-infinite Bruhat orders. We also give a combinatorial characterization of the vertices of these polytopes lying on an arbitrary face, utilizing the more general class of twisted Bruhat orders., Comment: 36 pages

A presumed impact of global climate change is the increase in frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. Due to the possible destruction that occurs when tropical cyclones make landfall, understanding their formation should be of mass interest. In 2017, Kerry Emanuel modeled tropical cyclone formation by developing a low-dimensional dynamical system which couples tangential wind speed of the eye-wall with the inner-core moisture. For physically relevant parameters, this dynamical system always contains three fixed points: a stable fixed point at the origin corresponding to a non-storm state, an additional asymptotically stable fixed point corresponding to a stable storm state, and a saddle corresponding to an unstable storm state. The goal of this work is to provide insight into the underlying mechanisms that govern the formation and suppression of tropical cyclones through both analytical arguments and numerical experiments. We present a case study of both rate and noise-induced tipping between the stable states, relating to the destabilization or formation of a tropical cyclone. While the stochastic system exhibits transitions both to and from the non-storm state, noise-induced tipping is more likely to form a storm, whereas rate-induced tipping is more likely to be the way a storm is destabilized, and in fact, rate-induced tipping can never lead to the formation of a storm when acting alone. For rate-induced tipping acting as a destabilizer of the storm, a striking result is that both wind shear and maximal potential velocity have to increase, at a substantial rate, in order to effect tipping away from the active hurricane state. For storm formation through noise-induced tipping, we identify a specific direction along which the non-storm state is most likely to get activated.

We determine, in an inductive framework, the vertices of the polytope $P(s,K)$ controlling the conjugacy classes of elements which product to one in the maximal compact subgroup $K$ of a simple complex algebraic group $G$. This extends earlier work of the authors in related contexts. One feature of this work is the use of Kontsevich compactifications of the moduli of $P$-bundles (replacing the use of quot schemes in type A) which are related to semi-infinite geometry. We also obtain a quantum generalization of Fulton's conjecture valid for all $G$., Comment: 58 pages

Senjanovic and Tello have analyzed how one could determine the neutrino Dirac mass matrix in the minimal left-right model, assuming that the mass matrices for the light and heavy neutrinos could be taken as inputs. They have provided an analytical solution for the Dirac mass matrix in the case that the left-right symmetry is implemented via a generalized parity symmetry and that this symmetry remains unbroken in the Dirac Yukawa sector. We extend the work of Senjanovic and Tello to the case in which the generalized parity symmetry is broken in the Dirac Yukawa sector. In this case the elegant method outlined by Senjanovic and Tello breaks down and we need to adopt a numerical approach. Several iterative approaches are described; these are found to work in some cases but to be highly unstable in others. A stable, prescriptive numerical algorithm is described that works in all but a vanishingly small number of cases. We apply this algorithm to numerical data sets that are consistent with current experimental constraints on neutrino masses and mixings. We also provide some additional context and supporting explanations for the case in which the parity symmetry is unbroken., Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures; published version

The domain of cluster analysis is a meeting point for a very rich multidisciplinary encounter, with cluster-analytic methods being studied and developed in discrete mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics, data analysis, data science, and computer science (including machine learning, data mining, and knowledge discovery), to name but a few. The other side of the coin, however, is that the domain suffers from a major accessibility problem as well as from the fact that it is rife with division across many pretty isolated islands. As a way out, the present paper offers a thorough and in-depth review of the clustering domain as a whole under the form of an outline map based on an overarching conceptual framework and a common language. With this framework we wish to contribute to structuring the clustering domain, to characterizing methods that have often been developed and studied in quite different contexts, to identifying links between methods, and to introducing a frame of reference for optimally setting up cluster analyses in data-analytic practice., Comment: 43 pages, 4 figures

For $G$ a reductive group and $T\subset B$ a maximal torus and Borel subgroup, Demazure modules are certain $B$-submodules, indexed by elements of the Weyl group, of the finite irreducible representations of $G$. In order to describe the $T$-weight spaces that appear in a Demazure module, we study the convex hull of these weights - the Demazure polytope. We characterize these polytopes both by vertices and by inequalities, and we use these results to prove that Demazure characters are saturated, in the case that $G$ is simple of classical Lie type. Specializing to $G=GL_n$, we recover results of Fink, M\'esz\'aros, and St. Dizier, and separately Fan and Guo, on key polynomials, originally conjectured by Monical, Tokcan, and Yong., Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures. v2 added references and relation to MV polytopes, and simplified proofs in section 5. v3 minor expository edits, and corrections to the relation to the geometry of MV cycles

