Related papers: Lower Bounds for Pinning Lines by Balls

We prove Helly-type theorems for line transversals to disjoint unit balls in $\R^{d}$. In particular, we show that a family of $n \geq 2d$ disjoint unit balls in $\R^d$ has a line transversal if, for some ordering $\prec$ of the balls, any…

We prove that the set of directions of lines intersecting three disjoint balls in $R^3$ in a given order is a strictly convex subset of $S^2$. We then generalize this result to $n$ disjoint balls in $R^d$. As a consequence, we can improve…

A line g is a transversal to a family F of convex polytopes in 3-dimensional space if it intersects every member of F. If, in addition, g is an isolated point of the space of line transversals to F, we say that F is a pinning of g. We show…

A linear system is a pair $(P,\mathcal{L})$ where $\mathcal{L}$ is a family of subsets on a ground finite set $P$, such that $|l\cap l^\prime|\leq 1$, for every $l,l^\prime \in \mathcal{L}$. The elements of $P$ and $\mathcal{L}$ are called…

We prove that if a family of compact connected sets in the plane has the property that every three members of it are intersected by a line, then there are three lines intersecting all the sets in the family. This answers a question of…

The 1913 Helly's theorem states that any family ${\cal K}$ of $n\geq d+1$ convex sets in ${\mathbb R}^d$ can be pierced by a single point if and only if any $d+1$ of ${\cal K}$'s elements can. In 2002 Alon, Kalai, Matou\v{s}ek and Meshulam…

Hadwiger's transversal theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions for a family of convex sets in the plane to have a line transversal. A higher dimensional version was obtained by Goodman, Pollack and Wenger, and recently a colorful…

A linear ball is a simplicial complex whose geometric realization is homeomorphic to a ball and whose Stanley--Reisner ring has a linear resolution. It turns out that the Stanley--Reisner ring of the sphere which is the boundary complex of…

We say that a diagonal in an array is {\em $\lambda$-balanced} if each entry occurs $\lambda$ times. Let $L$ be a frequency square of type $F(n;\lambda^m)$; that is, an $n\times n$ array in which each entry from $\{1,2,\dots ,m\}$ occurs…

Let $K$ be a compact convex set in $\mathbb{R}^2$ and let $\mathcal{F}_1, \mathcal{F}_2, \mathcal{F}_3$ be finite families of translates of $K$ such that $A \cap B \neq \emptyset$ for every $A \in \mathcal{F}_i$ and $B \in \mathcal{F}_j$…

Let $\F$ be a finite family of axis-parallel boxes in $\R^d$ such that $\F$ contains no $k+1$ pairwise disjoint boxes. We prove that if $\F$ contains a subfamily $\M$ of $k$ pairwise disjoint boxes with the property that for every $F\in \F$…

A linear system is a pair $(X,\mathcal{F})$ where $\mathcal{F}$ is a finite family of subsets on a ground set $X$, and it satisfies that $|A\cap B|\leq 1$ for every pair of distinct subsets $A,B \in \mathcal{F}$. As an example of a linear…

Let $r \geq 2$, $n$ and $k$ be integers satisfying $k \leq \frac{r-1}{r}n$. In the original arXiv version of this note we suggested a conjecture that the family of all $k$-subsets of an $n$-set cannot be partitioned into fewer than $\lceil…

A family of sets has the $(p, q)$ property if among any $p$ members of it some $q$ intersect. It is shown that if a finite family of compact convex sets in $\R^2$ has the $(p+1,2)$ property then it is pierced by $\lfloor \frac{p}{2} \rfloor…

For given finite system of convex polygons in the plane which have no transversal, find such homothety transformations of polygons (having fixed centres inside given polygons) with minimal similarity ratio c>1 that the transformed system…

Let us have in S^2, R^2 or H^2 a pair of convex bodies, for S^2 different from S^2, such that the intersections of any congruent copies of them are centrally symmetric. Then our bodies are congruent circles. If the intersections of any…

A finite family ${\mathcal B}$ of balls with respect to an arbitrary norm in ${\mathbb R}^d$ ($d\geq 2$) is called a non-separable family if there is no hyperplane disjoint from $\bigcup {\mathcal B}$ that strictly separates some elements…

A famous conjecture of Ryser states that any $r$-partite set system has transversal number at most $r-1$ times their matching number. This conjecture is only known to be true for $r\leq3$ in general, for $r\leq5$ if the set system is…

A family of sets $\mathcal{F} \subseteq 2^{[n]}$ is defined to be $l$-trace $k$-Sperner if for any $l$-subset $L$ of $[n]$ the family of traces $\mathcal{F}|_L=\{F \cap L: F \in \mathcal{F}\}$ does not contain any chain of length $k+1$. In…

We consider a class of cut-and-project sets $\Lambda = \Lambda_F \times \zahl$ in the plane. Let $L=\Lambda+w\real$, $w\in\real^2$, be a countable union of parallel lines. Then either (1) $L$ is a discrete family of lines, (2) $L$ is a…