All Questions
2,368 questions
23
votes
1
answer
713
views
Covering the unit sphere in $\mathbf{R}^n$ with $2n$ congruent disks
Let $v_i$ be $2n$ points in $\mathbf{R}^n$, with equal distance $|v_i|$ from the origin. Suppose that the convex hull of these points contains the unit ball. Is it known that $|v_i|\geq\sqrt{n}$? ...
- 7,149
23
votes
1
answer
524
views
Tying knots via gravity-assisted spaceship trajectories
Q.
Can every knot be realized as the trajectory of a spaceship
weaving among a finite number of fixed planets, subject to gravity alone?
To make this more ...
- 151k
23
votes
1
answer
954
views
A combinatorial approximation functor sSet->qCat
Let $sSet_J$ denote the category of simplicial sets equipped with the Joyal model structure. Simply by the fact that $sSet_J$ is locally presentable and its class of anodynes ($\neq \mathbf{Cof} \cap ...
- 19.6k
23
votes
2
answers
530
views
Trapping a convex body by a finite set of points
In $\mathbb{R}^n$, let $K$ be a convex body and $T$ a finite set of points disjoint from the interior of $K$. Say that $T$ traps $K$ if there is no continuous motion of $K$ carrying $K$ arbitrarily ...
- 7,276
22
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Non-chaotic bouncing-ball curves
I was surprised to learn from two
Mathematica Demos by
Enrique Zeleny that an elastic ball bouncing in a V or in a sinusoidal channel
exhibits chaotic behavior:
(The Poincaré map ...
- 151k
22
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Covering a circle with red and blue arcs
We have a circle and two families of $n$ red arcs and $n$ blue arcs, positioned on the circle so that every two arcs of different colors intersect. Can one show that there is a point in the perimeter ...
- 85.6k
22
votes
3
answers
822
views
Covering a hexagon
For $\epsilon > 0$ sufficiently small, can a regular hexagon with sides of length $1 + \epsilon$ be covered by seven equilateral triangles with sides of length $1$?
Motivation: Conway and Soifer ...
- 7,857
22
votes
1
answer
696
views
Rational inscribed realization of the regular dodecahedron
While it is clear that the regular dodecahedron $D$ cannot be realized with all integer coordinates, it is easy to find a polytope, which is combinatorially equivalent (face lattice isomorphic) to $D$ ...
- 10.7k
22
votes
2
answers
900
views
Is every 1-million-connected graph rigid in 3D?
It is an old result that every $6$-connected graph is rigid in $\mathbb{R}^2$:
Lovász, László, and Yechiam Yemini. "On generic rigidity in the plane." SIAM Journal on Algebraic Discrete ...
- 151k
22
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Equilaterally triangulated surfaces with prescribed boundary
There is a problem in Richard Kenyon's list (Wayback Machine) which I would like to post here, because although I have thought about it from time to time, I have not been able to make the slightest ...
- 7,149
22
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Why is complex projective space triangulable?
In an exercise in his algebraic topology book, Munkres asserts that $\mathbf{C}P^n$ is triangulable (i.e., there is a simplicial complex $K$ and a homeomorphism $|K| \rightarrow \mathbf{C}P^n$). Can ...
- 4,254
22
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Points and lines in the plane
Does a positive real number $k\geq1$ exist such that for every finite set $P$ of points in the plane (with the property that no three points of $P$ lie on a common line and $|P|\geq3$), one can choose ...
- 319
22
votes
1
answer
663
views
Voronoi cell of lattices with the same profile
Definition 1. Given a body $V$ in $\mathbb R^n$,
the function $p_V\colon \mathbb R_+\to \mathbb R_+$
$$p_V(r)=\mathop{\rm vol} [V\cap B_r(0)]$$
will be called profile of $V$.
Definition 2. Define ...
- 45k
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 ...
- 124
22
votes
1
answer
965
views
Grothendieck on polyhedra over finite fields
In Grothendieck's Sketch of a Programme he spends a few pages discussing polyhedra over arbitrary rings and concludes with some intriguing remarks on specializing polyhedra over their "most ...
- 528
21
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Is a rhombus rigid on a sphere or torus? And generalizations
If a rectangle is formed from rigid bars for edges and joints
at vertices, then it is flexible in the plane: it can flex
to a parallelogram.
