Covering a Triangle with Positive and Negative Homothetic Copies

Let be a triangle and let be a set of homothetic copies of . We prove that implies that there are positive and negative signs and there exist translates of that cover .     

Staircase Connected Sets

A compact set is staircase connected if every two points can be connected by a polygonal path with sides parallel to the coordinate axes, which is both x-monotone and y-monotone. denotes the smallest number of edges of such a path. is an integer-valued metric on S. We investigate this metric and introduce stars and kernels. Our main result is that the r-th kernel is nonempty, compact and staircase connected provided .     

Line Transversals to Translates of Unit Discs

Let be a family of convex figures in the plane. We say that has property T if there exists a line intersecting every member of . Also, the family has property T(k) if every k-membered subfamily of has property T. Let B be the unit disc centered at the origin. In this paper we prove that if a finite family of translates of B has property T(4) then the family , where , has property T. We also give some results concerning families of translates of the unit disc which has either property T(3) or property T(5).     

Isometry-Invariant Valuations on Hyperbolic Space

Hyperbolic area is characterized as the unique continuous isometry-invariant simple valuation on convex polygons in We then show that continuous isometry-invariant simple valuations on polytopes in for are determined uniquely by their values at ideal simplices. The proofs exploit a connection between valuation theory in hyperbolic space and an analogous theory on the Euclidean sphere. These results lead to characterizations of continuous isometry-invariant valuations on convex polytopes and convex bodies in the hyperbolic plane a partial characterization in and a mechanism for deriving many fundamental theorems of hyperbolic integral geometry, including kinematic formulas, containment theorems, and isoperimetric and Bonnesen-type inequalities.     

New Lower Bounds for the Number of (≤ k)-Edges and the Rectilinear Crossing Number of K<Subscript>n</Subscript>

We provide a new lower bound on the number of (≤ k)-edges of a set of n points in the plane in general position. We show that for the number of (≤ k)-edges is at least

Improved Approximation Algorithms for Geometric Set Cover

Given a collection S of subsets of some set and the set cover problem is to find the smallest subcollection that covers that is, where denotes We assume of course that S covers While the general problem is NP-hard to solve, even approximately, here we consider some geometric special cases, where usually Combining previously known techniques [4], [5], we show that polynomial-time approximation algorithms with provable performance exist, under a certain general condition: that for a random subset and nondecreasing function f(·), there is a decomposition of the complement into an expected at most f(|R|) regions, each region of a particular simple form. Under this condition, a cover of size O(f(|C|)) can be found in polynomial time. Using this result, and combinatorial geometry results implying bounding functions f(c) that are nearly linear, we obtain o(log c) approximation algorithms for covering by fat triangles, by pseudo-disks, by a family of fat objects, and others. Similarly, constant-factor approximations follow for similar-sized fat triangles and fat objects, and for fat wedges. With more work, we obtain constant-factor approximation algorithms for covering by unit cubes in and for guarding an x-monotone polygonal chain.     

Smaller Coresets for k-Median and k-Means Clustering

In this paper we show that there exists a -coreset for k-median and k-means clustering of n points in which is of size independent of n. In particular, we construct a -coreset of size for k-median clustering, and of size for k-means clustering.     

On Distinct Distances from a Vertex of a Convex Polygon

Given a set P of n points in convex position in the plane, we prove that there exists a point such that the number of distinct distances from p is at least The best previous bound, from 1952, is due to Moser.     

A Single Cell in an Arrangement of Convex Polyhedra in ${\Bbb R}^3$

We show that the combinatorial complexity of a single cell in an arrangement of k convex polyhedra in 3-space having n facets in total is , for any , thus settling a conjecture of Aronov et al. We then extend our analysis and show that the overall complexity of the zone of a low-degree algebraic surface, or of the boundary of an arbitrary convex set, in an arrangement of k convex polyhedra in 3-space with n facets in total, is also , for any . Finally, we present a deterministic algorithm that constructs a single cell in an arrangement of this kind, in time , for any .     

Finding Shortest Non-Separating and Non-Contractible Cycles for Topologically Embedded Graphs

We present an algorithm for finding shortest surface non-separating cycles in graphs embedded on surfaces in time, where V is the number of vertices in the graph and g is the genus of the surface. If , this represents an improvement over previous results by Thomassen, and Erickson and Har-Peled. We also give algorithms to find a shortest non-contractible cycle in time, which improves previous results for fixed genus. This result can be applied for computing the face-width and the non-separating face-width of embedded graphs. Using similar ideas we provide the first near-linear running time algorithm for computing the face-width of a graph embedded on the projective plane, and an algorithm to find the face-width of embedded toroidal graphs in time.     

Asymptotics of Laurent Polynomials of Odd Degree Orthogonal with Respect to Varying Exponential Weights

Let denote the linear space over spanned by . Define the (real) inner product , where V satisfies: (i) V is real analytic on ; (ii) ; and (iii) . Orthogonalisation of the (ordered) base with respect to yields the even degree and odd degree orthonormal Laurent polynomials , and . Define the even degree and odd degree monic orthogonal Laurent polynomials: and . Asymptotics in the double-scaling limit such that of (in the entire complex plane), , and (in the entire complex plane) are obtained by formulating the odd degree monic orthogonal Laurent polynomial problem as a matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem on , and then extracting the large-n behaviour by applying the non-linear steepest-descent method introduced in [1] and further developed in [2],[3].     

