Related papers: Locked and Unlocked Chains of Planar Shapes

We show that every orthogonal polyhedron homeomorphic to a sphere can be unfolded without overlap while using only polynomially many (orthogonal) cuts. By contrast, the best previous such result used exponentially many cuts. More precisely,…

Braided embeddings are embeddings to a product disc bundle so the projection to the first factor is a branched cover. In this paper, we study which branched covers lift to braided embeddings, which is a generalization of the Borsuk-Ulam…

In this paper, we present an algorithmic approach to design and construct planar truss structures based on symmetric lattices using modular elements. The method of assembly is similar to Leonardo grids as they both rely on the property of…

Kokotsakis studied the following problem in 1932: Given is a rigid closed polygonal line (planar or non-planar), which is surrounded by a polyhedral strip, where at each polygon vertex three faces meet. Determine the geometries of these…

A closed linkage mechanism in three-dimensional space is an object comprising rigid bodies connected with hinges in a circular form like a rosary. Such linkages include Bricard6R and Bennett4R. To design such a closed linkage, it is…

We study the problem of Upward Point-Set Embeddability, that is the problem of deciding whether a given upward planar digraph $D$ has an upward planar embedding into a point set $S$. We show that any switch tree admits an upward planar…

Let a $R$-body be a closed set, complement of union of open balls of radius $R$ in the Euclidean space. Properties generalizing similar ones for convex sets are proved for the family of $R$-bodies; properties for the family of sets…

We provide an algorithm for unfolding the surface of any orthogonal polyhedron that falls into a particular shape class we call Manhattan Towers, to a nonoverlapping planar orthogonal polygon. The algorithm cuts along edges of a 4x5x1…

Planar ornaments, a.k.a. wallpapers, are regular repetitive patterns which exhibit translational symmetry in two independent directions. There are exactly $17$ distinct planar symmetry groups. We present a fully automatic method for…

We introduce a new family of nonperiodic tilings, based on a substitution rule that generalizes the pinwheel tiling of Conway and Radin. In each tiling the tiles are similar to a single triangular prototile. In a countable number of cases,…

A polycube is an orthogonal polyhedron composed of unit cubes glued together along entire faces, and homeomorphic to a sphere. A layer of a polycube refers to the portion lying between two horizontal cross-sections spaced one unit apart. We…

Multiple scales coexist in complex networks. However, the small world property makes them strongly entangled. This turns the elucidation of length scales and symmetries a defiant challenge. Here, we define a geometric renormalization group…

A remarkable property of flexible self-avoiding elastic surfaces (membranes) is that they remain flat at all temperatures, even in the absence of a bending rigidity or in the presence of active fluctuations. Here, we report numerical…

Networks of rigid bars connected by joints, termed linkages, provide a minimal framework to design robotic arms and mechanical metamaterials built out of folding components. Here, we investigate a chain-like linkage that, according to…

Among an infinite number of possible folds, nature has chosen only about 1000 distinct folds to form protein structures. Theoretical studies suggest that selected folds are intrinsically more designable than others; these selected folds are…

We explore the rigidity of generic frameworks in 3-dimensions whose underlying graph is close to being planar. Specifically we consider apex graphs, edge-apex graphs and their variants and prove independence results in the generic…

Given a convex polyhedral surface P, we define a tailoring as excising from P a simple polygonal domain that contains one vertex v, and whose boundary can be sutured closed to a new convex polyhedron via Alexandrov's Gluing Theorem. In…

We study the topology of the space of smooth codimension one foliations on a closed 3-manifold. We regard this space as the space of integrable plane fields included in the space of all smooth plane fields. It has been known since the late…

In graph theory, as well as in 3-manifold topology, there exist several width-type parameters to describe how "simple" or "thin" a given graph or 3-manifold is. These parameters, such as pathwidth or treewidth for graphs, or the concept of…

The topological framework of circuit topology has recently been introduced to complement knot theory and to help in understanding the physics of molecular folding. Naturally evolved linear molecular chains, such as proteins and nucleic…