Publications

2014

• Limit theorems for nearly unstable Hawkes processes: Version with technical appendix
  
  • Jaisson Thibault
  • Rosenbaum Mathieu
  , 2014. Because of their tractability and their natural interpretations in term of market quantities, Hawkes processes are nowadays widely used in high frequency finance. However, in practice, the statistical estimation results seem to show that very often, only "nearly unstable Hawkes processes" are able to fit the data properly. By nearly unstable, we mean that the L1 norm of their kernel is close to unity. We study in this work such processes for which the stability condition is almost violated. Our main result states that after suitable rescaling, they asymptotically behave like integrated Cox Ingersoll Ross models. Thus, modeling financial order flows as nearly unstable Hawkes processes may be a good way to reproduce both their high and low frequency stylized facts. We then extend this result to the Hawkes based price model introduced by Bacry et al. We show that under a similar criticality condition, this process converges to a Heston model. Again, we recover well known stylized facts of prices, both at the microstructure level and at the macroscopic scale.
• Milieu tridimensionnel érodé
  
  • Colonna Jean-François
  , 2014. Tridimensional eroded medium (Milieu tridimensionnel érodé)
• A semi-discrete scheme for the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz equation
  
  • Alouges François
  • de Bouard Anne
  • Hocquet Antoine
  , 2014. We propose a new convergent time semi-discrete scheme for the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The scheme is only linearly implicit and does not require the resolution of a nonlinear problem at each time step. Using a martingale approach, we prove the convergence in law of the scheme up to a subsequence.
• 10.000 chiffres aléatoires -base 10- visualisées comme une marche aléatoire bidimensionnelle 'absolue
  
  • Colonna Jean-François
  , 2014. 10.000 random digits -base 10- displayed as an 'absolute' bidimensional random walk (10.000 chiffres aléatoires -base 10- visualisées comme une marche aléatoire bidimensionnelle 'absolue')
• Variational Curvature Flows
  
  • Chambolle Antonin
  • Morini Massimiliano
  • Ponsiglione Marcello
  , 2014. Variational Curvature Flows
• Policy iteration for stochastic zero-sum games
  
  • Akian Marianne
  , 2014. Recent results of Ye and Hansen, Miltersen and Zwick show that policy iteration for one or two player (perfect information) zero-sum stochastic games, restricted to instances with a fixed discount rate, is strongly polynomial. We show that policy iteration for mean-payoff zero-sum stochastic games is also strongly polynomial when restricted to instances with bounded first mean return time to a given state. The proof is based on methods of nonlinear Perron-Frobenius theory, allowing us to reduce the mean-payoff problem to a discounted problem with state dependent discount rate. Our analysis also shows that policy iteration remains strongly polynomial for discounted problems in which the discount rate can be state dependent (and even negative) at certain states, provided that the spectral radii of the nonnegative matrices associated to all strategies are bounded from above by a fixed constant strictly less than 1.
• Characterization of Glioma Microcirculation and Tissue Features Using Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Rat Brain Model
  
  • Iima M.
  • Reynaud O.
  • Tsurugizawa T.
  • Ciobanu Luisa
  • Li Jing-Rebecca
  • Geffroy F.
  • Djemai B.
  • Umehana M.
  • Le Bihan Denis
  Investigative Radiology, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2014, pp.485–490. (10.1097/RLI.0000000000000040)
  DOI : 10.1097/RLI.0000000000000040
• Weak approximation of averaged diffusion processes
  
  • Gobet Emmanuel
  • Miri Mohammed
  Stochastic Processes and their Applications, Elsevier, 2014, 124, pp.475--504. We derive expansion results in order to approximate the law of the average of the marginal of diffusion processes. The average is computed w.r.t. a general parameter that is involved in the diffusion dynamics. Our approximation is based on the use of proxys with normal distribution or log-normal distribution, so that the expansion terms are explicit. We provide non asymptotic error bounds, which justifies the expansion accuracy as the time or the diffusion coefficients are small in a suitable sense.
• The horofunction boundary and isometry group of the Hilbert geometry
  
  • Walsh Cormac
  , 2014, 22. The horofunction boundary is a means of compactifying metric spaces that was introduced by Gromov in the 1970s. We describe explicitly the horofunction boundary of the Hilbert geometry, and sketch how it may be used to study the isometry group of this space.
• Découverte et analyse de la biodiversité : les moyens actuels
  
