English

$G_\delta$ Circle Squaring

Logic 2026-02-27 v2 Combinatorics Metric Geometry

Abstract

We show that a circle and square of the same area in R2\mathbb{R}^2 are equidecomposable by translations using Δ20\mathbf{\Delta}^0_2 pieces. That is, pieces which are simultaneously FσF_\sigma and GδG_\delta sets. This improves a result of M\'ath\'e-Noel-Pikhurko and is the best possible complexity in terms of the Borel hierarchy. More generally we show that bounded sets A,BRnA,B \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n with small enough boundaries and the same nonzero Lebesgue measure are equidecomposable with pieces that are countable unions of finite Boolean combinations of translates of A,BA,B, and open sets. The improvement comes from constructions of low complexity toasts and related objects which should be independently useful within Borel combinatorics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.19039,
  title  = {$G_\delta$ Circle Squaring},
  author = {Spencer Unger and Narmada Varadarajan and Felix Weilacher},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.19039},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T09:21:23.231Z