A new proof of the Abhyankar-Moh-Suzuki theorem

We give a new proof of the famous result that any two embeddings of the affine lineA ¹ inA ² are equivalent by an automorphism ofA ². We also prove that iff(X,Y) is a polynomial overC with one place at infinity, then for every C,f– also has one place at infinity. The proof uses basic results about algebraic surfaces.     

Pick invariant and affine Gauss-Kronecker curvature

The elliptic paraboloid and the homogeneous affine surface given by (u, v, 1/2(u ²+v ^–2/3)),v>0, are characterized as locally strongly convex affine surfaces inA, with constant Pick invariant and vanishing affine Gauss-Kronecker curvature.Research partially supported by DGICYT Grant PB90-0014-C03-02.     

Calibrations and the size of Grassmann faces

Summary In the past fifteen years or so, convex geometry and the theory of calibrations have provided a deeper understanding of the behavior and singular structure ofm-dimensional area-minimizing surfaces inR ⁿ . Calibrations correspond to faces of the GrassmannianG(m,R ⁿ ) of orientedm-planes inR ⁿ , viewed as a compact submanifold of the exterior algebra ^m R ⁿ . Large faces typically provide many examples of area-minimizing surfaces. This paper studies the sizes of such faces. It also considers integrands more general than area. One result implies that form-dimensional surfaces inR ⁿ , with 2 m n – 2, for any integrand , there are -minimizing surfaces with interior singularities.     

Willmore Surfaces in S n

A surface x> : M S ⁿ is called a Willmore surface if it is a critical surface of the Willmore functional. It is well known that any minimal surface is a Willmore surface and that many nonminimal Willmore surfaces exists. In this paper, we establish an integral inequality for compact Willmore surfaces in S ⁿ and obtain a new characterization of the Veronese surface in S ⁴ as a Willmore surface. Our result reduces to a well-known result in the case of minimal surfaces.     

Applications of random sampling in computational geometry,II

We use random sampling for several new geometric algorithms. The algorithms are Las Vegas, and their expected bounds are with respect to the random behavior of the algorithms. These algorithms follow from new general results giving sharp bounds for the use of random subsets in geometric algorithms. These bounds show that random subsets can be used optimally for divide-and-conquer, and also give bounds for a simple, general technique for building geometric structures incrementally. One new algorithm reports all the intersecting pairs of a set of line segments in the plane, and requiresO(A+n logn) expected time, whereA is the number of intersecting pairs reported. The algorithm requiresO(n) space in the worst case. Another algorithm computes the convex hull ofn points inE ^d inO(n logn) expected time ford=3, andO(n ^[d/2]) expected time ford>3. The algorithm also gives fast expected times for random input points. Another algorithm computes the diameter of a set ofn points inE ³ inO(n logn) expected time, and on the way computes the intersection ofn unit balls inE ³. We show thatO(n logA) expected time suffices to compute the convex hull ofn points inE ³, whereA is the number of input points on the surface of the hull. Algorithms for halfspace range reporting are also given. In addition, we give asymptotically tight bounds for (k)-sets, which are certain halfspace partitions of point sets, and give a simple proof of Lee's bounds for high-order Voronoi diagrams.     

The uniqueness for minimal surfaces inS 3

We give a sufficient condition on a Jordan curve in the 3-dimensional open hemisphereH ofS ³ in terms of the Hopf fibering under which spans a unique compact generalized minimal surface inH. The maximum principle for minimal surfaces inS ³ is proved and plays an important role in the proof of the uniqueness theorem.Dedicated to Professor Shingo Murakami on his 60th birthdayThis work was carried out while the author was a visitor to the Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik.     

Harmonicity of gradient mappings of level surfaces in a real affine space

In our previous paper [4] we have investigated level surfaces of a non-degenerate function in a real affine space A ⁿ⁺¹ by using the gradient vector field . We gave characterizations of by means of the shape operatorS, the transversal connection , and studied the difference between and the affine normal. In particular we showed that a graph defined by a non-degenerate function satisfiesS=0 and =0. In this paper we consider harmonic gradient mappings of level surfaces and apply these results to a certain problem which is similar to the affine Bernstein problem conjectured by S. S. Chern [3].     