  • Elias Marianne
  • Condamine Fabien
  Mémoires de la SEF, 2014 (9), pp.23-39. – Depuis l’antiquité, la diversité des formes biologiques fascine, et fait l’objet de descriptions, d’analyses et classifications. Alors que pendant des siècles la caractérisation de la biodiversité a reposé sur des critères morphologiques, l’avènement et le développement rapide des techniques moléculaires et des méthodes analytiques associées ont permis de développer des approches complexes et intégratives pour étudier la biodiversité, tout en incorporant les données issues de la morphologie. Ces approches se classent en trois catégories : 1) Les approches microévolutives de type “génétique des populations”, basées sur de nombreux marqueurs moléculaires répartis dans tout le génome, et qui renseignent sur la structure fine de la biodiversité en étudiant les processus de spéciation (formation des espèces). 2) Les approches de type barcoding, qui permettent de caractériser génétiquement un individu et de lui assigner un nom d’espèce sur la base de la variation de la séquence d’ADN d’un ou de plusieurs gènes. Éventuellement, cette approche permet de définir les limites d’espèces. Combiné à la morphologie, le barcoding moléculaire a conduit à la taxonomie intégrative. 3) Les approches macroévolutives de type “phylogénies” (établies sur des données moléculaires et/ou morphologiques), qui reconstruisent les relations de parenté entre espèces et sont donc non seulement informatives sur la systématique du groupe étudié, mais également sur les processus évolutifs qui en ont structuré la biodiversité (biogéographie historique, rôle de caractères particuliers dans la diversification du groupe, variation des taux de diversification dans le temps ou entre lignées...). Ces trois approches, qui peuvent être combinées entre elles ainsi qu’aux approches morphologiques, ont contribué à mieux caractériser et comprendre les facteurs à l’origine de la biodiversité, par exemple en mettant en évidence des espèces cryptiques (des espèces qui se ressemblent tellement qu’elles étaient considérées comme une seule et même espèce), notamment chez les Insectes; en bouleversant les classifications traditionnelles; ou en remettant en cause le paradigme de l’isolement géographique dans la formation des espèces. Bien que la contribution de ces approches modernes soit notable, elles restent cependant très complexes et perfectibles. Plus important encore, il est essentiel aujourd’hui d’intégrer des experts de divers domaines pour appréhender sous divers angles et mieux comprendre cette biodiversité.
• Role of non-ideality for the ion transport in porous media: derivation of the macroscopic equations using upscaling
  
  • Allaire Grégoire
  • Brizzi Robert
  • Dufrêche Jean-François
  • Mikelic Andro
  • Piatnitski Andrey
  Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, Elsevier, 2014, 282, pp.39-60. This paper is devoted to the homogenization (or upscaling) of a system of partial differential equations describing the non-ideal transport of a N-component electrolyte in a dilute Newtonian solvent through a rigid porous medium. Realistic non-ideal effects are taken into account by an approach based on the mean spherical approximation (MSA) model which takes into account finite size ions and screening effects. We first consider equilibrium solutions in the absence of external forces. In such a case, the velocity and diffusive fluxes vanish and the equilibrium electrostatic potential is the solution of a variant of Poisson-Boltzmann equation coupled with algebraic equations. Contrary to the ideal case, this nonlinear equation has no monotone structure. However, based on invariant region estimates for Poisson-Boltzmann equation and for small characteristic value of the solute packing fraction, we prove existence of at least one solution. To our knowledge this existence result is new at this level of generality. When the motion is governed by a small static electric field and a small hydrodynamic force, we generalize O'Brien's argument to deduce a linearized model. Our second main result is the rigorous homogenization of these linearized equations and the proof that the effective tensor satisfies Onsager properties, namely is symmetric positive definite. We eventually make numerical comparisons with the ideal case. Our numerical results show that the MSA model confirms qualitatively the conclusions obtained using the ideal model but there are quantitative differences arising that can be important at high charge or high concentrations. (10.1016/j.physd.2014.05.007)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.physd.2014.05.007
• Unsupervised Segmentation of Spectral Images with a Spatialized Gaussian Mixture Model and Model Selection
  
