The Steiner ratio conjecture for cocircular points

A Steiner minimal treeS is a network of shortest possible length connecting a set ofn points in the plane. LetT be a shortest tree connecting then points but with vertices only at these points.T is called a minimal spanning tree. The Steiner ratio conjecture is that the length ofS divided by the length ofT is at least 3/2. In this paper we use a variational approach to show that if then points lie on a circle, then the Steiner ratio conjecture holds.     

Steiner minimal trees for regular polygons

Fifty years ago Jarnik and Kössler showed that a Steiner minimal tree for the vertices of a regularn-gon contains Steiner points for 3 n5 and contains no Steiner point forn=6 andn13. We complete the story by showing that the case for 7n12 is the same asn13. We also show that the set ofn equally spaced points yields the longest Steiner minimal tree among all sets ofn cocircular points on a given circle.     

A Construction of Almost Steiner Systems

Let n, k, and t be integers satisfying . A Steiner system with parameters t, k, and n is a k‐uniform hypergraph on n vertices in which every set of t distinct vertices is contained in exactly one edge. An outstanding problem in Design Theory is to determine whether a nontrivial Steiner system exists for . In this note we prove that for every and sufficiently large n, there exists an almost Steiner system with parameters t, k, and n; that is, there exists a k‐uniform hypergraph on n vertices such that every set of t distinct vertices is covered by either one or two edges.     

Characterizations of Steiner points

To each convex compact A in Euclidian space Eⁿ there corresponds a point S (A) from Eⁿ such that 1) S(x) = x for x Eⁿ, 2) S(A + B) = S(A) + S(B), 3) S (A_i) , if A_i converges in the Hausdorff metric to the unit sphere in Eⁿ, then S(A) is the Steiner point of the set A. The theorem improves certain earlier results on characterizations of the Steiner point.Translated from Matematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 243–247, August, 1973.In conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation to E. M. Semenov for his constant help with this work.     

X-rays of polygons

Various results are given concerning X-rays of polygons in ². It is shown that no finite set of X-rays determines every star-shaped polygon, partially answering a question of S. Skiena. For anyn, there are simple polygons which cannot be verified by any set ofn X-rays. Convex polygons are uniquely determined by X-rays at any two points. Finally, it is proved that given a convex polygon, certain sets of three X-rays will distinguish it from other Lebesgue measurable sets.This work was done at the Istituto Analisi Globale e Applicazioni, Florence, Italy.     

Multiple-guard kernels of simple polygons

We study a generalization of the kernel of a polygon. A polygonP isk guardable if there arek points inP such that, for all pointsp inP, there is at least one of thek points that seesp. We call thek points ak-guard set ofP and thek-kernel of a polygonP is the union of allk-guard sets ofP. The usual definition of the kernel of a polygon is now the one-kernel in this notation.We show that the two-kernel of a simple polygonP withn edges has O(n⁴) components and that there are polygons whose two-kernel has (n) components. Moreover, we show that the components of the two-kernel of a simple polygon can be paired in a natural manner which implies that the two-kernel of a simple polygon has either one component or an even number of components. Finally, we consider the question of whether there is a non-star-shaped simple polygonP such that 2-kernel(P) = P. We show that when the two-kernel has only one component, it contains a hole; hence, the two-kernel of a simple polygonP is neverP itself. For everyk 1, there are, however, polygonsP _k with holes such thatk-kernel(P_k) = P_k.This work was supported under grant No. Ot 64/8-1, Diskrete Probleme from the the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, from the Information Technology Research Centre of Ontario, and from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.     