On any smooth surface with a metric, one can define a ...
- 151k
21
votes
5
answers
5k
views
What arrangement of unit cubes minimizes surface area?
For each of these two questions, one can assume that the arrangements are polycubes (for which a definition can be found in the excerpt-image below).
Question A. How does one arrange $n$ unit cubes ...
- 7,831
21
votes
3
answers
935
views
Cutting of a regular polygon into congruent pieces
Question. For which $N$ it is possible to cut a regular $N$-gon into congruent pieces such that the center of the regular polygon lies strictly inside one of the pieces? For $N=3,4$ there are trivial ...
- 691
21
votes
1
answer
975
views
Conjecture: Given any five points, we can always draw a pair of non-intersecting circles whose diameter endpoints are four of those points
The following question resisted attacks at Math SE, so I thought I would try posting it here.
Is the following conjecture true or false:
Given any five coplanar points, we can always draw at least ...
- 3,507
21
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Forbidden mirror sequences
Let $\cal{M}$ be a finite collection of two-sided mirrors,
each an open unit-length segment in $\mathbb{R^2}$,
and such that the segments when closed are disjoint.
A ray of light that reflects off the ...
- 151k
21
votes
2
answers
1k
views
On convergence of convex bodies
Let $K\subset \mathbb{R}^n$ be a compact convex set of full dimension. Assume that $0\in \partial K$.
Question 1. Is it true that there exists $\varepsilon_0>0$ such that for any $0<\...
- 21.8k
21
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Monomer-Dimer tatami tilings need better relationships with other math. Summary of results
A monomer-dimer tiling of a rectangular grid with $r$ rows and $c$ columns satisfies the tatami condition if no four tiles meet at any point. (Or you can think of it as the removal of a matching from ...
21
votes
0
answers
453
views
Does every 5-celled animal tile the plane?
An animal in the plane is a finite set of grid-aligned unit squares in $\mathbb{R}^2$. (The definition is the same as a polyomino, but where we relax the connectivity requirement.) One may ...
- 3,068
20
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Smallest tile to tessellate the hyperbolic plane
Is it known what the smallest tile (in terms of area) that can tessellate the hyperbolic plane is? In particular, it should tessellate the plane by itself.
I think it will be a Triangle group, but I'...
- 6,353
20
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Erdős, Harary, Tutte's "dimension of graph": Progress in last 48 yrs?
I just ran across this delightful paper by an amazing triumvirate:
Paul Erdős, Frank Harary, and William Tutte. "On the dimension of a graph." Mathematika 12.118-122 (1965): 20.
(Cambridge link)
...
- 151k
20
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Does a function from $\mathbb R^2$ to $\mathbb R$ which sums to 0 on the corners of any unit square have to vanish everywhere?
Does a function from $\mathbb{R}^2$ to $\mathbb{R}$ which sums to 0 on the corners of any unit square have to vanish everywhere?
I think the answer is yes but I am not sure how to prove it.
If we ...
- 4,862
20
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Iterated Circumcircle
Take three noncollinear points (a,b,c), compute the center of their circumcircle x, and replace a random one of a,b,c with x. Repeat. It seems this process may converge to a point, assuming no ...
- 151k
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can you see through a cannonball packing?
More precisely, in a regular sphere packing, either the
HCP or FCC lattice packing,
does there exist a line $L$ disjoint from every sphere,
i.e., not touching any sphere?
If so, one could "look ...
- 151k
20
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How many unit squares can you pack into a rectangle with nearly integer side lengths?
Earlier today, somebody asked what looks like a homework problem, but admits the following reading which I think is interesting:
Suppose $a_1,\dots, a_n$ are positive integers, and $\varepsilon$ is ...
20
votes
1
answer
489
views
Maximum height of intersection of triangles
I'd like some advice regarding the following question, which I have been struggling with for long time.
Let's call the shaded region in the below $S_3$. It is the union of three congruent isosceles ...
20
votes
1
answer
452
views
Hidden points in polygons
Let $h(n)$ be the largest number of mutually invisible points that can be located in a
polygon $P$ of $n$ vertices. Two points $x$ and $y$ are mutually invisible if the segment
$xy$ contains a point ...
