A spreadsheet cell depends on itself along a nonempty directed path. For a separate formula-edit experiment, restore the initial inputs and replace only B1 by =A1+A2+C1. Now B1 $\to$ C1 $\to$ B1 is a directed cycle. Requesting D1 makes D1,C1,B1 active and then requests the still-active C1; the algorithm reports C1,B1,C1 rather than returning an old value. This witness follows references backwards, opposite to our dependency arrows; reversing it gives a directed cycle in the spreadsheet dependency graph.

D1 is not itself on that directed cycle, but it cannot receive a value from this evaluator because it needs C1. Independent requests for B2 and E1 still succeed. A topological order of the entire modified spreadsheet dependency graph is impossible: the two cyclic directed edges would require B1 before C1 and C1 before B1. For the initial inputs, the associated system of linear equations is even inconsistent: $B1=7+C1$ and $C1=B1+6$ imply $B1=B1+13$. Detecting a directed cycle is a structural check, not an attempt to solve these linear equations.

A real scalar field with the displayed potential is invariant under the Z2 symmetry $\varphi \mapsto -\varphi$, but a chosen broken-phase pure vacuum has nonzero vacuum expectation value of one sign. Expanding about $\varphi =v$ gives $V=\lambda v^2{h}^2+\lambda v{h}^3+\lambda h^4/4$. The excitation is massive, and no continuous broken generator requires a Goldstone boson. In a finite-volume theory with symmetry-preserving conditions, tunneling can produce a symmetric ground state. A broken pure vacuum is selected by taking the infinite-volume limit before removing an infinitesimal source, or by specifying appropriate boundary conditions. The two signs are related by the symmetry, although the individual pure vacua are not invariant under it.

After the GSO projection, the first massive open-string level has NS oscillator number $3/2$ and Ramond oscillator number $1$. Eight transverse directions give $8+64+\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{8}{3}\right)=128$ NS states and $8\cdot 8+8\cdot 8=128$ R states. They form the massive Spin(9) representations $44+84$ and a gamma-traceless vector-spinor of dimension $9\cdot 16-16=128$. The identical chiral oscillator count in a closed string has the different mass normalization ${\alpha }^{\prime }{M}^2=4$.

Before the GSO projection, the Neveu–Schwarz sector has string oscillator levels $0,1/2,1,3/2$, with physical multiplicities $1,8,36,128$ in ten-dimensional light-cone gauge in string theory. The eight transverse worldsheet Majorana fermions supply eight single ${\psi }_{-1/2}$ states. Level one has eight ${\alpha }_{-1}$ states and $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{8}{2}\right)=28$ pairs of distinct ${\psi }_{-1/2}$ modes. Level $3/2$ has $8$ single ${\psi }_{-3/2}$ modes, $8\cdot 8$ mixed boson–fermion modes and $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{8}{3}\right)=56$ triples. Their squared masses are respectively $-1/(2{\alpha }^{\prime }),0,1/(2{\alpha }^{\prime }),1/{\alpha }^{\prime }$. In the Ramond sector, the Ramond zero-mode Clifford algebra gives a sixteen-dimensional ground space. At level one, ${\alpha }_{-1}^i$ and ${\psi }_{-1}^i$ each provide $8\cdot 16$ states, hence multiplicities $16,256$ at squared masses $0,1/{\alpha }^{\prime }$. No half-integer Ramond levels occur. The GSO projection keeps odd NS fermion number and one total Ramond chirality, giving $8$ bosons and $8$ fermions at zero mass, then $128$ of each at the first massive level.

The ferromagnetic Potts model on a finite graph assigns $q$ possible states to each graph vertex and rewards neighbouring equal states by the displayed weight, for $\beta \ge 0$. The interaction sum counts each unoriented edge once. The Edwards-Sokal coupling identifies its spin clusters with the random-cluster model at $p=1-e^{-\beta }$ and integer $q\ge 2$.

For a single linear filter followed by a rate nonlinearity and a Gaussian stimulus-history vector $s$ with covariance $C$, Gaussian integration by parts gives $\mathbb{E}[sg(k^{T}s)]\propto Ck$. Thus a spike-triggered average estimates $Ck$, rather than $k$ directly, when the stimulus is correlated. Covariance correction, with regularization if necessary, can recover the filter direction. For an even nonlinearity the proportionality factor can vanish; then a one-filter average is insufficient.