  • Cohen Serge X.
  • Le Pennec E.
  Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Revue d'IFP Energies nouvelles, Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), 2014, 69 (2), pp.245-259. In this article, we describe a novel unsupervised spectral image segmentation algorithm. This algorithm extends the classical Gaussian Mixture Model-based unsupervised classification technique by incorporating a spatial flavor into the model: the spectra are modelized by a mixture of K classes, each with a Gaussian distribution, whose mixing proportions depend on the position. Using a piecewise constant structure for those mixing proportions, we are able to construct a penalized maximum likelihood procedure that estimates the optimal partition as well as all the other parameters, including the number of classes. We provide a theoretical guarantee for this estimation, even when the generating model is not within the tested set, and describe an efficient implementation. Finally, we conduct some numerical experiments of unsupervised segmentation from a real dataset. (10.2516/ogst/2014013)
  DOI : 10.2516/ogst/2014013
• Hypoelliptic Diffusion and Human Vision: A Semidiscrete New Twist
  
  • Boscain U.
  • Chertovskih R. A.
  • Gauthier Jean-Paul
  • Remizov A. O.
  SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2014, 7 (2), pp.669–695. (10.1137/130924731)
  DOI : 10.1137/130924731
• Stochastic Approximation Finite Element method: analytical formulas for multidimensional diffusion process
  
  • Bompis Romain
  • Gobet Emmanuel
  SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2014, 52 (6), pp.3140-3164. We derive an analytical weak approximation of a multidimensional diffusion process as coefficients or time are small. Our methodology combines the use of Gaussian proxys to approximate the law of the diffusion and a Finite Element interpolation of the terminal function applied to the diffusion. We call this method Stochastic Approximation Finite Element (SAFE for short) method. We provide error bounds of our global approximation depending on the diffusion process coefficients, the time horizon and the regularity of the terminal function. Then we give estimates of the computational cost of our algorithm. This shows an improved efficiency compared to Monte-Carlo methods in small and medium dimensions (up to 10), which is confirmed by numerical experiments. (10.1137/130928431)
  DOI : 10.1137/130928431
• The Factorization Method for a Cavity in an Inhomogeneous Medium
  
  • Meng Shixu
  • Haddar Houssem
  • Cakoni Fioralba
  Inverse Problems, IOP Publishing, 2014, 30 (045008). We consider the inverse scattering problem for a cavity that is bounded by a penetrable anisotropic inhomogeneous medium of compact support and seek to determine the shape of the cavity from internal measurements on a curve or surface inside the cavity. We derive a factorization method which provides a rigorous characterization of the support of the cavity in terms of the range of an operator which is computable from the measured data. The support of the cavity is determined without a-priori knowledge of the constitutive parameters of the surrounding anisotropic medium provided they satisfy appropriate physical as well as mathematical assumptions imposed by our analysis. Numerical examples are given showing the viability of our method. (10.1088/0266-5611/30/4/045008)
  DOI : 10.1088/0266-5611/30/4/045008
• A finite elements method to solve the Bloch–Torrey equation applied to diffusion magnetic resonance imaging
  
  • Nguyen Dang Van
  • Li Jing-Rebecca
  • Grebenkov Denis S
  • Le Bihan Denis
  Journal of Computational Physics, Elsevier, 2014, pp.283–302. The complex transverse water proton magnetization subject to diffusion-encoding magnetic field gradient pulses in a heterogeneous medium can be modeled by the multiple compartment Bloch-Torrey partial differential equation (PDE). In addition, steady-state Laplace PDEs can be formulated to produce the homogenized diffusion tensor that describes the diffusion characteristics of the medium in the long time limit. In spatial domains that model biological tissues at the cellular level, these two types of PDEs have to be completed with permeability conditions on the cellular interfaces. To solve these PDEs, we implemented a finite elements method that allows jumps in the solution at the cell interfaces by using double nodes. Using a transformation of the Bloch-Torrey PDE we reduced oscillations in the searched-for solution and simplified the implementation of the boundary conditions. The spatial discretization was then coupled to the adaptive explict Runge-Kutta-Chebychev time-stepping method. Our proposed method is second order accurate in space and second order accurate in time. We implemented this method on the FEniCS C++ platform and show time and spatial convergence results. Finally, this method is applied to study some relevant questions in diffusion MRI. (10.1016/j.jcp.2014.01.009)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.jcp.2014.01.009
• Asymptotic analysis of the transmission eigenvalue problem for a Dirichlet obstacle coated by a thin layer of non-absorbing media
  
