Related papers: A note on the no-three-in-line problem on a torus

We show that the minimal number of singular fibers $N(g,1)$ in a genus-$g$ Lefschetz fibration over the torus is at least $3$. As an application, we show that $N(g, 1) \in \{ 3, 4\}$ for $g\ge 5$, $N(g, 1) \in \{3, 4,5 \}$ for $g= 3, 4$ and…

We consider the following feasibility problem: given an integer $n \geq 1$ and an integer $m$ such that $0 \leq m \leq \binom{n}{2}$, does there exist a line graph $L = L(G)$ with exactly $n$ vertices and $m$ edges ? We say that a pair…

Let $1 \le m \le n$. We prove various results about the chessboard complex $M_{m,n}$, which is the simplicial complex of matchings in the complete bipartite graph $K_{m,n}$. First, we demonstrate that there is nonvanishing 3-torsion in…

Let $P$ be a set of $n$ points in the real plane contained in an algebraic curve $C$ of degree $d$. We prove that the number of distinct distances determined by $P$ is at least $c_d n^{4/3}$, unless $C$ contains a line or a circle. We also…

Given points in Euclidean space of arbitrary dimension, we prove that there exists a spanning tree having no vertices of degree greater than 3 with weight at most 1.559 times the weight of the minimum spanning tree. We also prove that there…

The number of solutions to $a^2+b^2=c^2+d^2 \le x$ in integers is a well-known result, while if one restricts all the variables to primes Erdos showed that only the diagonal solutions, namely, the ones with $\{a,b\}=\{c,d\}$ contribute to…

Let $L$ be a set of $n$ lines in $\reals^d$, for $d\ge 3$. A {\em joint} of $L$ is a point incident to at least $d$ lines of $L$, not all in a common hyperplane. Using a very simple algebraic proof technique, we show that the maximum…

We study supersolvable line arrangements in ${\mathbb P}^2$ over the reals and over the complex numbers, as the first step toward a combinatorial classification. Our main results show that a nontrivial (i.e., not a pencil or near pencil)…

Let $M^{2n}$ be a unitary torus $(2n)$-manifold, i.e., a $(2n)$-dimensional oriented stable complex connected closed $T^n$-manifold having a nonempty fixed set. In this paper we show that $M$ bounds equivariantly if and only if the…

In this paper, we study the problem of finding the largest possible set of s points and s lines in a projective plane of order q, such that that none of the s points lie on any of the s lines. We prove that s <= 1+(q+1)(\sqrt{q}-1). We also…

Let V be a finite set of points in the plane, not contained in a line. Assume |V| = n is an odd number, and |L \cap V| \leq 3 for every line L which is spanned by V. We prove that every simple line L_{a,b} in V creates a simple wedge (i.e.,…

Guth and Katz proved that, as conjectured by Elekes and Sharir, $m$ lines in 3-space have at most constant times $ m^{3/2}$ intersection points, aside from some obvious counter examples. We give an explicit bound for the constant, using the…

In Martin Gardner's October, 1976 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American, he posed the following problem: "What is the smallest number of [queens] you can put on a board of side n such that no [queen] can be added without creating…

We prove that an additive form of degree $d=2m$, $m$ odd, $m\ge3$, over the unramified quadratic extension $\mathbb{Q}_2(\sqrt{5})$ has a nontrivial zero if the number of variables $s$ satisifies $s \ge 4d+1$. If $3 \nmid d$, then there…

We consider the problem of identifying n points in the plane using disks, i.e., minimizing the number of disks so that each point is contained in a disk and no two points are in exactly the same set of disks. This problem can be seen as an…

The famous Szemer\'{e}di-Trotter theorem states that any arrangement of $n$ points and $n$ lines in the plane determines $O(n^{4/3})$ incidences, and this bound is tight. In this paper, we prove the following Tur\'an-type result for…

Let $d$ and $k$ be positive integers. Let $\mu$ be a positive Borel measure on $\mathbb{R}^2$ possessing finite moments up to degree $2d-1$. If the support of $\mu$ is contained in an algebraic curve of degree $k$, then we show that there…

Given a right-angled triangle of squares in a grid whose horizontal and vertical sides are $n$ squares long, let N(n) denote the maximum number of dots that can be placed into the cells of the triangle such that each row, each column, and…

Here is a square problem: in a unit square, is there a point with four rational distances to the vertices? A probability argument suggests a negative answer. This paper proves several special cases of the square problem: if the point sits…

We develop a new approach to the representation theory of quantum algebras supporting a torus action via methods from the theory of finite-state automata and algebraic combinatorics. We show that for a fixed number $m$, the torus-invariant…