Injectivity of the Spherical Mean Operator on the Conical Manifolds of Spheres

Let f be a continuous function on ⁿ . If f has zero integral over every sphere intersecting a given subset A of ⁿ and A lies in no affine plane of dimension n -2, then f vanishes identically. The condition on the dimension of A is sharp.     

Maximum properties of affine minimal hypersurfaces

It is shown that the sign of the second variation of locally strongly convex affine minimal hypersurfaces in affine space A ⁿ for n ≥ 4 can not be determined by a suitable reduction to a sum of squares as was done for n = 3 in [3]. Also we prove that strictly stable locally strongly convex affine minimal hypersurfaces are a relative weak maximum of the affine area functional, and give an affine version of the Morse-Smale index theorem [16].     

Affine surfaces with constant affine curvatures

In this paper, we study affine non-degenerate Blaschke immersions from a surface M in ³. We will assume that M has constant affine curvature and constant affine mean curvature, i.e. both the determinant and the trace of the shape operator are constant. Clearly, affine spheres satisfy both these conditions. In this paper, we completely classify the affine surfaces with constant affine curvature and constant affine mean curvature, which are not affine spheres.Research Assistant of the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium).     

Minimal Surfaces Obtained by Ribaucour Transformations

We consider Ribaucour transformations between minimal surfaces and we relate such transformations to generating planar embedded ends. Applying Ribaucour transformations to Enneper's surface and to the catenoid, we obtain new families of complete, minimal surfaces, of genus zero, immersed in R ³, with infinitely many embedded planar ends or with any finite number of such ends. Moreover, each surface has one or two nonplanar ends. A particular family is obtained from the catenoid, for each pair (n,m), nm, such that n m0 is an irreducible rational number. For any such pair, we get a 1-parameter family of finite total curvature, complete minimal surfaces with n+2 ends, n embedded planar ends and two nonplanar ends of geometric index m, whose total curvature is –4(n+m). The analytic interpretation of a Ribaucour transformation as a Bäcklund type transformation and a superposition formula for the nonlinear differential equation = e^-2 is included.     

Affine differential geometry of surfaces in ℝ4

Employing the method of moving frames, i.e. Cartan's algorithm, we find a complete set of invariants for nondegenerate oriented surfacesM ² in ⁴ relative to the action of the general affine group on ⁴. The invariants found include a normal bundle, a quadratic form onM ² with values in the normal bundle, a symmetric connection onM ² and a connection on the normal bundle. Integrability conditions for these invariants are also determined. Geometric interpretations are given for the successive reductions to the bundle of affine frames overM ², obtained by using the method of moving frames, that lead to the aforementioned invariants. As applications of these results we study a class of surfaces known as harmonic surfaces, finding for them a complete set of invariants and their integrability conditions. Further applications involve the study of homogeneous surfaces; these are surfaces which are fixed by a group of affine transformations that act transitively on the surface. All homogeneous harmonic surfaces are determined.     

Maintaining the minimal distance of a point set in polylogarithmic time

A dynamic data structure is given that maintains the minimal distance in a set ofn points ink-dimensional space inO((logn) ^k log logn) amortized time per update. The size of the data structure is bounded byO(n(logn) ^k ). Distances are measured in the MinkowskiL _t -metric, where 1 t . This is the first dynamic data structure that maintains the minimal distance in polylogarithmic time for fully on-line updates.This work was supported by the ESPRIT II Basic Research Actions Program, under Contract No. 3075 (project ALCOM).     

Level surfaces of non-degenerate functions inR n+1

We study level surfaces of non-degenerate functions inR ⁿ⁺¹. Such level surfaces are non-degenerate in the sense of affine differential geometry. In affine differential geometry, the affine normal plays an important role for the study of a non-degenerate hypersurface. In this note, being motivated by Koszul's work we take a canonical vector field for level surfaces of a non-degenerate function and give certain characterizations of when is transversal, by the shape operatorS, the transversal connection , and consider the difference between and the affine normal.     