For the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator on the unit sphere $S^d$, with $d\ge 1$, the eigenvalues are $n(n+d-1)$ for integers $n\ge 0$. Their eigenspaces consist of restrictions of degree-$n$ harmonic polynomials and have dimensions $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{n+d}{d}\right)-\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{n+d-2}{d}\right)$, with the second term zero for $n<2$. The Laplacian in polar coordinates gives the eigenvalue; Fischer decomposition and the Stone-Weierstrass theorem prove completeness.

A solid harmonic extends a spherical harmonic to a harmonic function in space with either the regular radial power $r^n$ or the irregular radial power $r^{-n-1}$. In three dimensions these are the two separated radial solutions of the Laplace equation at angular degree $n$.

For an angular spherical harmonic $Y$ of degree $n\ge 1$, the radial, tangential gradient and tangential curl families can be normalized as $\mathbf{P}=\hat{\mathbf{r}}Y$, $\mathbf{B}=r\nabla Y/\sqrt{n(n+1)}$ and $\mathbf{C}=-r\hat{\mathbf{r}}\times \nabla Y/\sqrt{n(n+1)}$. They depend only on direction. At $n=0$ only the radial family is defined by these formulas.

The angular monopole of a function on the sphere is its constant spherical-harmonic component, equal to its angular average. Subtracting it removes the mean temperature of a cosmic microwave background sky map without altering higher angular multipoles.

The angular dipole is the degree-one spherical harmonic component. A real angular dipole is a function $\mathbf{d}\cdot \hat{\mathbf{n}}$ for a fixed vector $\mathbf{d}$. Direction-dependent observer velocity and gravitational endpoint terms can therefore be discarded from higher-multipole calculations when they have this form.

A spherical triangle is bounded by three great circle arcs. For the usual convex minor spherical triangle, the vertices are neither antipodal nor on one great circle, and its angular sides and interior angles lie in $(0,\pi )$. An interior angle is measured between outgoing tangent vectors to the two sides at a vertex, rather than between straight chords inside the sphere. The spherical law of sines and spherical law of cosines determine its side-angle relations; the spherical excess formula determines its area.

Spherical trigonometry calculates the sides and interior angles of spherical triangles using trigonometric functions. Its sides must be shorter great circle arcs, which are geodesics on a round sphere. A curve at constant nonzero latitude does not qualify. The spherical law of sines and spherical law of cosines play the roles of the familiar flat-triangle rules, but account for the sphere's curvature.

Use uppercase $A,B,C$ both for the vertices and for their interior angles, and lowercase $a,b,c$ for the opposite angular sides. For example, $a$ is the central angle subtended by the arc from $B$ to $C$. On a sphere of radius $R$, its physical arc length is ${\ell }_a=Ra$ when $a$ is in radians; similarly ${\ell }_b=Rb$ and ${\ell }_c=Rc$. Only on the unit sphere do the angular and physical side lengths have the same numerical values. See J. B. Tatum, Celestial Mechanics, chapter 3, section 3.5: great-circle sides and angular units.

One useful application of spherical trigonometry is finding great-circle distance from spherical coordinates. Write a unit vector as $u(\varphi ,\lambda )=(\cos \varphi \cos \lambda ,\cos \varphi \sin \lambda ,\sin \varphi )$, where $\varphi$ is latitude and $\lambda$ is the equatorial azimuth, or longitude, measured from a chosen reference direction. The dot product of two such unit vectors givesHere $\delta \in [0,\pi ]$ is the central angle and $d$ is the great-circle distance. The same identity follows from the spherical law of cosines by adding the north pole as the third vertex, with angular sides $\pi /2-{\varphi }_1$ and $\pi /2-{\varphi }_2$. This connects spherical geometry to position calculations in astronomy and to navigation on a spherical model of Earth. Choosing the surface model matters: Paula Neeley and Anthony Narkawicz, Map Projection Induced Variations in Locations of Polygon Geofence Edges, NASA/TM-2017-219675 (2017), sections 2-3 distinguishes spherical and ellipsoidal geodesics and gives this coordinate identity.

