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1 vote
0 answers
137 views

A comparison between packing and covering as classes of problems

We continue from Bounds for the Dispersal Problem in convex regions and Bounds for minimax facility location in a convex region Let us consider the classes of problems: Given a convex region $R$ and ...
4 votes
0 answers
144 views

Approximation of a convex shape in the $d$-dimensional Euclidean space for $d\gg 1$

We are given a convex shape $C$ lying inside the hypercube $[0,1]^d$ in the $d$-dimensional Euclidean space. Let the volume of $C$ be $\tfrac12$ (I guess nothing changes for any other fixed constant ...
22 votes
1 answer
886 views

Happy ants never leave compact domain?

I am curious if the following seemingly simple question has an easy answer? Consider an ant population of $N$ ants that lives in $\mathbb R^2$. Each ant can be labeled by some coordinate $x\in \mathbb ...
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Elementary precise estimate of the covering number of euclidean balls by hypercubes

I am looking for a straightforward way to upper bound the covering number of a $d$-dimensional euclidean ball by $\ell_\infty$-balls of radius $\varepsilon$, which I will call cubes of sidelength $2\...
2 votes
2 answers
279 views

Combinatorial optimization problem with interdependent constraints on points in $[0,1]$

We are given a set $S$ of $n$ real numbers in $[0,1]$, with $0,1\in S$, and a value $\alpha\in(0,1/2)$. For each ordered triplet $(i,j,k)$ of values contained in $S$ (with $i\le j \le k$), we define ...
2 votes
0 answers
131 views

Optimal way to group points in the plane into clusters

Consider a strictly decreasing sequence $d = (d_k)_{k\ge 1}$ of distances in $(0,1)$. Given a constant $C>2$, we say that $d$ has the $C$-grouping property if any finite non-empty subset $S$ (of ...
5 votes
1 answer
114 views

Packing in uniform domains

Given $N$ points $X:=(x_i)_{i \in \{1,..,N\}}$, we now define a score function $S:X \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ that is $S(X)= \sum_{i=1}^N S(x_i)$ where the score of $S(x_i)$ is $$S(x_i) = 2* \vert \{x_j;...
5 votes
0 answers
313 views

Trade-off between covering number, ball radius and diameter of $d$-dimensional shapes

Given any $d$-dimensional shape $X$ in the Euclidean space, let $\ell(X)$ be the length of the longest line segment connecting two points of $X$. How can we prove the following statement? There exists ...
3 votes
0 answers
134 views

Two questions on counterexamples to Borsuk's conjecture and ball-packings

In 1933 Karol Borsuk conjectured the following Can every bounded subset $E$ of $\mathbb{R}^d$ be partitioned into $(d+1)$ sets, each of which has a smaller diameter than $E$? Whilst new to this ...
5 votes
0 answers
199 views

Existence of a honeycomb composed by nearly-hyperspherical $d$-dimensional cells having the same shape and size

Let $\mathcal{H}$ the class of all honeycombs composed by $d$-dimensional cells $C$ having all the same shape and size in a $d$-dimensional space $\mathcal{S}$. Let $s(C)$ and $\ell(C)$ be ...
6 votes
0 answers
1k views

How to pack 27 $a\times b\times c$ blocks into a cube of side $a+b+c$ with some kind of symmetry?

Recently I stumbled on the problem quoted here about a geometric proof of the AM-GM inequality $$(a_1+\cdots+a_n)^n\ge n^n a_1\cdots a_n$$ by packing $n^n$ rectangular $ n$-dimensional boxes of sides $...
9 votes
1 answer
274 views

Integer sets with forbidden differences

Given a finite set $S$ of positive integers, and a positive integer $n$, let $F(n,S)$ be the largest possible cardinality of a subset of {$1,2,\dots,n$} no two of whose elements differ by a number in $...
1 vote
0 answers
124 views

The smallest disk containing all cirular arcs

In a comment to my recent question about covering segments by a disk, Gerhard Paseman has suggested a generalisation: replacing the segments of the original $n$-gon by a simple closed (say, convex) ...
16 votes
5 answers
712 views

The smallest disk containing all sides of an $n$-gon

Start with a regular $n$-gon of side 1 and consider its sides as open segments that can be moved around in the plane, allowing only translations. Two segments may not intersect. What is the radius ...