Roth’s estimate of the discrepancy of integer sequences is nearly sharp

Letg be a coloring of the set {1, ...,N} = [1,N] in red and blue. For each arithmetic progressionA in [1,N], consider the absolute value of the difference of the numbers of red and of blue members ofA. LetR(g) be the maximum of this number over all arithmetic progression (thediscrepancy ofg). Set over all two-coloringsg. A remarkable result of K. F. Roth gives*R(N)≫N ^1/4. On the other hand, Roth observed thatR(N)≪N ^1/3+ɛ and suggested that this bound was nearly sharp. A. Sárk?zy disproved this by provingR(N)≪N ^1/3+ɛ. We prove thatR(N)=N ^1/4+o(1) thus showing that Roth’s original lower bound was essentially best possible. Our result is more general. We introduce the notion ofdiscrepancy of hypergraphs and derive an upper bound from which the above result follows.     

Bichromatic Lines with Few Points

Given a set of n blue and n red points in the plane, not all on a line, it is shown that there exists a bichromatic line passing through at most two blue points and at most two red points. There does not necessarily exist a line passing through precisely one blue and one red point. This result is extended to the case when the number of blue and red points is not the same.     

On the Discrepancy for Boxes and Polytopes

 We consider so-called Tusnády’s problem in dimension d: Given an n-point set P in R ^d , color the points of P red or blue in such a way that for any d-dimensional interval B, the number of red points in differs from the number of blue points in by at most Δ, where should be as small as possible. We slightly improve previous results of Beck, Bohus, and Srinivasan by showing that , with a simple proof. The same asymptotic bound is shown for an analogous problem where B is allowed to be any translated and scaled copy of a fixed convex polytope A in R ^d . Here the constant of proportionality depends on A and we give an explicit estimate. The same asymptotic bounds also follow for the Lebesgue-measure discrepancy, which improves and simplifies results of Beck and of Károlyi.     

On the Discrepancy for Boxes and Polytopes

 We consider so-called Tusnády’s problem in dimension d: Given an n-point set P in R ^d , color the points of P red or blue in such a way that for any d-dimensional interval B, the number of red points in differs from the number of blue points in by at most Δ, where should be as small as possible. We slightly improve previous results of Beck, Bohus, and Srinivasan by showing that , with a simple proof. The same asymptotic bound is shown for an analogous problem where B is allowed to be any translated and scaled copy of a fixed convex polytope A in R ^d . Here the constant of proportionality depends on A and we give an explicit estimate. The same asymptotic bounds also follow for the Lebesgue-measure discrepancy, which improves and simplifies results of Beck and of Károlyi. Received 17 November 1997; in revised form 30 July 1998     

Generalizing Ham Sandwich Cuts to Equitable Subdivisions

We prove a generalization of the famous Ham Sandwich Theorem for the plane. Given gn red points and gm blue points in the plane in general position, there exists an equitable subdivision of the plane into g disjoint convex polygons, each of which contains n red points and m blue points. For g=2 this problem is equivalent to the Ham Sandwich Theorem in the plane. We also present an efficient algorithm for constructing an equitable subdivision. Received February 19, 1999, and in revised form June 3, 1999. {\it Online publication August\/} 18, 2000.     

Euclidean minimum spanning trees and bichromatic closest pairs

We present an algorithm to compute a Euclidean minimum spanning tree of a given setS ofN points inE ^d in timeO(F _d (N,N) log ^d N), whereF _d (n,m) is the time required to compute a bichromatic closest pair amongn red andm green points inE ^d . IfF _d (N,N)=Ω(N ^1+ε), for some fixed ɛ>0, then the running time improves toO(F _d (N,N)). Furthermore, we describe a randomized algorithm to compute a bichromatic closest pair in expected timeO((nm logn logm)^2/3+m log² n+n log² m) inE ₃, which yields anO(N ^4/3 log^4/3 N) expected time, algorithm for computing a Euclidean minimum spanning tree ofN points inE ³. Ind≥4 dimensions we obtain expected timeO((nm)^{1−1/([d/2]+1)+ε}+m logn+n logm) for the bichromatic closest pair problem andO(N ^{2−2/([d/2]+1)ε}) for the Euclidean minimum spanning tree problem, for any positive ɛ. The first, second, and fourth authors acknowledge support from the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center under NSF Grant STC 88-09648. The second author's work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CCR-8714565. The third author's work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Grant A1 253/1-3, Schwerpunktprogramm “Datenstrukturen und effiziente Algorithmen”. The last two authors' work was also partially supported by the ESPRIT II Basic Research Action of the EC under Contract No. 3075 (project ALCOM).     