For a toy example, put two points at latitude $30^{\circ }$, with equatorial azimuths $-60^{\circ }$ and $60^{\circ }$. The great-circle distance and the arc length along constant latitude areThe great circle takes a shorter route by bending towards the pole in these spherical coordinates. To locate its highest latitude, the endpoint unit vectors are $p=(\sqrt{3}/4,-3/4,1/2)$ and $q=(\sqrt{3}/4,3/4,1/2)$. Their great circle lies in the plane through the origin with $z=2x/\sqrt{3}$. On its shorter arc, the maximum latitude occurs at $y=0$ and is $\arctan (2/\sqrt{3})\approx 49.106605^{\circ }$. Thus a geodesic can change latitude substantially even when its endpoints have equal latitude. These are lengths on an ideal sphere; the example illustrates the geometry rather than specifying an actual flight route.

Historically, spherical trigonometry was prominent in teaching as well as in astronomy. John Conway and Alex Ryba note its presence in early twentieth-century school textbooks in Remembering spherical trigonometry, The Mathematical Gazette 100(547), March 2016, pages 1-8, DOI 10.1017/mag.2016.3. Their introductory observation documents that teaching history; it does not identify a single inventor of the spherical law of sines or spherical law of cosines.

For points on a sphere of radius $R$, write their position vectors relative to the centre as $Ru,Rv$ with $u,v$ unit vectors. The great-circle distance is the shorter great circle arc length, $R$ times its central angle. Hence it equals $R\arccos (u\cdot v)$, including zero for identical points and $\pi R$ for antipodal points. At antipodal points the shortest arc is not unique, but its length is.

A spherical lune is the region between two great semicircles joining antipodal points. On a unit sphere a lune of opening angle $\alpha$ has area $2\alpha$, obtained by integrating area over longitude width $\alpha$. Lune area counting yields the spherical excess formula.

On a sphere of radius $R$, a spherical circle of radius $r\in (0,\pi R)$ is the locus at spherical distance $r$ from its center. Its polar angle about that center is $r/R$, so parametrization by longitude has speed $R\sin (r/R)$. Its circumference is therefore $2\pi R\sin (r/R)$. For small $r$, this is $2\pi r-\pi r^3/(3R^2)+O(r^5)$, with the deficit determined by the sphere's positive Gaussian curvature.

On a sphere of radius $R>0$, a nondegenerate convex convex regular spherical polygon with $n\ge 3$ sides, contained in an open hemisphere, has equal interior angles satisfyingThe spherical excess formula gives its area as $R^2[n\alpha -(n-2)\pi ]$; the excess itself equals the area only on the unit sphere. Conversely, place equally spaced vertices at colatitude $t\in (0,\pi /2)$ around a pole. Bisecting each central spherical triangle gives $\cot (\alpha /2)=\cos t\tan (\pi /n)$ by the spherical law of cosines. As $t$ increases, the interior angle ranges continuously from the Euclidean limiting value to $\pi$.

For a sphere with centre $c$ and radius $a$, and a plane $n\cdot r=p$ with unit normal $n$, the orthogonal projection of $c$ onto the plane is $b=c+(p-n\cdot c)n$. The orthogonal decomposition $r-c=(r-b)+(b-c)$ gives the intersection circle radius by the Pythagorean theorem. A genuine circle requires $|p-n\cdot c|<a$; equality gives tangency and larger distance gives no intersection. The signed displacement is not determined by the two radii alone: it is $\pm \sqrt{a^2-{\rho }^2}$ with sign fixed by the oriented plane.

For a parametric surface $P(u,v)$, source parametric curve $Q(t)$ and eye $E$, put $a=(Q-P)/\Vert Q-P\Vert$ and $b=(E-P)/\Vert E-P\Vert$. The visible reflection locus satisfies $(a+b)\cdot P_u=(a+b)\cdot P_v=0$, with the source and eye on the reflecting side. Rank two of the resulting Jacobian matrix gives a locally one-dimensional locus in $(u,v,t)$ by the implicit function theorem.

// Target: analysis.bigb

The joint spectral radius measures the worst exponential growth under arbitrary products from a finite family of matrices. Submultiplicativity gives its existence and invariance under changes of the chosen norm. Every fixed-length product $B$ satisfies $\rho (B{)}^{1/p}\le \hat{\rho }(\mathcal{A})$, while the maximum norm of all length-$p$ products to the power $1/p$ is an upper bound. A repeated product gives the first inequality; grouping an arbitrary long word into blocks proves the second. The spectral radius of each individual matrix does not control growth of all switched products.