Related papers: The complex plank problem, revisited

We give a new proof of Fejes T\'oth's zone conjecture: for any sequence $v_1,v_2,...,v_n$ of unit vectors in a real Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$, there exists a unit vector $v$ in $\mathcal{H}$ such that \begin{equation*} |\langle v_k,v…

We present a streamlined proof of K. Ball's symmetric plank theorem in $\mathbb{R}^d$, which solves the affine plank problem raised by Th. Bang for symmetric convex bodies.

We prove a complex polynomial plank covering theorem for not necessarily homogeneous polynomials. As the consequence of this result, we extend the complex plank theorem of Ball to the case of planks that are not necessarily centrally…

Let ||.|| be a norm in R^d whose unit ball is B. Assume that V\subset B is a finite set of cardinality n, with \sum_{v \in V} v=0. We show that for every integer k with 0 \le k \le n, there exists a subset U of V consisting of k elements…

Suppose that for some unit vectors $b_1,\ldots b_n$ in $\mathbb C^d$ we have that for any $j\neq k$ $b_j$ is either orthogonal to $b_k$ or $|\langle b_j,b_k\rangle|^2 = 1/d$ (i.e. $b_j$ and $b_k$ are unbiased). We prove that if $n=d(d+1)$,…

Suppose that $C$ is a bounded, convex subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$, and that $P_1, \dots, P_k$ are planks which cover $C$ in respective directions $v_1, \dots, v_k$ and with widths $w_1, \dots, w_k$. In 1951, Bang conjectured that the sum of…

We provide a simple proof of the existence of a planar separator by showing that it is an easy consequence of the circle packing theorem. We also reprove other results on separators, including: (A) There is a simple cycle separator if the…

We consider real and complex equiangular lines, generated by unit vectors. We show that, for an arbitrary dimension $d$, if there exists a set of $d^2$ equiangular unit vectors in $\mathbb{C}^d$, then there must exist a set of $d^2$…

We prove that given any set of $n$ unit vectors $\{v_i\}_{i=1}^{n}\subset \mathbb R^n,$ the inequality \[ \sup\limits_{\Vert x \Vert_{\mathbb R^n} =1} \vert \langle x, v_1 \rangle \cdots \langle x, v_n\rangle\vert \ge n^{-n/2} \] holds for…

Let $H$ be a Hilbert space. Using Ball's solution of the "complex plank problem" we prove that the following properties of a sequence $a_n>0$ are equivalent: (1) There is a sequence $x_n \in H$ with $\|x_n\|=a_n$, having 0 as a weak cluster…

Given a symmetric convex body $C$ and $n$ hyperplanes in an Euclidean space, there is a translate of a multiple of $C$, at least ${1\over n+1}$ times as large, inside $C$, whose interior does not meet any of the hyperplanes. The result…

For any complex vector bundle $E^k$ of rank $k$ over a manifold $M^m$ with Chern classes $c_i \in H^{2i}(M^m,\Z)$ and any non-negative integers $l_1, >..., l_k$ we show the existence of a positive number $N(k,m)$ and the existence of a…

If a convex body $K \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ is covered by the union of convex bodies $C_1, \ldots, C_N$, multiple subadditivity questions can be asked. Two classical results regard the subadditivity of the width (the smallest distance between…

Complex moment sequences are exactly those which admit positive definite extensions on the integer lattice points of the upper diagonal half-plane. Here we prove that the aforesaid extension is unique provided the complex moment sequence is…

Plank problems concern the covering of convex bodies by planks in Euclidean space and are related to famous open problems in convex geometry. In this survey, we introduce plank problems and present surprising applications of plank theorems…

Theorem A. Let $x_1,...,x_{2k+1}$ be unit vectors in a normed plane. Then there exist signs $\epsi_1,...,\epsi_{2k+1}\in\{\pm 1\}$ such that $\norm{\sum_{i=1}^{2k+1}\epsi_i x_i}\leq 1$. We use the method of proof of the above theorem to…

Let us fix a prime $p$ and a homogeneous system of $m$ linear equations $a_{j,1}x_1+\dots+a_{j,k}x_k=0$ for $j=1,\dots,m$ with coefficients $a_{j,i}\in\mathbb{F}_p$. Suppose that $k\geq 3m$, that $a_{j,1}+\dots+a_{j,k}=0$ for $j=1,\dots,m$…

Let $n>1$ be an integer, and let $T$ be a tree with $n+1$ vertices $v_1,\ldots,v_{n+1}$, where $v_1$ and $v_{n+1}$ are two leaves of $T$. For each edge $e$ of $T$, assign a complex number $w(e)$ as its weight. We obtain that…

Let $n \in \mathbb{Z}_{>0}$. We prove that there exist a finite set $V$ and finitely many algebraic curves $T_1, \ldots, T_k$ with the following property: if $(x_1, \ldots, x_n, y)$ is an $(n+1)$-tuple of pairwise distinct singular moduli…

A plane configuration {v_1,...,v_m} of vectors in {\mathbb R}^2 is said to be balanced if for any index i, the set of the det(v_i,v_j) for j\neq i is symmetric around the origin. A plane configuration is said to be uniform if every pair of…