Caps with free pairs of points

We say that two points x, y of a cap C form a free pair of points if any plane containing x and y intersects C in at most three points. For given N and q, we denote by m₂⁺ (N, q) the maximum number of points in a cap of PG(N, q) that contains at least one free pair of points. It is straightforward to prove that m₂⁺ (N, q) ≤ (q^N-1 + 2q − 3)/(q − 1), and it is known that this bound is sharp for q = 2 and all N. We use geometric constructions to prove that this bound is sharp for all q when N ≤ 4. We briefly survey the motivation for constructions of caps with free pairs of points which comes from the area of statistical experimental design. Research supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and MITACS NCE of Canada.     

An Improvement to “A Note on Euclidean Ramsey Theory”

We characterize those subsets Y⊆ℝ ⁿ such that for every infinite X⊆ℝ ⁿ , there is a red/blue coloring of ℝ ⁿ having no monochromatic red set similar to X and no monochramtic blue set similar to Y.     

The Number of Generalized Balanced Lines

Let S be a set of r red points and b=r+2δ blue points in general position in the plane, with δ≥0. A line ℓ determined by them is balanced if in each open half-plane bounded by ℓ the difference between the number of blue points and red points is δ. We show that every set S as above has at least r balanced lines. The proof is a refinement of the ideas and techniques of Pach and Pinchasi (Discrete Comput. Geom. 25:611–628, 2001), where the result for δ=0 was proven, and introduces a new technique: sliding rotations.     

The Chern-Mather class of the multiview variety

The multiview varietyassociated to a collection of N cameras records which sequences of image points in ?^2N can be obtained by taking pictures of a given world point x∈?³ with the cameras. In order to reconstruct a scene from its picture under the different cameras, it is important to be able to find the critical points of the function which measures the distance between a general point u∈?^2N and the multiview variety. In this paper we calculate a specific degree 3 polynomial that computes the number of critical points as a function of N. In order to do this, we construct a resolution of the multiview variety and use it to compute its Chern-Mather class.     

Applications of a semi-dynamic convex hull algorithm

We obtain new results for manipulating and searching semi-dynamic planar convex hulls (subject to deletions only), and apply them to derive improved bounds for two problems in geometry and scheduling. The new convex hull results are logarithmic time bounds for set splitting and for finding a tangent when the two convex hulls are not linearly separated. Using these results, we solve the following two problems optimally inO(n logn) time: (1) [matching] givenn red points andn blue points in the plane, find a matching of red and blue points (by line segments) in which no two edges cross, and (2) [scheduling] givenn jobs with due dates, linear penalties for late completion, and a single machine on which to process them, find a schedule of jobs that minimizes the maximum penalty.     

A Bichromatic Incidence Bound and an Application

We prove a new, tight upper bound on the number of incidences between points and hyperplanes in Euclidean d-space. Given n points, of which k are colored red, there are O _d (m ^2/3 k ^2/3 n ^(d−2)/3+kn ^d−2+m) incidences between the k red points and m hyperplanes spanned by all n points provided that m=Ω(n ^d−2). For the monochromatic case k=n, this was proved by Agarwal and Aronov (Discrete Comput. Geom. 7(4):359–369, 1992).     

Large Kr‐free subgraphs in Ks‐free graphs and some other Ramsey‐type problems

In this paper we present three Ramsey‐type results, which we derive from a simple and yet powerful lemma, proved using probabilistic arguments. Let 3 ≤ r < s be fixed integers and let G be a graph on n vertices not containing a complete graph K_s on s vertices. More than 40 years ago Erd?s and Rogers posed the problem of estimating the maximum size of a subset of G without a copy of the complete graph K_r. Our first result provides a new lower bound for this problem, which improves previous results of various researchers. It also allows us to solve some special cases of a closely related question posed by Erd?s. For two graphs G and H, the Ramsey number R(G, H) is the minimum integer N such that any red‐blue coloring of the edges of the complete graph K_N, contains either a red copy of G or a blue copy of H. The book with n pages is the graph B_n consisting of n triangles sharing one edge. Here we study the book‐complete graph Ramsey numbers and show that R(B_n, K_n) ≤ O(n³/log^3/2n), improving the bound of Li and Rousseau. Finally, motivated by a question of Erd?s, Hajnal, Simonovits, Sós, and Szemerédi, we obtain for all 0 < δ < 2/3 an estimate on the number of edges in a K₄‐free graph of order n which has no independent set of size n^1‐δ. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2005     

Almost Sure Convergence of the Minimum Bipartite Matching Functional in Euclidean Space

Let L _N = L _MBM (X ₁, . . .,X _N ;Y ₁, . . . , Y _N ) be the minimum length of a bipartite matching between two sets of points in R ^d , where X ₁,...,X _N , . . . and Y ₁, . . . , Y _N , . . . are random points independently and uniformly distributed in [0, 1] ^d . We prove that for d 3, L _N /N ^1–1/d converges with probability one to a constant _MBM (d) > 0 as N .     