On a More General Characterisation of Steiner Systems

We introduce [k,d]-sparse geometries of cardinality n, which are natural generalizations of partial Steiner systems PS(t,k;n), with d=2(k−t+1). We will verify whether Steiner systems are characterised in the following way. (*) Let be a [k,2(k−t+1)]-sparse geometry of cardinality n, with k \> t \> 1$$" align="middle" border="0"> . If , then Γ is a S(t,k;n). If (*) holds for fixed parameters t, k and n, then we say S(t,k;n) satisfies, or has, characterisation (*). We could not prove (*) in general, but we prove the Theorems 1, 2, 3 and 4, which state conditions under which (*) is satisfied. Moreover, we verify characterisation (*) for every Steiner system appearing in list of the sporadic Steiner systems of small cardinality, and the list of infinite series of Steiner systems, both mentioned in the latest edition of the book ‘Design Theory’ by T. Beth, D. Jungnickel and H. Lenz. As an interesting application, one can use these results to build (almost) maximal binary codes in the following way. Every [k,d]-sparse geometry is associated with a [k,d]-sparse binary code of the same size (let and link every block with the code word where c_i=1 if and only if the point p_i is a member of B), so one can construct maximal [k,d]-sparse binary codes using (partial) Steiner systems. These [k,d]-sparse codes can then be used as building bricks for binary codes having a bigger variety of weights (the weight of a code word is the sum of its entries).     

Finding minimum areak-gons

Given a setP ofn points in the plane and a numberk, we want to find a polygon with vertices inP of minimum area that satisfies one of the following properties: (1) is a convexk-gon, (2) is an empty convexk-gon, or (3) is the convex hull of exactlyk points ofP. We give algorithms for solving each of these three problems in timeO(kn ³). The space complexity isO(n) fork=4 andO(kn ²) fork5. The algorithms are based on a dynamic programming approach. We generalize this approach to polygons with minimum perimeter, polygons with maximum perimeter or area, polygons containing the maximum or minimum number of points, polygons with minimum weight (for some weights added to vertices), etc., in similar time bounds.This paper includes work done while David Eppstein was at Columbia University, Department of Computer Science, and while Günter Rote and Gerhard Woeginger were at the Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Mathematik, Institut für Informatik. Research was partially supported by the ESPRIT II Basic Research Actions Program of the EC under Contract No. 3075 (project ALCOM).     

A variational approach to the Steiner network problem

Supposen points are given in the plane. Their coordinates form a 2n-vectorX. To study the question of finding the shortest Steiner networkS connecting these points, we allowX to vary over a configuration space. In particular, the Steiner ratio conjecture is well suited to this approach and short proofs of the casesn=4, 5 are discussed. The variational approach was used by us to solve other cases of the ratio conjecture (n=6, see [11] and for arbitraryn points lying on a circle). Recently, Du and Hwang have given a beautiful complete solution of the ratio conjecture, also using a configuration space approach but with convexity as the major idea. We have also solved Graham's problem to decide when the Steiner network is the same as the minimal spanning tree, for points on a circle and on any convex polygon, again using the variational method.     

On the Value of a Random Minimum Weight Steiner Tree

Consider a complete graph on n vertices with edge weights chosen randomly and independently from an exponential distribution with parameter 1. Fix k vertices and consider the minimum weight Steiner tree which contains these vertices. We prove that with high probability the weight of this tree is (1+o(1))(k-1)(log n-log k)/n when k =o(n) and n.* Research supported in part by NSF grant DSM9971788 Research supported in part by NSF grants DMS-0106589, CCR-9987845 and by the State of New Jersey. Part of this research was done while visiting IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.     

