Related papers: A note on the pyjama problem
The "pyjama stripe" is the subset of $\mathbb{R}^2$ consisting of a vertical strip of width $2 \varepsilon$ around every integer $x$-coordinate. The "pyjama problem" asks whether finitely many rotations of the pyjama stripe around the…
The "pyjama stripe" with parameter $\varepsilon>0$ is the set $E(\varepsilon)$ of all complex numbers $z$ such that the distance from $\Re(z)$ to the nearest integer is at most $\varepsilon$. The Pyjama Problem of Iosevich, Kolountzakis,…
Moser asked whether the collection of rectangles of dimensions 1 x 1/2, 1/2 x 1/3, 1/3 x 1/4, ..., whose total area equals 1, can be packed into the unit square without overlap, and whether the collection of squares of side lengths 1/2,…
We show that there is no $(1+\eps)$-approximation algorithm for the problem of covering points in the plane by minimum number of fat triangles of similar size (with the minimum angle of the triangles being close to 45 degrees). Here, the…
For any delta > 1 we construct a periodic and locally finite packing of the plane with ellipses whose delta-enlargement covers the whole plane. This answers a question of Imre B\'ar\'any. On the other hand, we show that if C is a packing in…
Suppose we put an $\epsilon$-disk around each lattice point in the plane, and then we rotate this object around the origin for a set $\Theta$ of angles. When do we cover the whole plane, except for a neighborhood of the origin? This is the…
We show that the problem of covering a set of points in the plane with a minimum number of guillotine cuts is NP-complete. To that end, first we present a new NP-completeness proof for the problem of covering points with disjoint line…
The problem that we consider is the following: given an $n \times n$ array $A$ of positive numbers, find a tiling using at most $p$ rectangles (which means that each array element must be covered by some rectangle and no two rectangles must…
Results of Sierpinski and others have shown that certain finite-dimensional product sets can be written as unions of subsets, each of which is "narrow" in a corresponding direction; that is, each line in that direction intersects the subset…
We study the problems of covering or partitioning a polygon $P$ (possibly with holes) using a minimum number of small pieces, where a small piece is a connected sub-polygon contained in an axis-aligned unit square. For covering, we seek to…
We study three covering problems in the plane. Our original motivation for these problems come from trajectory analysis. The first is to decide whether a given set of line segments can be covered by up to four unit-sized, axis-parallel…
For a fixed integer $n$, we study the question whether at least one of the numbers $\Re X\omega^k$, $1\leq k\leq n$, is $\varepsilon$-close to an integer, for any possible value of $X\in\mathbb{C}$, where $\omega$ is a primitive $n$th root…
We study the well-known two-dimensional strip packing problem. Given is a set of rectangular axis-parallel items and a strip of width $W$ with infinite height. The objective is to find a packing of these items into the strip, which…
Given a set $P$ of points and a set $U$ of axis-parallel unit squares in the Euclidean plane, a minimum ply cover of $P$ with $U$ is a subset of $U$ that covers $P$ and minimizes the number of squares that share a common intersection,…
The paper provides an elementary proof of Kenyon's necessary condition for the existence of a periodic tiling of the plane by squares with given periods. A similar new result on covering both sides of a rectangle by nonoverlaping squares is…
The 1-2-3 conjecture has been solved positively in 2024 for finite graphs and by extension for infinite graphs which are locally finite. The solution is non-constructive, and finding explicit solutions for large (or infinite) graphs is very…
In the $\varepsilon$-Consensus-Halving problem, we are given $n$ probability measures $v_1, \dots, v_n$ on the interval $R = [0,1]$, and the goal is to partition $R$ into two parts $R^+$ and $R^-$ using at most $n$ cuts, so that $|v_i(R^+)…
The Plateau's problem seeks to determine a surface of minimal area which spans a given boundary. It is widely studied for its varied mathematical formulations, applications and relevance to physical models such as soap films. We revisit the…
Let $P$ be a set of $n$ points in the plane. We show how to find, for a given integer $k>0$, the smallest-area axis-parallel rectangle that covers $k$ points of $P$ in $O(nk^2 \log n+ n\log^2 n)$ time. We also consider the problem of, given…
We prove a new lower bound for the almost 20 year old problem of determining the smallest possible size of an essential cover of the $n$-dimensional hypercube $\{\pm 1\}^n$, i.e. the smallest possible size of a collection of hyperplanes…