Line Transversals to Disjoint Balls

We prove that the set of directions of lines intersecting three disjoint balls in ℝ³ in a given order is a strictly convex subset of . We then generalize this result to n disjoint balls in ℝ ^d . As a consequence, we can improve upon several old and new results on line transversals to disjoint balls in arbitrary dimension, such as bounds on the number of connected components and Helly-type theorems.     

Lines Avoiding Unit Balls in Three Dimensions

Let B be a set of n unit balls in ℝ³. We show that the combinatorial complexity of the space of lines in ℝ³ that avoid all the balls of B is O(n^3+ε), for any ε > 0. This result has connections to problems in visibility, ray shooting, motion planning, and geometric optimization.     

On the Helly Number for Hyperplane Transversals to Unit Balls

We prove two results about the Hadwiger problem of finding the Helly number for line transversals of disjoint unit disks in the plane, and about its higher-dimensional generalization to hyperplane transversals of unit balls in d -dimensional Euclidean space. These consist of (a) a proof of the fact that the Helly number remains 5 even for arbitrarily large sets of disjoint unit disks—thus correcting a 40-year-old error; and (b) a lower bound of d+3 on the Helly number for hyperplane transversals to suitably separated families of unit balls in R ^d . Received January 25, 1999, and in revised form July 7, 1999.     

Forbidden Families of Geometric Permutations in ℝd

A geometric permutation induced by a transversal line of a finite family ℱ of disjoint convex sets in ℝ^d is the order in which the transversal meets the members of the family. We prove that for each natural k, each family of k permutations is realizable (as a family of geometric permutations of some ℱ) in ℝ^d for d ≥ 2k – 1, but there is a family of k permutations which is non-realizable in ℝ^d for d ≤ 2k – 2.     

A Constant Bound for Geometric Permutations of Disjoint Unit Balls

   Abstract. We prove that a set of n disjoint unit balls in R ^d admits at most four distinct geometric permutations, or line transversals, thus settling a long-standing conjecture in combinatorial geometry. The constant bound significantly improves upon the Θ (n ^d-1 ) bound for disjoint balls of unrestricted radii.     

A Constant Bound for Geometric Permutations of Disjoint Unit Balls

Abstract. We prove that a set of n disjoint unit balls in R ^d admits at most four distinct geometric permutations, or line transversals, thus settling a long-standing conjecture in combinatorial geometry. The constant bound significantly improves upon the Θ (n ^d-1 ) bound for disjoint balls of unrestricted radii.     

The Bloch Approximation in Periodically Perforated Media

We consider a periodically heterogeneous and perforated medium filling an open domain Ω of ℝ^N. Assuming that the size of the periodicity of the structure and of the holes is O(ε), we study the asymptotic behavior, as ε → 0, of the solution of an elliptic boundary value problem with strongly oscillating coefficients posed in Ω^ε (Ω^ε being Ω minus the holes) with a Neumann condition on the boundary of the holes. We use Bloch wave decomposition to introduce an approximation of the solution in the energy norm which can be computed from the homogenized solution and the first Bloch eigenfunction. We first consider the case where Ωis ℝ^N and then localize the problem for a bounded domain Ω, considering a homogeneous Dirichlet condition on the boundary of Ω.     

On the connected components of the space of line transversals to a family of convex sets

Let ℒ be the space of line transversals to a finite family of pairwise disjoint compact convex sets in ℝ³. We prove that each connected component of ℒ can itself be represented as the space of transversals to some finite family of pairwise disjoint compact convex sets. The research of J. E. Goodman was supported in part by NSF Grant DMS91-22065 and by NSA Grant MDA904-92-H-3069. R. Pollack's research was supported in part by NSF Grant CCR91-22103 and by NSA Grant MDA904-92-H-3075. The research of R. Wenger was supported in part by NSA Grant MDA904-93-H-3026 and by the NSF Regional Geometry Institute (Smith College, July 1993) Grant DMS90-13220.     

A generalized mean value inequality for subharmonic functions

If u ≥ 0 is subharmonic on a domain Ω in ⁿ and 0 < p < 1, then it is well-known that there is a constant C(n,p) ≥ 1 such u(x)^p ≤ C)n,p) MV )u^p,B(x,r)) for each ball B(x,r)) Ω. We show more generally that a similar result holds for functions ψ : ₊ → ₊ may be any surjective, concave function whose inverse ψ⁻¹ satisfies the Δ₂-condition.     

Lower bounds to helly numbers of line transversals to disjoint congruent balls

A line ℓ is a transversal to a family F of convex objects in ℝ ^d if it intersects every member of F. In this paper we show that for every integer d ⩾ 3 there exists a family of 2d−1 pairwise disjoint unit balls in ℝ ^d with the property that every subfamily of size 2d − 2 admits a transversal, yet any line misses at least one member of the family. This answers a question of Danzer from 1957. Crucial to the proof is the notion of a pinned transversal, which means an isolated point in the space of transversals. Here we investigate minimal pinning configurations and construct a family F of 2d−1 disjoint unit balls in ℝ ^d with the following properties: (i) The space of transversals to F is a single point and (ii) the space of transversals to any proper subfamily of F is a connected set with non-empty interior.     