ASYMPTOTIC BOUNDS FOR IRREDUNDANT RAMSEY NUMBERS

Abstract

The irredundant Ramsey number s(m,n) is the smallest N such that in every red-blue colouring of the edges of K_N , either the blue graph contains an m-element irredundant set or the red graph contains an n-element irredundant set. We prove an asymptotic lower bound for s(m, n).     

The Fermat—Weber location problem revisited

The Fermat—Weber location problem requires finding a point in ^N that minimizes the sum of weighted Euclidean distances tom given points. A one-point iterative method was first introduced by Weiszfeld in 1937 to solve this problem. Since then several research articles have been published on the method and generalizations thereof. Global convergence of Weiszfeld's algorithm was proven in a seminal paper by Kuhn in 1973. However, since them given points are singular points of the iteration functions, convergence is conditional on none of the iterates coinciding with one of the given points. In addressing this problem, Kuhn concluded that whenever them given points are not collinear, Weiszfeld's algorithm will converge to the unique optimal solution except for a denumerable set of starting points. As late as 1989, Chandrasekaran and Tamir demonstrated with counter-examples that convergence may not occur for continuous sets of starting points when the given points are contained in an affine subspace of ^N . We resolve this open question by proving that Weiszfeld's algorithm converges to the unique optimal solution for all but a denumerable set of starting points if, and only if, the convex hull of the given points is of dimensionN.     

Improved approximations of the solution and derivatives to a singularly perturbed reaction-diffusion equation based on the solution decomposition method

In the case of the Dirichlet problem for a singularly perturbed ordinary differential reaction-diffusion equation, a new approach is used to the construction of finite difference schemes such that their solutions and their normalized first- and second-order derivatives converge in the maximum norm uniformly with respect to a perturbation parameter ɛ ∈(0, 1]; the normalized derivatives are ɛ-uniformly bounded. The key idea of this approach to the construction of ɛ-uniformly convergent finite difference schemes is the use of uniform grids for solving grid subproblems for the regular and singular components of the grid solution. Based on the asymptotic construction technique, a scheme of the solution decomposition method is constructed such that its solution and its normalized first- and second-order derivatives converge ɛ-uniformly at the rate of O(N ⁻²ln² N), where N + 1 is the number of points in the uniform grids. Using the Richardson technique, an improved scheme of the solution decomposition method is constructed such that its solution and its normalized first and second derivatives converge ɛ-uniformly in the maximum norm at the same rate of O(N ⁻⁴ln⁴ N).     

On the number of halving planes

LetS ³ be ann-set in general position. A plane containing three of the points is called a halving plane if it dissectsS into two parts of equal cardinality. It is proved that the number of halving planes is at mostO(n ^2.998).As a main tool, for every setY ofn points in the plane a setN of sizeO(n ⁴) is constructed such that the points ofN are distributed almost evenly in the triangles determined byY.Research supported partly by the Hungarian National Foundation for Scientific Research grant No. 1812     

Embedding a polytope in a lattice

We present a special similarity ofR ⁴ⁿ which maps lattice points into lattice points. Applying this similarity, we prove that if a (4n−1)-polytope is similar to a lattice polytope (a polytope whose vertices are all lattice points) inR ⁴ⁿ , then it is similar to a lattice polytope inR ⁴ⁿ⁻¹, generalizing a result of Schoenberg [4]. We also prove that ann-polytope is similar to a lattice polytope in someR ^N if and only if it is similar to a lattice polytope inR ²ⁿ⁺¹, and if and only if sin²(<ABC) is rational for any three verticesA, B, C of the polytope.     

Output-Sensitive Algorithms for Computing Nearest-Neighbour Decision Boundaries

Given a set R of red points and a set B of blue points, the nearest-neighbour decision rule classifies a new point q as red (respectively, blue) if the closest point to q in R B comes from R (respectively, B). This rule implicitly partitions space into a red set and a blue set that are separated by a red-blue decision boundary. In this paper we develop output-sensitive algorithms for computing this decision boundary for point sets on the line and in ². Both algorithms run in time O(n log k), where k is the number of points that contribute to the decision boundary. This running time is the best possible when parameterizing with respect to n and k.