arXiv research

Paper finds optimal shapes for minimizing average lengths of billiard trajectories in specific polygons.

The pentagram map's limit point is related to infinitesimal perturbations of polygons.

We consider the expected value for the total curvature of a random closed polygon. Numerical experiments have suggested that as the number of edges becomes large, the difference between the expected total curvature of a random closed polygon and a random open polygon with the same number of turning angles approaches a …

Algorithm samples polygons of fixed edge lengths in any dimension.

In this paper we study 1/k geodesics, those closed geodesics that minimize on all subintervals of length $L/k$, where $L$ is the length of the geodesic. We develop new techniques to study the minimizing properties of these curves on doubled polygons, and demonstrate a sequence of doubled polygons whose closed geodesics…

In this paper we consider planar polygons with parallel opposite sides. This type of polygons can be regarded as discretizations of closed convex planar curves by taking tangent lines at samples with pairwise parallel tangents. For this class of polygons, we define discrete versions of the area evolute, central symmetr…

A longstanding question of Gromov asks whether every one-ended word-hyperbolic group contains a subgroup isomorphic to the fundamental group of a closed hyperbolic surface. An infinite family of word-hyperbolic groups can be obtained by taking doubles of free groups amalgamated along words that are not proper powers. W…

A closed equilateral random walk in 3-space is a selection of unit length vectors giving the steps of the walk conditioned on the assumption that the sum of the vectors is zero. The sample space of such walks with $n$ edges is the $(2n-3)$-dimensional Riemannian manifold of equilateral closed polygons in $\mathbb{R}^3$…

For a polygon in Euclidean space we consider a transformation T which is obtained by applying the midpoints polygon construction twice and using an index shift. For a closed polygon this is a curve shortening process. A polygon is called (affine) soliton of the transformation T if its image under T is an affine image o…

Fast algorithm samples confined polygons efficiently.

In this thesis we deal with spectral invariants for polygons and closed orbisurfaces of constant Gaussian curvature. In each case our method is to study the heat kernel and the asymptotic expansion of the heat trace. First, we investigate hyperbolic polygons, i.e. relatively compact domains in the hyperbolic plane with…

Researchers prove the arc complexes of decorated hyperbolic polygons are balls.

Let $K$ be a closed polygonal curve in $\RR^3$ consisting of $n$ line segments. Assume that $K$ is unknotted, so that it is the boundary of an embedded disk in $\RR^3$. This paper considers the question: How many triangles are needed to triangulate a Piecewise-Linear (PL) spanning disk of $K$? The main result exhibits …

This paper classifies instantons with closed reductions and provides examples of non-closed reductions.

We build a new probability measure on closed space and plane polygons. The key construction is a map, given by Knutson and Hausmann using the Hopf map on quaternions, from the complex Stiefel manifold of 2-frames in n-space to the space of closed n-gons in 3-space of total length 2. Our probability measure on polygon s…

We prove that a closed 3-orbifold that fibers over a hyperbolic polygonal 2-orbifold admits a family of hyperbolic cone structures that are viewed as regeneration of the polygon, provided that the perimeter is minimal.

The study proves spherical polygon analogs of curve theorems, finding bounds on intersections and inflections.

The study proves a discrete version of Segre's theorem for polygonal curves.

It is known that a closed polygon P is a critical point of the oriented area function if and only if P is a cyclic polygon, that is, $P$ can be inscribed in a circle. Moreover, there is a short formula for the Morse index. Going further in this direction, we extend these results to the case of open polygonal chains, or…

The paper concerns discrete versions of the three well-known results of projective differential geometry: the four vertex theorem, the six affine vertex theorem and the Ghys theorem on four zeroes of the Schwarzian derivative. We study geometry of closed polygonal lines in $\bbRP^d$ and prove that polygons satisfying a…

Study symmetries in smoothed polygonal links.

In this paper we discuss some affine properties of convex equal-area polygons, which are convex polygons such that all triangles formed by three consecutive vertices have the same area. Besides being able to approximate closed convex smooth curves almost uniformly with respect to affine length, convex equal-area polygo…

Smooth curves from polygonal chains with vertex preservation and explicit curvature control.

Dancing polygons and rolling balls linked via a special geometric distribution.

The abstract proves polygon inscriptions in curves with specific edge ratios.