Tight Gaussian 4-Designs

A Gaussian t-design is defined as a finite set X in the Euclidean space ℝⁿ satisfying the condition: for any polynomial f(x) in n variables of degree at most t, here α is a constant real number and ω is a positive weight function on X. It is easy to see that if X is a Gaussian 2e-design in ℝⁿ, then . We call X a tight Gaussian 2e-design in ℝⁿ if holds. In this paper we study tight Gaussian 2e-designs in ℝⁿ. In particular, we classify tight Gaussian 4-designs in ℝⁿ with constant weight or with weight . Moreover we classify tight Gaussian 4-designs in ℝⁿ on 2 concentric spheres (with arbitrary weight functions).     

Energy concentration for almost harmonic maps and the Willmore functional

Let Ω be an open domain in ℝ³ or ℝ⁴ and N a smooth, compact Riemannian manifold. We consider the Dirichlet energy E(u) for maps u:Ω→N and its negative L²-gradient, the tension field τ(u). We study sequences of maps u_i:Ω→N with If the maps are sufficiently regular, we find strong H¹-subconvergence away from a generalized submanifold in Ω. If the limit map is regular, too, we can estimate a Willmore-type energy of this generalized submanifold.     

Some Bounds for the Number of Components of Real Zero Sets of Sparse Polynomials

We prove that the zero set of a 4-nomial in n variables in the positive orthant has at most three connected components. This bound, which does not depend on the degree of the polynomial, not only improves the best previously known bound (which was 10) but is optimal as well. In the general case we prove that the number of connected components of the zero set of an m-nomial in n variables in the positive orthant is lower than or equal to (n+1)^m-12^{1 + (m - 1)(m - 2)/2}, improving slightly the known bounds. Finally, we show that for generic exponents, the number of non-compact connected components of the zero set of a 5-nomial in three variables in the positive octant is at most 12. This strongly improves the best previously known bound, which was 10,384. All the bounds obtained in this paper continue to hold for real exponents.     

Bounded transversals in multipartite graphs

Transversals in r‐partite graphs with various properties are known to have many applications in graph theory and theoretical computer science. We investigate f‐bounded transversal s (or f‐BT), that is, transversals whose connected components have order at most f. In some sense we search for the sparsest f‐BT‐free graphs. We obtain estimates on the smallest maximum degree that 3‐partite and 4‐partite graphs without 2‐BT can have and provide a greatly simplified proof of the best known general lower bound on the smallest maximum degree in f‐BT‐free graphs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory.     

Line Transversals of Balls and Smallest Enclosing Cylinders in Three Dimensions

We establish a near-cubic upper bound on the complexity of the space of line transversals of a collection of n balls in three dimensions, and show that the bound is almost tight, in the worst case. We apply this bound to obtain a near-cubic algorithm for computing a smallest infinite cylinder enclosing a given set of points or balls in 3-space. We also present an approximation algorithm for computing a smallest enclosing cylinder. Received May 23, 1997, and in revised form October 20, 1997.     

CONVEX CONCENTRATION INEQUALITIES FOR CONTINUOUS GAS AND STOCHASTIC DOMINATION

In this article, we consider the continuous gas in a bounded domain ∧ of R^＋ or R^d described by a Gibbsian probability measure μη∧ associated with a pair interaction φ, the inverse temperature β, the activity z 〉 0, and the boundary condition η. Define F ∫ωf（s）wA（ds）. Applying the generalized Ito＇s formula for forward-backward martingales （see Klein et M. [5]）, we obtain convex concentration inequalities for F with respect to the Gibbs measure μη∧. On the other hand, by FKG inequality on the Poisson space, we also give a new simple argument for the stochastic domination for the Gibbs measure.     

Sharp Bounds on Geometric Permutations of Pairwise Disjoint Balls in R d

We prove that the maximum number of geometric permutations, induced by line transversals to a collection of n pairwise disjoint balls in \R ^d , is Θ (n ^d-1 ) . This improves substantially the upper bound of O(n ^2d-2 ) known for general convex sets [9]. We show that the maximum number of geometric permutations of a sufficiently large collection of pairwise disjoint unit disks in the plane is two, improving the previous upper bound of three given in [5]. Received September 21, 1998, and in revised form March 14, 1999.     

The Simple Connectedness of a Tame Weakly Shod Algebra

Abstract

We prove that a tame weakly shod algebra A which is not quasi-tilted is simply connected if and only if the orbit graph of its pip-bounded component is a tree, or if and only if its first Hochschild cohomology group H¹(A) with coefficients in _A A _A vanishes. We also show that it is strongly simply connected if and only if the orbit graph of each of its directed components is a tree, or if and only if H¹(A) = 0 and it contains no full convex subcategory which is hereditary of type 𝔸?, or if and only if it is separated and contains no full convex subcategory which is hereditary of type 𝔸?.     

Long Monotone Paths in Line Arrangements

We show how to construct an arrangement of n lines having a monotone path of length (n^{2 – (d/\sqrt{log n})}), where d > 0 is some constant, and thus nearly settle the long standing question on monotone path length in line arrangements.     

Partitions of a Polytope and Mappings of a Point Set to Facets

Three theorems of this paper generalize previous results of the author on conjectures of A. Bezdek and V.V. Proizvolov. They show the existence of mappings from a given point set to the set of facets of a given polytope that satistfy some special conditions. Developing the same technique, some results on convex polytope partitions are presented, two of them dealing with partitions with prescribed measures of parts. Then we prove a corollary on the existence of a possibly nonconvex polytope with a given set of vertices, containing given points in its interior. We also consider problems of the following type: find an assignment of vectors from a given set to the parts of a given convex partition of ℝⁿ so that the shifts of the parts by their corresponding vectors either do not intersect by interior points or cover ℝⁿ