  • Cakoni Fioralba
  • Haddar Houssem
  • Chaulet Nicolas
  IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics, Oxford University Press (OUP), 2014, pp.36. We consider the transmission eigenvalue problem for an impenetrable obstacle with Dirichlet boundary condition surrounded by a thin layer of non-absorbing inhomogeneous material. We derive a rigorous asymptotic expansion for the first transmission eigenvalue with respect to the thickness of the thin layer. Our convergence analysis is based on a Max–Min principle and an iterative approach which involves estimates on the corresponding eigenfunctions. We provide explicit expressions for the terms in the asymptotic expansion up to order 3. (10.1093/imamat/hxu045)
  DOI : 10.1093/imamat/hxu045
• Higher level molecular phylogeny of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
  
  • Kergoat Gael G.
  • Soldati Laurent L.
  • Clamens Anne Laure
  • Jourdan Hervé
  • Jabbour-Zahab Roula
  • Genson Guénaëlle
  • Bouchard Patrice
  • Condamine Fabien
  Systematic Entomology, Wiley-Blackwell, 2014, 39 (3), pp.486-499. Insect diversity represents about 60% of the estimated million-and-a-half described eukaryotic species worldwide, yet comprehensive and well-resolved intra-ordinal phylogenies are still lacking for the majority of insect groups. This is the case especially for the most species-rich insect group, the beetles (Coleoptera), a group for which less than 4% of the known species have had their DNA sequenced. In this study, we reconstruct the first higher level phylogeny based on DNA sequence data for the species-rich darkling beetles, a family comprising at least 20000 species. Although amongst all families of beetles Tenebrionidae ranks seventh in terms of species diversity, the lack of knowledge on the phylogeny and systematics of the group is such that its monophyly has been questioned (not to mention those of the subfamilies and tribes contained within it). We investigate the evolutionary history of Tenebrionidae using multiple phylogenetic inference methods (Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and parsimony) to analyse a dataset consisting of eight gene fragments across 404 taxa (including 250 tenebrionid species). Although the resulting phylogenetic framework only encompasses a fraction of the known tenebrionid diversity, it provides important information on their systematics and evolution. Whatever the methods used, our results provide strong support for the monophyly of the family, and highlight the likely paraphyletic or polyphyletic nature of several important tenebrionid subfamilies and tribes, notably the polyphyletic subfamilies Diaperinae and Tenebrioninae that clearly require substantial revision in the future. Some interesting associations in several groups are also revealed by the phylogenetic analyses, such as the pairing of Aphtora Bates with Phrenapatinae. Furthermore this study advances our knowledge of the evolution of the group, providing novel insights into much-debated theories, such as the apparent relict distribution of the tribe Elenophorini. (10.1111/syen.12065)
  DOI : 10.1111/syen.12065
• Integrative taxonomy of New Caledonian beetles: species delimitation and definition of the [i]Uloma isoceroides[/i] species group (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Ulomini), with the description of four new species
  
  • Soldati Laurent
  • Kergoat Gael
  • Clamens Anne Laure
  • Jourdan Hervé
  • Jabbour-Zahab Roula
  • Condamine Fabien L.
  Zookeys, Pensoft, 2014, 415, pp.133-167. New Caledonia is an important biodiversity hotspot with much undocumented biodiversity, especially in many insect groups. Here we used an integrative approach to explore species diversity in the tenebrionid genus Uloma (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Ulomini), which encompasses about 150 species, of which 22 are known from New Caledonia. To do so, we focused on a morphologically homogeneous group by comparing museum specimens with material collected during several recent field trips. We also conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses based on a concatenated matrix of four mitochondrial and three nuclear genes for 46 specimens. The morphological study allowed us to discover and describe four new species that belong to the group of interest, the Uloma isoceroides group. Molecular analyses confirmed the species boundaries of several of the previously described species and established the validity of the four new species. The phylogenetic analyses also provided additional information on the evolutionary history of the group, highlighting that a species that was thought to be unrelated to the group was in fact a member of the same evolutionary lineage. Molecular species delimitation confirmed the status of the sampled species of the group and also suggested some hidden (cryptic) biodiversity for at least two species of the group. Altogether this integrative taxonomic approach has allowed us to better define the boundaries of the Uloma isoceroides species group, which comprises at least 10 species: Uloma isoceroides (Fauvel, 1904), Uloma opacipennis (Fauvel, 1904), Uloma caledonica Kaszab, 1982, Uloma paniei Kaszab, 1982, Uloma monteithi Kaszab, 1986, Uloma robusta Kaszab, 1986, Uloma clamensae sp. n., Uloma condaminei sp. n., Uloma jourdani sp. n., and Uloma kergoati sp. n. We advocate more studies on other New Caledonian groups, as we expect that much undocumented biodiversity can be unveiled through the use of similar approaches (10.3897/zookeys.415.6623)
  DOI : 10.3897/zookeys.415.6623
• Global weak solutions to the equations of thermal convection in micropolar fluids subjected to Hall current
  