The distribution of eigenvalues of the wave equation in a bounded domain is known as Weyl's problem. We describe several computational projects related to the cumulative state number, defined as the number of states having wavenumber up to a maximum value. This quantity and its derivative, the density of states, have important applications in nuclear physics, degenerate Fermi gases, blackbody radiation, Bose-Einstein condensation and the Casimir effect. Weyl's theorem states that, in the limit of large wavenumbers, the cumulative state number depends only on the volume of the bounding domain and not on its shape. Corrections to this behavior are well known and depend on the surface area of the bounding domain, its curvature and other features. We describe several projects that allow readers to investigate this dependence for three bounding domains - a rectangular box, a sphere, and a circular cylinder. Quasi-one- and two-dimensional systems can be analyzed by considering various limits. The projects have applications in statistical mechanics, but can also be integrated into quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, or computational physics courses., Comment: 37 pages. This article has been accepted by the American Journal of Physics. After it is published, it will be found at: https://aapt.scitation.org/journal/ajp

Ordinal data occur frequently in the social sciences. When applying principal component analysis (PCA), however, those data are often treated as numeric implying linear relationships between the variables at hand, or non-linear PCA is applied where the obtained quantifications are sometimes hard to interpret. Non-linear PCA for categorical data, also called optimal scoring/scaling, constructs new variables by assigning numerical values to categories such that the proportion of variance in those new variables that is explained by a predefined number of principal components is maximized. We propose a penalized version of non-linear PCA for ordinal variables that is a smoothed intermediate between standard PCA on category labels and non-linear PCA as used so far. The new approach is by no means limited to monotonic effects and offers both better interpretability of the non-linear transformation of the category labels as well as better performance on validation data than unpenalized non-linear PCA and/or standard linear PCA. In particular, an application of penalized optimal scaling to ordinal data as given with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is provided., Comment: Published at https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bmsp.12297

We give an inductive procedure for finding the extremal rays of the equivariant Littlewood-Richardson cone, which is closely related to the solution space to S. Friedland's majorized Hermitian eigenvalue problem. In so doing, we solve the "rational version" of a problem posed by C. Robichaux, H. Yadav, and A. Yong. Our procedure is a natural extension of P. Belkale's algorithm for the classical Littlewood-Richardson cone. The main tools for accommodating the equivariant setting are certain foundational results of D. Anderson, E. Richmond, and A. Yong. We also study two families of special rays of the cone and make observations about the Hilbert basis of the associated lattice semigroup., Comment: 19 pages

The Maslov index is a powerful tool for assessing the stability of solitary waves. Although it is difficult to calculate in general, a framework for doing so was recently established for singularly perturbed systems. In this paper, we apply this framework to standing wave solutions of a three-component activator-inhibitor model. These standing waves are known to become unstable as parameters vary. Our goal is to see how this established stability criterion manifests itself in the Maslov index calculation. In so doing, we obtain new insight into the mechanism for instability. We further suggest how this mechanism might be used to reveal new instabilities in singularly perturbed models., Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures. Comments are welcome

The Kostka semigroup consists of pairs of partitions with at most r parts that have positive Kostka coefficient. For this semigroup, Hilbert basis membership is an NP-complete problem. We introduce KGR graphs and conservative subtrees, through the Gale-Ryser theorem on contingency tables, as a criterion for membership. In our main application, we show that if a partition pair is in the Hilbert basis then the partitions are at most r wide. We also classify the extremal rays of the associated polyhedral cone; these rays correspond to a (strict) subset of the Hilbert basis. In an appendix, the second and third authors show that a natural extension of our main result on the Kostka semigroup cannot be extended to the Littlewood-Richardson semigroup. This furthermore gives a counterexample to a recent speculation of P. Belkale concerning the semigroup controlling nonvanishing conformal blocks., Comment: 27 pages. Conjectures 5.3 and 5.5 have been recently resolved in the affirmative by J. Kim (arXiv:2105.07015). Conjecture 5.8 has been resolved in the negative by the second and third authors in a new Appendix B. This furthermore resolves in the negative a recent speculation of P. Belkale (arXiv:2005.12457v3)