Upper bounds on geometric permutations for convex sets

LetA be a family ofn pairwise disjoint compact convex sets inR ^d. Let . We show that the directed lines inR ^d, d 3, can be partitioned into sets such that any two directed lines in the same set which intersect anyAA generate the same ordering onA. The directed lines inR ² can be partitioned into 12n such sets. This bounds the number of geometric permutations onA by 1/2 _d ford3 and by 6n ford=2.     

Algébres topologiquement uniformes et algébres fortement topologiquement uniformes

We characterize locally convex topological algebrasA satisfying: a sequence (x _n) inA converges to 0 if, and only if, (x _n ²) converges to 0. We also show that a real Banach algebra such thatx _n ²+y _n ²→0 if, and only if,x _n → 0 andy _n → 0, for every sequences (x _n) and (y _n) inA, is isomorphic to, whereX is a compact space.      

Separating convex sets in the plane

Given a setA inR ² and a collectionS of plane sets, we say that a lineL separatesA fromS ifA is contained in one of the closed half-planes defined byL, while every set inS is contained in the complementary closed half-plane.We prove that, for any collectionF ofn disjoint disks inR ², there is a lineL that separates a disk inF from a subcollection ofF with at least (n–7)/4 disks. We produce configurationsH _n andG _n , withn and 2n disks, respectively, such that no pair of disks inH _n can be simultaneously separated from any set with more than one disk ofH _n , and no disk inG _n can be separated from any subset ofG _n with more thann disks.We also present a setJ _m with 3m line segments inR ², such that no segment inJ _m can be separated from a subset ofJ _m with more thanm+1 elements. This disproves a conjecture by N. Alonet al. Finally we show that ifF is a set ofn disjoint line segments in the plane such that they can be extended to be disjoint semilines, then there is a lineL that separates one of the segments from at least n/3+1 elements ofF.     

Independent collections of translates of boxes and a conjecture due to Grünbaum

A collection ofn setsA ₁, ...,A _n is said to beindependent provided every set of the formX ₁ ... X _n is nonempty, where eachX _i is eitherA _i orA _i ^c . We give a simple characterization for when translates of a given box form an independent set inR ^d. We use this to show that the largest number of such boxes forming an independent set inR ^d is given by 3d/2 ford2. This settles in the negative a conjecture of Grünbaum (1975), which states that the maximum size of an independent collection of sets homothetic to a fixed convex setC inR ^d isd+1. It also shows that the bound of 2d of Rényiet al. (1951) for the maximum number of boxes (not necessarily translates of a given one) with sides parallel to the coordinate axes in an independent collection inR ^d can be improved for these special collections.Daniel Q. Naiman was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. DMS-9103126. Henry P. Wynn was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council, UK.     

On a theorem about projectivities

The main result of this paper is a theorem about projectivities in then-dimensional complex projective spaceP ⁿ (n 2). Puttingn = 2, we showed in [3] that the theorem of Desargues inP ⁿ is a special case of this theorem. And not only the theorem of Desargues but also the converse of the theorem of Pascal, the theorem of Pappus-Pascal, the theorem of Miquel, the Newton line, the Brocard points and a lot of lesser known results in the projective, the affine and the Euchdean plane were obtained from this theorem as special cases without any further proof. Many extensions of classical theorems in the projective, affine and Euclidean plane to higher dimensions can be found in the literature and probably some of these are special cases of this theorem inP ⁿ. We only give a few examples and leave it as an open problem which other special cases could be found.     

Projectively flat affine surfaces

We study non-degenerate affine surfaces in A³ with a projectively flat induced connection. The curvature of the affine metric , the affine mean curvature H, and the Pick invariant J are related by . Depending on the rank of the span of the gradients of these functions, a local classification of three groups is given. The main result is the characterization of the projectively flat but not locally symmetric surfaces as a solution of a system of ODEs. In the final part, we classify projectively flat and locally symmetric affine translation surfaces.