Properties of the subset of polygonal paths in the Hilbert space of paths referring to a<i>d</i>-dimensional quantum-mechanical system are examined. The results are used to discuss various types of polygonal-path approximations appearing in the functional-integration theory. The uniform approximation is applied to extend the definition of the Feynman maps from our previous paper and to prove consistency of this extension. Relations of the extended<i>F</i> _<i>i</i> map to the Wiener integral are given.

We consider scattering of a three-dimensional particle on a finite family of potentials. For some parameter values the scattering wavefunctions exhibit nodal lines in the form of closed loops, which may touch but do not entangle. The corresponding probability current forms vortical singularities around these lines; if the scattered particle is charged, this gives rise to magnetic flux loops in the vicinity of the nodal lines. The conclusions extend to scattering on hard obstacles or smooth potentials.

We study a charged two-dimensional particle confined to a straight parabolic-potential channel and exposed to a homogeneous magnetic field under the influence of a potential perturbation W. If W is bounded and periodic along the channel, a perturbative argument yields the absolute continuity of the bottom of the spectrum. We show that it can have any finite number of open gaps provided that the confining potential is sufficiently strong. However, if W depends on the periodic variable only, we prove by the Thomas argument that the whole spectrum is absolutely continuous, irrespective of the size of the perturbation. On the other hand, if W is small and satisfies a weak localization condition in the the longitudinal direction, we prove by the Mourre method that a part of the absolutely continuous spectrum persists.

A BDDC (Balancing Domain Decomposition by Constraints) algorithm is developed and analyzed for a staggered discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element approximation of second order scalar elliptic problems. On a quite irregular subdomain partition, an optimal condition number bound is proved for two-dimensional problems. In addition, a sub-optimal but scalable condition number bound is obtained for three-dimensional problems. These bounds are shown to be independent of coefficient jumps in the subdomain partition. Numerical results are also included to show the performance of the algorithm.

Some electromagnetic materials exhibit, in a given frequency range, effective dielectric permittivity and/or magnetic permeability which are negative. In the literature, they are called negative index materials, left-handed materials or meta-materials. We propose in this paper a numerical method to solve a wave transmission between a classical dielectric material and a meta-material. The method we investigate can be considered as an alternative method compared to the method presented by the second author and co-workers. In particular, we shall use the abstract framework they developed to prove well-posedness of the exact problem. We recast this problem to fit later discretization by the staggered discontinuous Galerkin method developed by the first author and co-worker, a method which relies on introducing an auxiliary unknown. Convergence of the numerical method is proven, with the help of explicit infsup