Steiner centers and Steiner medians of graphs

Let G be a connected graph and S a set of vertices of G. The Steiner distance of S is the smallest number of edges in a connected subgraph of G that contains S and is denoted by d_G(S) or d(S). The Steiner n-eccentricity e_n(v) and Steiner n-distance d_n(v) of a vertex v in G are defined as e_n(v)=max{d(S)| SV(G), |S|=n and vS} and d_n(v)=∑{d(S)| SV(G), |S|=n and vS}, respectively. The Steiner n-center C_n(G) of G is the subgraph induced by the vertices of minimum n-eccentricity. The Steiner n-median M_n(G) of G is the subgraph induced by those vertices with minimum Steiner n-distance. Let T be a tree. Oellermann and Tian [O.R. Oellermann, S. Tian, Steiner centers in graphs, J. Graph Theory 14 (1990) 585–597] showed that C_n(T) is contained in C_n+1(T) for all n2. Beineke et al. [L.W. Beineke, O.R. Oellermann, R.E. Pippert, On the Steiner median of a tree, Discrete Appl. Math. 68 (1996) 249–258] showed that M_n(T) is contained in M_n+1(T) for all n2. Then, Oellermann [O.R. Oellermann, On Steiner centers and Steiner medians of graphs, Networks 34 (1999) 258–263] asked whether these containment relationships hold for general graphs. In this note we show that for every n2 there is an infinite family of block graphs G for which C_n(G)C_n+1(G). We also show that for each n2 there is a distance–hereditary graph G such that M_n(G)M_n+1(G). Despite these negative examples, we prove that if G is a block graph then M_n(G) is contained in M_n+1(G) for all n2. Further, a linear time algorithm for finding the Steiner n-median of a block graph is presented and an efficient algorithm for finding the Steiner n-distances of all vertices in a block graph is described.     

Steiner Triple Systems,Pinched Surfaces,and Complete Multigraphs

We consider complete multigraphs \({K_n^m}\) on n vertices with every pair joined by m edges. We embed these graphs to triangulate \({S_n^k}\) , a pinched surface with n pinch points each having k sheets. These embeddings have a vertex at each pinch point and any two sheets at a pinch point have the same number of edges. Moreover, we want to 2m-color the faces such that each color class is a Steiner triple system. These embeddings generalize in two ways biembeddings of Steiner triple systems, the case m =  1, k =  1 of simple graphs in surfaces without pinch points.     

Approximation of approximation numbers by truncation

LetA be a bounded linear operator onsome infinite-dimensional separable Hilbert spaceH and letA _n be the orthogonal compression ofA to the span of the firstn elements of an orthonormal basis ofH. We show that, for eachk1, the approximation numberss _k(A_n) converge to the corresponding approximation numbers _k(A) asn. This observation implies almost at once some well known results on the spectral approximation of bounded selfadjoint operators. For example, it allows us to identify the limits of all upper and lower eigenvalues ofA _n in the case whereA is selfadjoint. These limits give us all points of the spectrum of a selfadjoint operator which lie outside the convex hull of the essential spectrum. Moreover, it follows that the spectrum of a selfadjoint operatorA with a connected essential spectrum can be completely recovered from the eigenvalues ofA _n asn goes to infinity.     

Polygonizations of point sets in the plane

We examine the different ways a set ofn points in the plane can be connected to form a simple polygon. Such a connection is called apolygonization of the points. For some point sets the number of polygonizations is exponential in the number of points. For this reason we restrict our attention to star-shaped polygons whose kernels have nonempty interiors; these are callednondegenerate star-shaped polygons.We develop an algorithm and data structure for determining the nondegenerate star-shaped polygonizations of a set ofn points in the plane. We do this by first constructing an arrangement of line segments from the point set. The regions in the arrangement correspond to the kernels of the nondegenerate star-shaped polygons whose vertices are the originaln points. To obtain the data structure representing this arrangement, we show how to modify data structures for arrangements of lines in the plane. This data structure can be computed inO(n ⁴) time and space. By visiting the regions in this data structure in a carefully chosen order, we can compute the polygon associated with each region inO(n) time, yielding a total computation time ofO(n ⁵) to compute a complete list ofO(n ⁴) nondegenerate star-shaped polygonizations of the set ofn points.     

Halfspace range search: An algorithmic application ofk-sets

Given a fixed setS ofn points inE ³ and a query plane, the halfspace range search problem asks for the retrieval of all points ofS on a chosen side of. We prove that withO(n(logn)⁸ (loglogn)⁴) storage it is possible to solve this problem inO(k+logn) time, wherek is the number of points to be reported. This result rests crucially on a new combinatorial derivation. We show that the total number ofj-sets (j=1, ...,k) realized by a set ofn points inE ³ isO(nk ⁵); ak-set is any subset ofS of sizek which can be separated from the rest ofS by a plane.Supported in part by NSF grants MCS 83-03925 and the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under contract N00014-83-K-0146 and ARPA Order No. 4786.Supported in part by Joint Services Electronics Program under Contract N00014-79-C-0424.     

