Related papers: Wetzel's sector covers unit arcs
The problem of finding "small" sets that meet every straight-line which intersects a given convex region was initiated by Mazurkiewicz in 1916. We call such a set an {\em opaque set} or a {\em barrier} for that region. We consider the…
A 1957 conjecture by Zdzislaw Melzak, that the unit volume polyhedron with least edge length was a triangular right prism, with edge length $2^{2/3}3^{11/6}$. We present a variety of necessary local criteria for any minimizer. In the case…
Paul Erd\H{o}s and R. Daniel Mauldin asked a series of questions on certain types of polygons of area $1$, the vertices of which can be found in every planar set of infinite Lebesgue measure. We address two of these questions, one on cyclic…
Let $P$ be a planar set of $n$ points in general position. We consider the problem of computing an orientation of the plane for which the Rectilinear Convex Hull of $P$ has minimum area. Bae et al. (Computational Geometry: Theory and…
In the projective planes $\mathrm{PG}(2,q)$, we collect the smallest known sizes of complete arcs for the regions \begin{align*} &\mbox{all } q\le160001,~~ q \mbox{ prime power};\\ &Q_{4}=\{34 \mbox{ sporadic }q'\mbox{s in the interval…
In connection with an unsolved problem of Bang (1951) we give a lower bound for the sum of the base volumes of cylinders covering a d-dimensional convex body in terms of the relevant basic measures of the given convex body. As an…
We prove the existence of complete minimal surfaces of genus g>1 which minimize the total curvature for their genus. Our method is first to identify this (Weierstrass high dimensional period) problem with the problem of finding a particular…
The convex body isoperimetric conjecture in the plane asserts that the least perimeter to enclose given area inside a unit disk is greater than inside any other convex set of area $\pi$. In this note we confirm two cases of the conjecture:…
We consider the smallest-area universal covering of planar objects of perimeter 2 (or equivalently closed curves of length 2) allowing translation and discrete rotations. In particular, we show that the solution is an equilateral triangle…
A dual version of a conjecture by Woodall asserts that, in a planar digraph, the length of a shortest dicycle equals the maximum number of pairwise disjoint feedback arc sets. We verify this conjecture for the case where the underlying…
A finite set of real numbers is called convex if the differences between consecutive elements form a strictly increasing sequence. We show that, for any pair of convex sets $A, B\subset\mathbb R$, each of size $n^{1/2}$, the convex grid…
We prove that the optimal way to enclose and separate four planar regions with equal area using the less possible perimeter requires all regions to be connected. Moreover, the topology of such optimal clusters is uniquely determined.
In response to a question raised (and answered in the negative) by Terry Tao on his blog as to whether it is possible to rotate a line segment continuously within a set of area zero, we show that there is a set of area zero in the plane…
Paul Erd\H{o}s posed the question of whether every measurable planar set of infinite Lebesgue measure contains the four vertices of an isosceles trapezoid of unit area. In this paper, we provide an affirmative answer to this question.…
We prove that every unit area convex pentagon is contained in a convex quadrilateral of area no greater than $3/\sqrt{5}$, and that every unit area convex hexagon is contained in a convex pentagon of area no greater than $7/6$. Both results…
A subset of the sphere is said short if it is contained in an open hemisphere. A short closed set which is geodesically convex is called a cap. The following theorem holds: 1. The minimal number of short closed sets covering the $n$-sphere…
Answering Tarski's plank problem, Bang showed in 1951 that it is impossible to cover a convex body $K \subset \mathbb{R}^d$ with $d \geq 1$ by planks whose total width is less than the minimal width $w(K)$ of $K$. In 2003, A. Bezdek asked…
In this paper we study the following problems: given a finite number of nonempty closed subsets of a normed space, find a ball with the smallest radius that encloses all of the sets, and find a ball with the smallest radius that intersects…
In this paper, we consider the problem of covering a plane region with unit discs. We present an improved upper bound and the first nontrivial lower bound on the number of discs needed for such a covering, depending on the area and…
A family of planar curves is called a Moser family if it contains an isometric copy of every rectifiable curve in $\mathbb{R}^{2}$ of length one. The classical "worm problem" of L. Moser from 1966 asks for the least area covered by the…