  • Amirat Youcef
  • Hamdache Kamel
  Nonlinear Analysis: Theory, Methods and Applications, Elsevier, 2014, 102, pp.186-207. In this paper we study the equations describing the thermal convection in an incompressible viscous electrically conducting micropolar fluid in the presence of a magnetic field, taking into account the effect of Hall current. The system is a combination of the generalized magnetic induction, the equations of micropolar fluids and the temperature equation. We prove long-time and large-data existence of a weak solution with decreasing energy to the system posed in a bounded domain of R3 and equipped with initial and boundary conditions.
• Material interface effects on the topology optimization of multi-phase structures using a level set method
  
  • Vermaak Natasha
  • Michailidis Georgios
  • Parry Guillaume
  • Estevez Raphael
  • Allaire Grégoire
  • Brechet Yves
  Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Springer Verlag, 2014, 50 (4), pp.623-644. A level set method is used as a framework to study the effects of including material interface properties in the optimization of multi-phase elastic and thermoelastic structures. In contrast to previous approaches, the material properties do not have a discontinuous change across the interface that is often represented by a sharp geometric boundary between material regions. Instead, finite material interfaces with monotonic and non-monotonic property variations over a physically motivated interface zone are investigated. Numerical results are provided for several 2D problems including compliance and displacement minimization of structures composed of two and three materials. The results highlight the design performance changes attributed to the presence of the continuously graded material interface properties. (10.1007/s00158-014-1074-2)
  DOI : 10.1007/s00158-014-1074-2
• Strong solutions to the equations of electrically conductive magnetic fluids
  
  • Amirat Youcef
  • Hamdache Kamel
  Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, Elsevier, 2014, 421 (1), pp.75-104. We study the equations of flow of an electrically conductive magnetic fluid, when the fluid is subjected to the action of an external applied magnetic field. The system is formed by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, the magnetization relaxation equation of Bloch type and the magnetic induction equation. The system takes into account the Kelvin and Lorentz force densities. We prove the local-in-time existence of the unique strong solution to the system equipped with initial and boundary conditions. We also establish a blow-up criterion for the local strong solution. (10.1016/j.jmaa.2014.06.073)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.jmaa.2014.06.073
• Hawkes model for price and trades high-frequency dynamics
  
  • Bacry Emmanuel
  • Muzy Jean-François
  Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2014, 14 (7), pp.1147-1166. no abstract (10.1080/14697688.2014.897000)
  DOI : 10.1080/14697688.2014.897000
• Second-order necessary conditions in Pontryagin form for optimal control problems
  
  • Bonnans J. Frederic
  • Dupuis Xavier
  • Pfeiffer Laurent
  SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2014, 52 (6), pp.3887-3916. In this report, we state and prove first- and second-order necessary conditions in Pontryagin form for optimal control problems with pure state and mixed control-state constraints. We say that a Lagrange multiplier of an optimal control problem is a Pontryagin multiplier if it is such that Pontryagin's minimum principle holds, and we call optimality conditions in Pontryagin form those which only involve Pontryagin multipliers. Our conditions rely on a technique of partial relaxation, and apply to Pontryagin local minima. (10.1137/130923452)
  DOI : 10.1137/130923452
• Efficiency of the Wang-Landau Algorithm: A Simple Test Case
  
  • Fort Gersende
  • Jourdain Benjamin
  • Kuhn Estelle
  • Lelièvre Tony
  • Stoltz Gabriel
  Applied Mathematics Research eXpress, Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy H - Oxford Open Option A, 2014, 2014 (2), pp.275-311. We analyze the convergence properties of the Wang-Landau algorithm. This sampling method belongs to the general class of adaptive importance sampling strategies which use the free energy along a chosen reaction coordinate as a bias. Such algorithms are very helpful to enhance the sampling properties of Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms, when the dynamics is metastable. We prove the convergence of the Wang-Landau algorithm and an associated central limit theorem. (10.1093/amrx/abu003)
  DOI : 10.1093/amrx/abu003