Covering and guarding polygons using L k -sets

The Art Gallery Problem is the problem of finding a minimum number of points (called guards) in a given polygon such that every point in the polygon is visible to at least one of the guards. Chvátal [5] was the first to show that, in the worst case, [n/3] such points will suffice for any polygon of n sides. O'Rourke [15] later showed that only [n/4] guards were needed if line segments, rather than points, were allowed as guards. In this paper, we unify these results, and extend them to many other classes of guards, while using a generalization of visibility known as link-visibility. In particular, we present the following theorems:

Tactical Decompositions of Steiner Systems and Orbits of Projective Groups

Block's lemma states that the numbers m of point-classes and n of block-classes in a tactical decomposition of a 2-(v, k, ) design with b blocks satisfy m n m + b – v. We present a strengthening of the upper bound for the case of Steiner systems (2-designs with = 1), together with results concerning the structure of the block-classes in both extreme cases. Applying the results to the Steiner systems of points and lines of projective space PG(N, q), we obtain a complete classification of the groups inducing decompositions satisfying the upper bound; answering the analog of a question raised by Cameron and Liebler (P.J. Cameron and R.A. Liebler, Lin. Alg. Appl. 46 (1982), 91–102) (and still open).     

Converting triangulations to quadrangulations

We study the problem of converting triangulated domains to quadrangulations, under a variety of constraints. We obtain a variety of characterizations for when a triangulation (of some structure such as a polygon, set of points, line segments or planar subdivision) admits a quadrangulation without the use of Steiner points, or with a bounded number of Steiner points. We also investigate the effect of demanding that the Steiner points be added in the interior or exterior of a triangulated simple polygon and propose efficient algorithms for accomplishing these tasks. For example, we give a linear-time method that quadrangulates a triangulated simple polygon with the minimum number of outer Steiner points required for that triangulation. We show that this minimum can be at most n/3, and that there exist polygons that require this many such Steiner points. We also show that a triangulated simple n-gon may be quadrangulated with at most n/4 Steiner points inside the polygon and at most one outside. This algorithm also allows us to obtain, in linear time, quadrangulations from general triangulated domains (such as triangulations of polygons with holes, a set of points or line segments) with a bounded number of Steiner points.     

Convex independent sets and 7-holes in restricted planar point sets

For a finite setA of points in the plane, letq(A) denote the ratio of the maximum distance of any pair of points ofA to the minimum distance of any pair of points ofA. Fork>0 letc (k) denote the largest integerc such that any setA ofk points in general position in the plane, satisfying for fixed , contains at leastc convex independent points. We determine the exact asymptotic behavior ofc (k), proving that there are two positive constants=(), such thatk ^1/3c (k)k ^1/3. To establish the upper bound ofc (k) we construct a set, which also solves (affirmatively) the problem of Alonet al. [1] about the existence of a setA ofk points in general position without a 7-hole (i.e., vertices of a convex 7-gon containing no other points fromA), satisfying . The construction uses Horton sets, which generalize sets without 7-holes constructed by Horton and which have some interesting properties.     

Small transversals in hypergraphs

For each positive integerk, we consider the setA _k of all ordered pairs [a, b] such that in everyk-graph withn vertices andm edges some set of at mostam+bn vertices meets all the edges. We show that eachA _k withk2 has infinitely many extreme points and conjecture that, for every positive , it has only finitely many extreme points [a, b] witha. With the extreme points ordered by the first coordinate, we identify the last two extreme points of everyA _k , identify the last three extreme points ofA ₃, and describeA ₂ completely. A by-product of our arguments is a new algorithmic proof of Turán's theorem.