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Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

    Guess: All centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might give infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for each orientation - and a different value $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

Guess: All centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might give infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for each orientation - and a different value $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

Guess: All centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might give infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for each orientation - and a different value $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

    Guess: All centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might give infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for each orientation - and a different value $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

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Nandakumar R
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Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

Guess: Some EllipsesAll centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might allowgive infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for more than 1each orientation - and a different value of $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

Guess: Some Ellipses might allow such lines for more than 1 value of $t$

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

Guess: All centrally symmetric convex regions (rectangles, ellipses,...) appear to give such only one single partitioning line that divides both area and outer perimeter in same ration - only for $t=1/2$. But general convex regions with no symmetry might give infinitely many such lines - one such partitioning line for each orientation - and a different value $t$ for each orientation. And the set of these lines might even have interesting envelopes.

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

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Nandakumar R
  • 6k
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Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. ForClearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$ – this region is of course. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the intersection of 'halves'interior of $C$ resulting from each of the 3 fair bisectors taken one half per fair bisectorinto many regions. LetLet us refer to this region in the interiorunion of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$? Guess: Some Ellipses might allow such lines for more than 1 value of $t$

Guess: Some Ellipses might allow such lines for more than 1 value of $t$

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. For a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$ – this region is of course, the intersection of 'halves' of $C$ resulting from each of the 3 fair bisectors taken one half per fair bisector. Let us refer to this region in the interior as the 'core' of $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$? Guess: Some Ellipses might allow such lines for more than 1 value of $t$

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

Definitions (https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pmsc/122/03/0459-0467):

Given a planar convex region $C$ (could be smooth or polygonal), an area bisector of $C$ is any line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area. A 'fair bisector' is a line that partitions $C$ into 2 pieces of equal area and equal perimeter.

Thru every point on the boundary of $C$, an area bisector can be drawn (for a description of their properties, please see 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11). But it can be seen that a convex planar region can have just a single fair bisector (eg. for a thin isosceles triangle, the only fair bisector is the bisector of its apex angle) or a finite number of them (in which case, their number is necessarily odd as can be seen from simple continuity arguments; see reference at the top) or infinitely many.

Observations: For regions with a center of symmetry such as a circular disk or ellipse or regular polygon with even number of sides, all fair bisectors are concurrent. But, numerically, we see that for a general convex region $C$ with finitely many fair bisectors, the fair bisectors are not necessarily concurrent but usually very close to being so. Clearly,for a general $C$ with exactly 3 fair bisectors, they determine a small triangular region deep in the interior of $C$. For $C$s with more fair bisectors, their many possible intersections will divide the interior of $C$ into many regions. Let us refer to the union of those regions which do not share the outer boundary of $C$ as the 'core' of $C$. The core must lie deep inside $C$.

Questions:

  1. For which convex shape of $C$ is the area of the 'core' of $C$ the largest as a fraction of the area of $C$? Intuitively, a relatively large core is a measure of the asymmetry of $C$. Can one say (say) that such a shape is always one with exactly 3 fair bisectors?

  2. Generalizing a bit, what about lines that break off the same fraction $t$ of the area and outer boundary length of $C$? For a circular disk, it appears that only for $t=1/2$, we have such lines (any diameter). Are there $C$'s for which such lines exist for several (maybe even arbitrarily many) different values of $t$?

Guess: Some Ellipses might allow such lines for more than 1 value of $t$

These questions have obvious higher dimensional analogs.

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