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I hope that the word "disc" indicates that we work in 2-dimensional Euclidean space. Then an intersection of discs would be something like a polygon, just that the sides are not straight lines but arcs of a circle. It should be possible to save the intersection in some data structure. And then one can compute the maximum distance from each arc to each other arc and take the maximum value.

If one wants to

To compute the maximum distance between to given Arcs $A_1$ and $A_2$ let $x_i\in A_i$ be two points such that $d(x_1,x_2)=\sup\{d(x,y)|x\in A_1,y\in A_2\}$. (Existence follows from compactness). If you take a unit speed parametrization $\gamma_1,\gamma_2$ of the arcs, one should note and times $t_i$ with $\gamma_i(t_i)=x_i$. Assuming, that $x_1$ is not the points, where endpoint of the arc $A_1$, then the function $\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R} \qquad t\mapsto d(\gamma_1(t),x_2)$ obtains a maximum at $t$, so its differential must be $0$ at $t_1$. But this distance is obtained are either endpoints just the scalar product of $\gamma'_1(t_1)$ and the gradient of $d(-,x_2)$ at $\gamma(t)$, which can be seen as the direction of the line , that connects both maximizing points is orthogonal connecting $x_1$ and $x_2$.

This should make it possible to compute the arcdistance by looking at finitely many cases. (Both endpoints, one inner point, two inner points).

Hope I understood the question right.

2 edited body

I hope that the word "disc" indicates that we work in 2-dimensional Euclidean space. Then an intersection of discs would be something like a polygon, just that the sides are not straight lines but arcs of a circle. It should be possible to save the intersection in some data structure. And then one can compute the maximum distance from each arc to each other arc and take the maximum value.

If one wants to compute the maximum distance between to arcs, one should note that the points, where this distance is obtained are either endpoints of the line, that connects both minimizing maximizing points is orthogonal to the arc.

Hope I understood the question right.

1

I hope that the word "disc" indicates that we work in 2-dimensional Euclidean space. Then an intersection of discs would be something like a polygon, just that the sides are not straight lines but arcs of a circle. It should be possible to save the intersection in some data structure. And then one can compute the maximum distance from each arc to each other arc and take the maximum value.

If one wants to compute the maximum distance between to arcs, one should note that the points, where this distance is obtained are either endpoints of the line, that connects both minimizing points is orthogonal to the arc.

Hope I understood the question right.