We prove that the control polygon of a Bezier curve B becomes homeomorphic and ambient isotopic to B via subdivision, and we provide closed-form formulas to compute the number of iterations to ensure these topological characteristics. We first show that the exterior angles of control polygons converge exponentially to …

In this paper we study 1/k-geodesics, those closed geodesics that minimize on any subinterval of length $L/k$, where $L$ is the length of the geodesic. We investigate the existence and behavior of these curves on doubled polygons and show that every doubled regular $n$-gon admits a $1/2n$-geodesic. For the doubled regu…

We prove the perhaps surprising result that given any three polygonal unknots in $\R^3$, then we may form the Borromean rings out of them through rigid motions of $\R^3$ applied to the individual components together with possible scaling of the components. We also prove that if at least two of the unknots are planar, t…

The image of a polygonal knot K under a spherical inversion of R^3 (union infinity) is a simple closed curve made of arcs of circles, having the same knot type as the mirror image of K. Suppose we reconnect the vertices of the inverted polygon with straight lines, making a new polygon. This may be a different knot type…

Random walks and polygons are used to model polymers. In this paper we consider the extension of writhe, self-linking number and linking number to open chains. We then study the average writhe, self-linking and linking number of random walks and polygons over the space of configurations as a function of their length. W…

New examples show flip distance and polyhedron triangulation numbers differ, with ratio close to 3/2.

For Bezier curves, subdivision algorithms create control polygons as piecewise linear (PL) approximations that converge in terms of Hausdorff distance. We prove that the exterior angles of control polygons under subdivision converge to 0 at the rate of $O(\sqrt{\frac{1}{2^i}})$, where $i$ is the number of subdivisions.…

We study closed geodesics on hyperbolic surfaces, and give bounds for their angles of intersection and self-intersection, and for the sides of the polygons that they form, depending only on the lengths of the geodesics

We study the variation of the Tait number of a closed space curve according to its different projections. The results are used to compute the writhe of a knot, leading to a closed formula in case of polygonal curves.

The functional determinant of an elliptic operator with positive, discrete spectrum may be defined as $e^{-Z'(0)}$, where $Z(s)$, the zeta function, is the sum $\sum_n^{\infty} λ_n^{-s}$ analytically continued to $s$ around the origin. In this paper $Z'(0)$ is calculated for the Laplace operator with Dirichlet boundary…

The equitangent locus of a convex plane curve consists of the points from which the two tangent segments to the curve have equal length. The equitangent problem concerns the relation between the curve and its equitangent locus. An equitangent n-gon of a convex curve is a circumscribed n-gon whose vertices belong to the…

In a symmetric space of noncompact type X = G/K oriented geodesic segments correspond to points in the Euclidean Weyl chamber. We can hence assign vector-valued side-lengths to segments. Our main result is a system of homogeneous linear inequalities describing the restrictions on the side -lengths of closed polygons. T…

We study pairs of curves with Poncelet's porism properties and compute their vertex curves.

Cycloids, hipocycloids and epicycloids have an often forgotten common property: they are homothetic to their evolutes. But what if use convex symmetric polygons as unit balls, can we define evolutes and cycloids which are genuinely discrete? Indeed, we can! We define discrete cycloids as eigenvectors of a discrete doub…

Given a closed polygon P having n edges, embedded in R^d, we give upper and lower bounds for the minimal number of triangles t needed to form a triangulated PL surface in R^d having P as its geometric boundary. The most interesting case is dimension 3, where the polygon may be knotted. We use the Seifert suface constru…

New methods classify convex lattice polygons for affine dimers.

I show that every rectifiable simple closed curve in the plane can be continuously deformed into a convex curve in a motion which preserves arc length and does not decrease the Euclidean distance between any pair of points on the curve. This result is obtained by approximating the curve with polygons and invoking the r…

Graph manifolds' Thurston norms are sums of linear functionals, and every such norm can be realized.

We compute the volumes of the eigenform loci in the moduli space of genus two Abelian differentials. From this, we obtain asymptotic formulas for counting closed billiards paths in certain L-shaped polygons with barriers.

Study intersections of curves on translation surfaces, focusing on regular polygons and their Teichmüller disks.

General area-preserving motion of polygonal curves is formulated as a system of ODEs. Solution polygonal curves belong to a prescribed polygonal class, which is similar to the admissible class used in the crystalline curvature flow. The ODEs are discretized implicitly in time keeping a given constant area speed while s…

Study finds finitely many non-congruent polygonal domains with same Steklov spectrum.

Study of polygon spaces, characterizing critical points of area function.