A Lattice of Quasivarieties of Normal Cryptogroups

A normal cryptogroup S is a completely regular semigroup in which is a congruence and is a normal band. We represent S as a strong semilattice of completely simple semigroups, and may set For each we set and represent by means of an h-quintuple These parameters are used to characterize certain quasivarieties of normal cryptogroups. Specifically, we construct the lattice of quasivarieties generated by the (quasi)varieties and This is the lattice generated by the lattice of quasivarieties of normal bands, groups and completely simple semigroups. We also determine the B-relation on the lattice of all quasivarieties of normal cryptogroups. Each quasivariety studied is characterized in several ways.     

Stability of Critical Points with Interval Persistence

Scalar functions defined on a topological space are at the core of many applications such as shape matching, visualization and physical simulations. Topological persistence is an approach to characterizing these functions. It measures how long topological structures in the sub-level sets persist as c changes. Recently it was shown that the critical values defining a topological structure with relatively large persistence remain almost unaffected by small perturbations. This result suggests that topological persistence is a good measure for matching and comparing scalar functions. We extend these results to critical points in the domain by redefining persistence and critical points and replacing sub-level sets with interval sets . With these modifications we establish a stability result for critical points. This result is strengthened for maxima that can be used for matching two scalar functions.     

A Two-Dimensional Kinetic Triangulation with Near-Quadratic Topological Changes

A triangulation of a set S of points in the plane is a subdivision of the convex hull of S into triangles whose vertices are points of S. Given a set S of n points in each moving independently, we wish to maintain a triangulation of S. The triangulation needs to be updated periodically as the points in S move, so the goal is to maintain a triangulation with a small number of topological events, each being the insertion or deletion of an edge. We propose a kinetic data structure (KDS) that processes topological events with high probability if the trajectories of input points are algebraic curves of fixed degree. Each topological event can be processed in time. This is the first known KDS for maintaining a triangulation that processes a near-quadratic number of topological events, and almost matches the lower bound [1]. The number of topological events can be reduced to if only k of the points are moving.     

Affine pseudo-planes with torus actions

An affine pseudo-plane X is a smooth affine surface defined over which is endowed with an -fibration such that every fiber is irreducible and only one fiber is a multiple fiber. If there is a hyperbolic -action on X and X is an -surface, we shall show that the universal covering is isomorphic to an affine hypersurface in the affine 3-space and X is the quotient of by the cyclic group via the action where and It is also shown that a -homology plane X with and a nontrivial -action is an affine pseudo-plane. The automorphism group is determined in the last section.     

Banach-Mazur Distances and Projections on Random Subgaussian Polytopes

We consider polytopes in that are generated by N vectors in whose coordinates are independent subgaussian random variables. (A particular case of such polytopes are symmetric random polytopes generated by N independent vertices of the unit cube.) We show that for a random pair of such polytopes the Banach-Mazur distance between them is essentially of a maximal order n. This result is an analogue of the well-known Gluskin's result for spherical vectors. We also study the norms of projections on such polytopes and prove an analogue of Gluskin's and Szarek's results on basis constants. The proofs are based on a version of "small ball" estimates for linear images of random subgaussian vectors.     

Monoids and Cuspidal Group Characters

Let M be a finite monoid with unit group G. By the work of Munn and Ponizovski, the irreducible complex representations of M are classified according to which J-class (apex) they come from. Consider the irreducible representations of M with apex . These representations restrict to representations of G, whose components we view as coming from J-classes below G. The remaining irreducible representations (and their characters) of G are called cuspidal. We show that an irreducible character of G is cuspidal if and only if for all idempotents , where .     

A Note on Euclidean Ramsey Theory

Suppose n ≥ 2 and are such that X is infinite and Y is the set of vertices of an n-simplex. Then there is blue/red coloring of such that no set similar to X is monochromatically blue and no set similar to Y is monochromatically red.     

Concerning the Relationship between Realizations and Tight Spans of Finite Metrics

Given a metric d on a finite set X, a realization of d is a weighted graph with such that for all the length of any shortest path in G between x and y equals d(x,y). In this paper we consider two special kinds of realizations, optimal realizations and hereditarily optimal realizations, and their relationship with the so-called tight span. In particular, we present an infinite family of metrics {d_k}_k≥1, and—using a new characterization for when the so-called underlying graph of a metric is an optimal realization that we also present—we prove that d_k has (as a function of k) exponentially many optimal realizations with distinct degree sequences. We then show that this family of metrics provides counter-examples to a conjecture made by Dress in 1984 concerning the relationship between optimal realizations and the tight span, and a negative reply to a question posed by Althofer in 1988 on the relationship between optimal and hereditarily optimal realizations.     

The Entropy in Learning Theory. Error Estimates

We continue the investigation of some problems in learning theory in the setting formulated by F. Cucker and S. Smale. The goal is to find an estimator on the base of given data that approximates well the regression function of an unknown Borel probability measure defined on We assume that belongs to a function class It is known from previous works that the behavior of the entropy numbers of in the uniform norm plays an important role in the above problem. The standard way of measuring the error between a target function and an estimator is to use the norm ( is the marginal probability measure on X generated by ). This method has been used in previous papers. We continue to use this method in this paper. The use of the norm in measuring the error has motivated us to study the case when we make an assumption on the entropy numbers of in the norm. This is the main new ingredient of thispaper. We construct good estimators in different settings: (1) we know both and ; (2) we know but we do not know and (3) we only know that is from a known collection of classes but we do not know An estimator from the third setting is called a universal estimator.