In the Search for Good Neck Cuts
Computational Geometry
2026-01-14 v1
Abstract
We study the problem of finding neck-like features on a surface. Applications for such cuts include robotics, mesh segmentation, and algorithmic applications. We provide a new definition for a surface bottleneck -- informally, it is the shortest cycle relative to the size of the areas it separates. Inspired by the isoperimetric inequality, we formally define such optimal cuts, study their properties, and present several algorithms inspired by these ideas that work surprisingly well in practice. For examples of our algorithms, see https://neckcut.space.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.08566,
title = {In the Search for Good Neck Cuts},
author = {Sam Ruggerio and Sariel Har-Peled},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.08566},
year = {2026}
}