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Packing problems, which ask how to arrange a collection of objects in space to meet certain criteria, are important in a great many physical and biological systems, where geometrical arrangements at small scales control behaviour at larger…

This paper studies empty squares in arbitrary orientation among a set $P$ of $n$ points in the plane. We prove that the number of empty squares with four contact pairs is between $\Omega(n)$ and $O(n^2)$, and that these bounds are tight,…

Continuing the investigations of Harborth (1974) and the author (2002) we study the following two rather basic problems on sphere packings. Recall that the contact graph of an arbitrary finite packing of unit balls (i.e., of an arbitrary…

Sphere packing problems have a rich history in both mathematics and physics; yet, relatively few analytical analyses of sphere packings exist, and answers to seemingly simple questions are unknown. Here, we present an analytical method for…

The contact graph of an arbitrary finite packing of unit balls in Euclidean 3-space is the (simple) graph whose vertices correspond to the packing elements and whose two vertices are connected by an edge if the corresponding two packing…

For any integer $n\geq 2$, we construct an infinite family of Stein fillable contact $(4n-1)$-manifolds each of which admits infinitely many pairwise homotopy inequivalent Stein fillings.

A centrally symmetric convex body is a convex compact set with non-empty interior that is symmetric about the origin. Of particular interest are those that are both smooth and strictly convex -- known here as regular symmetric bodies --…

We use computational experiments to find the rectangles of minimum area into which a given number n of non-overlapping congruent circles can be packed. No assumption is made on the shape of the rectangles. Most of the packings found have…

A matching is compatible to two or more labeled point sets of size $n$ with labels $\{1,\dots,n\}$ if its straight-line drawing on each of these point sets is crossing-free. We study the maximum number of edges in a matching compatible to…

We study the combinatorial and rigidity properties of disk packings with generic radii. We show that a packing of $n$ disks in the plane with generic radii cannot have more than $2n-3$ pairs of disks in contact. The allowed motions of a…

Suppose that $I$ is a unit square. Let $T$ (resp. $\Delta$) be an isosceles right triangle (resp. an equilateral triangle). We prove that any collection of triangles homothetic to $T$ (resp. $\Delta$), whose total area does not exceed…

Given a point set $S=\{s_1,\ldots , s_n\}$ in the unit square $U=[0,1]^2$, an anchored square packing is a set of $n$ interior-disjoint empty squares in $U$ such that $s_i$ is a corner of the $i$th square. The reach $R(S)$ of $S$ is the set…

For $d\in\mathbb{N}$, a compact sphere packing of Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{d}$ is a set of spheres in $\mathbb{R}^{d}$ with disjoint interiors so that the contact hypergraph of the packing is the vertex scheme of a homogeneous…

Let $s(n)$ be the side length of the smallest square into which $n$ non-overlapping unit squares can be packed. In 2010, the author showed that $s(13)=4$ and $s(46)=7$. Together with the result $s(6)=3$ by Keaney and Shiu, these results…

Let $C(n)$ be the solution to the contact number problem, i.e., the maximum number of touching pairs among any packing of $n$ congruent spheres in $\mathbb{R}^3$. We prove the long conjectured values of $C(6)=12, C(7)=15$, and $C(8)=18$.…

In this paper we describe the intersection between the balls of maximal symplectic packings of $\P^2$. This analysis shows the existence of singular points for maximal packings of $\P^2$ by more than three equal balls. It also yields a…

We discuss closed symplectic 4-manifolds which admit full symplectic packings by $N$ equal balls for large $N$'s. We give a homological criterion for recognizing such manifolds. As a corollary we prove that ${\Bbb C}P^2$ can be fully packed…

We describe a new numerical procedure for generating dense packings of disks and spheres inside various geometric shapes. We believe that in some of the smaller cases, these packings are in fact optimal. When applied to the previously…

We show that the maximal number of singular moves required to pass between any two regularly homotopic planar or spherical curves with at most n crossings, grows quadratically with respect to n. Furthermore, this can be done with all curves…

We use computational experiments to find the rectangles of minimum perimeter into which a given number n of non-overlapping congruent circles can be packed. No assumption is made on the shape of the rectangles. In many of the packings…