Related papers: Direction-Critical Configurations in Noncentral Ge…

Let $P$ be a set of $n$ points in general position in the plane. Let $R$ be a set of points disjoint from $P$ such that for every $x,y \in P$ the line through $x$ and $y$ contains a point in $R$. We show that if $|R| < \frac{3}{2}n$ and $P…

Planar central configurations can be seen as critical points of the reduced potential or solutions of a system of equations. By the homogeneity and invariance of the potential with respect to SO(2), it is possible to see that the…

Let $S$ be a set of $n\geq 7$ points in the plane, no three of which are collinear. Suppose that $S$ determines $n+1$ directions. That is to say, the segments whose endpoints are in $S$ form $n+1$ distinct slopes. We prove that $S$ is, up…

We are concerned with the analysis of finite time collision trajectories for a class of singular anisotropic homogeneous potentials of degree $-\alpha$, with $\alpha\in(0,2)$ and their lower order perturbations. It is well known that, under…

We provide a complete classification of the critical sets and their images for quadratic maps of the real plane. Critical sets are always conic sections, which provides a starting point for the classification. The generic cases, maps whose…

We consider the strongly connected components (SCCs) of a uniform directed graph on $n$ vertices with i.i.d. in- and out-degree pairs distributed as $(D^-,D^+)$, with $\mathbb E[D^+]=\mathbb E[D^-]=\mu$. We condition on equal total in- and…

In one of their seminal articles on allowable sequences, Goodman and Pollack gave combinatorial generalizations for three problems in discrete geometry, one of which being the Dirac conjecture. According to this conjecture, any set of $n$…

Atiyah's conjecture concerning configurations of N points in the Euclidean three-space is verified for the following nonplanar configurations: The first m points lie on a line L and the remaining n=N-m (>2) points are the vertices of a…

We introduce a weak asymptotic version of nonlinear contraction, termed \emph{asymptotic pointwise contraction}. For a mapping on a metric space, this notion requires the existence of a sequence of functions that dominate the distances…

Let $\Omega$ be a smooth bounded simply connected domain in $\mathbb{R}^2$. We investigate the existence of critical points of the energy $E_\varepsilon (u)=1/2\int_\Omega |\nabla u|^2+1/(4\varepsilon^2)\int_\Omega (1-|u|^2)^2$, where the…

Given a set of points in the plane, a \emph{crossing family} is a collection of segments, each joining two of the points, such that every two segments intersect internally. Aronov et al. [Combinatorica,~14(2):127-134,~1994] proved that any…

We consider the configuration space of planar $n$-gons with fixed perimeter, which is diffeomorphic to the complex projective space $\mathbb{C}P^{n-2}$. The oriented area function has the minimal number of critical points on the…

Given a rank 3 real arrangement $\mathcal A$ of $n$ lines in the projective plane, the Dirac-Motzkin conjecture (proved by Green and Tao in 2013) states that for $n$ sufficiently large, the number of simple intersection points of $\mathcal…

Central configurations play a fundamental role in the Newtonian $n$-body problem, as they give rise to motions in which the configuration evolves while preserving its shape up to rotation and scaling. These include relative equilibria,…

A well-known combinatorial theorem says that a set of n non-collinear points in the plane determines at least n distinct lines. Chen and Chv\'atal conjectured that this theorem extends to metric spaces, with an appropriated definition of…

We show that any set of $n$ points in general position in the plane determines $n^{1-o(1)}$ pairwise crossing segments. The best previously known lower bound, $\Omega\left(\sqrt n\right)$, was proved more than 25 years ago by Aronov, Erd\H…

We consider solutions to the nonlinear sigma model (wave maps) with target space S^3 and base space 3+1 Minkowski space, and we find critical behavior separating singular solutions from nonsingular solutions. For families of solutions with…

Given $n$ points in the plane, a \emph{covering path} is a polygonal path that visits all the points. If no three points are collinear, every covering path requires at least $n/2$ segments, and $n-1$ straight line segments obviously suffice…

In large part, the future utility of modern numerical conformal bootstrap depends on its ability to accurately predict the existence of hitherto unknown non-trivial conformal field theories (CFTs). Here we investigate the extent to which…

A well-known theorem in plane geometry states that any set of $n$ non-collinear points in the plane determines at least $n$ lines. Chen and Chv\'{a}tal asked whether an analogous statement holds within the framework of finite metric spaces,…