arXiv subjects

Peter D. Dragnev

Publications and source records attributed to Peter D. Dragnev.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Riesz equilibrium on a ball in the external field of a point charge

We investigate the Riesz energy minimization problem on a $d$-dimensional ball in the presence of an external field created by a point charge above the ball in $\R^{d+1}$, $d\geq1$. Both cases of an attractive charge and a repulsive charge are considered. The notion of a signed equilibrium measure is one of the main tools in the present study. For the case of a positive (repulsive) charge, the determination of the support of the equilibrium measure is a nontrivial question. We solve it in the one-dimensional case by making use of iterated balayage, a method already applied in logarithmic potential theory. Here we use a modified version of it, in order to handle the phenomenon of mass loss, characteristic of the Riesz balayage of positive measures. Moreover, we also consider minimization of Coulomb energy on the ball in dimension $d\geq2$, and of logarithmic energy on the segment in dimension 1. Different techniques are used for these two cases.

math.CA↗

arXiv2022

Point Source Equilibrium Problems with Connections to Weighted Quadrature Domains

We explore the connection between supports of equilibrium measures and quadrature identities, especially in the case of point sources added to the external field $Q(z)=|z|^{2p}$ with $p \in \mathbb{N}$. Along the way, we describe some quadrature domains with respect to weighted area measure $|z|^{2p}dA_z$ and complex boundary measure $|z|^{-2p}dz$.

math.CV↗

arXiv2022

Log-optimal (d+2)-configurations in d-dimensions

We enumerate and classify all stationary logarithmic configurations of d+2 points on the unit (d-1)-sphere in d-dimensions. In particular, we show that the logarithmic energy attains its relative minima at configurations that consist of two orthogonal to each other regular simplexes of cardinality m and n. The global minimum occurs when m=n if d is even and m=n+1 otherwise. This characterizes a new class of configurations that minimize the logarithmic energy on the (d-1)-sphere for all d. The other two classes known in the literature, the regular simplex and the cross polytope, are both universally optimal configurations.

math.MG↗

arXiv2022

On the Best Uniform Polynomial Approximation to the Checkmark Function

The best uniform polynomial approximation of the checkmark function $f(x)=|x-α|$ is considered, as $α$ varies in $(-1,1)$. For each fixed degree $n$, the minimax error $E_n (α)$ is shown to be piecewise analytic in $α$. In addition, $E_n(α)$ is shown to feature $n-1$ piecewise linear decreasing/increasing sections, called V-shapes. The points of the alternation set are proven to be monotone increasing in $α$ and their dynamics are completely characterized. We also prove a conjecture of Shekhtman that for odd $n$, $E_n(α)$ has a local maximum at $α=0$.

math.CA↗

arXiv2017

Logarithmic and Riesz Equilibrium for Multiple Sources on the Sphere --- the Exceptional Case

We consider the minimal discrete and continuous energy problems on the unit sphere $\mathbb{S}^d$ in the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ in the presence of an external field due to finitely many localized charge distributions on $\mathbb{S}^d$, where the energy arises from the Riesz potential $1/r^s$ ($r$ is the Euclidean distance) for the critical Riesz parameter $s = d - 2$ if $d \geq 3$ and the logarithmic potential $\log(1/r)$ if $d = 2$. Individually, a localized charge distribution is either a point charge or assumed to be rotationally symmetric. The extremal measure solving the continuous external field problem for weak fields is shown to be the uniform measure on the sphere but restricted to the exterior of spherical caps surrounding the localized charge distributions. The radii are determined by the relative strengths of the generating charges. Furthermore, we show that the minimal energy points solving the related discrete external field problem are confined to this support. For $d-2\leq s<d$, we show that for point sources on the sphere, the equilibrium measure has support in the complement of the union of specified spherical caps about the sources. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate our results.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

Energy bounds for codes and designs in Hamming spaces

We obtain universal bounds on the energy of codes and for designs in Hamming spaces. Our bounds hold for a large class of potential functions, allow unified treatment, and can be viewed as a generalization of the Levenshtein bounds for maximal codes.

math.MG↗

arXiv2014

An Electrostatics Problem on the Sphere Arising from a Nearby Point Charge

For a positively charged insulated d-dimensional sphere we investigate how the distribution of this charge is affected by proximity to a nearby positive or negative point charge when the system is governed by a Riesz s-potential 1/r^s, s>0, where r denotes Euclidean distance between point charges. Of particular interest are those distances from the point charge to the sphere for which the equilibrium charge distribution is no longer supported on the whole of the sphere (i.e. spherical caps of negative charge appear). Arising from this problem attributed to A. A. Gonchar are sequences of polynomials of a complex variable that have some fascinating properties regarding their zeros.

math-ph↗

arXiv2013

Riesz external field problems on the hypersphere and optimal point separation

We consider the minimal energy problem on the unit sphere $\mathbb{S}^d$ in the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ in the presence of an external field $Q$, where the energy arises from the Riesz potential $1/r^s$ (where $r$ is the Euclidean distance and $s$ is the Riesz parameter) or the logarithmic potential $\log(1/r)$. Characterization theorems of Frostman-type for the associated extremal measure, previously obtained by the last two authors, are extended to the range $d-2 \leq s < d - 1.$ The proof uses a maximum principle for measures supported on $\mathbb{S}^d$. When $Q$ is the Riesz $s$-potential of a signed measure and $d-2 \leq s d$, the short-range pair-interaction enforces well-separation even in the presence of more general external fields. As a further application, we determine the extremal and signed equilibria when the external field is due to a negative point charge outside a positively charged isolated sphere. Moreover, we provide a rigorous analysis of the three point external field problem and numerical results for the four point problem.

math-ph↗