- 151k
20
votes
1
answer
590
views
Update to Shephard's "Twenty Problems on Convex Polyhedra"
Forty-three years ago, Geoffrey Shephard published an influential list of open problems
on convex polyhedra.
Progress has been made on several of his problems, and perhaps some have been completely ...
- 151k
20
votes
0
answers
433
views
Is the dodecahedron flexible (as a polytope with fixed edge-lengths)?
Consider the (regular) dodecahedron $D\subset\Bbb R^3$. I want to continuously deform it so that throughout the deformation
it stays a convex polytope,
it stays a combinatorial dodecahedron (i.e. its ...
- 13.6k
19
votes
5
answers
21k
views
Dividing a square into 5 equal squares
Can you divide one square paper into five equal squares?
You have a scissor and glue. You can measure and cut and then attach as well. Only condition is You can't waste any paper.
- 383
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Particles chasing one another around a circle
Two particles start out at random positions on a unit-circumference circle.
Each has a random speed (distance per unit time) moving counterclockwise uniformly distributed
within $[0,1]$. How long ...
- 151k
19
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Applications of linear programming duality in combinatorics
So, I know that one can apply the strong LP duality theorem to specific instances of maximum flow problems to recover some nontrivial theorems in combinatorics, such as Hall's theorem, Koenig's ...
- 997
19
votes
1
answer
927
views
Can every simple polytope be inscribed in a sphere?
It is known that not every convex polytope (even polyhedron, e.g. this one) can be made inscribed, that is, we cannot always move its vertices so that
all vertices end up on a common sphere, and
the ...
- 13.6k
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Cutting convex sets
Any bounded convex set of the Euclidean plane can be cut into two convex pieces of equal area and circumference.
Can one cut every bounded convex set of the Euclidean plane into an arbitrary number $...
- 17.9k
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is it possible that both a graph and its complement have small connectivity?
Let $G=(V,E)$ be a simple graph with $n$ vertices. The isoperimetric constant of $G$ is defined as
$$
i(G) := \min_{A \subset V,|A| \leq \frac n2} \frac{|\partial A|}{|A|}
$$
where $\partial A$ is ...
- 1,991
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Four Dimensional Origami Axioms
What are the axioms of four dimensional Origami.
If standard Origami is considered three dimensional, it has points, lines, surfaces and folds to create a three dimensional form from the folded ...
- 193
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is the tensor product of polyhedra a polyhedron?
Conventions: A polytope in a finite-dimensional $\mathbb R$-vector space $V$ is defined to be a convex hull of finitely many points in $V$. A polyhedron in a finite-dimensional $\mathbb R$-vector ...
- 33.8k
19
votes
1
answer
616
views
How hard is it to tell when a finite set tiles the integers?
Given a nonempty set $B$ of integers between 1 and $n$, we wish to determine whether or not $\mathbb{Z}$ can be tiled with translates of $B$ (that is, covered by disjoint translates of $B$). I know an ...
- 19.7k
19
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Knight's tours in higher dimensions
I wonder if Knight's Tours have been explored in higher dimensions,
using the following definition of a knight move.
In dimension $d=2$, the knight moves left/right and forward/back
one step and two ...
- 151k
19
votes
1
answer
448
views
Precise estimate for probability an $n$-point set has diameter smaller than $1$
This question was inspired by an earlier question that I answered but would like a more precise bound for.
Consider random points $x_1, \dots, x_n$ in the unit ball in $\mathbb R^d$, uniformly and ...
- 148k
18
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Mathematics of quasicrystals
I want to study quasicrystals from mathematical point of view, but I'm having hard time finding materials about it. If you could suggest me some books, articles or papers, I would be glad.
- 1,099
18
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is {6,3,7} an 'ultrahyperbolic' Coxeter group?
These pictures, drawn by Roice Nelson, are attempts to visualize a geometry having as symmetries the {6,3,7} Coxeter group, by which I mean the one coming from the Coxeter diagram
$$\circ-6-\circ-3-\...
- 22.3k
18
votes
2
answers
840
views
Reference to a conjecture on unit vectors in Euclidean space
I have heard that there exists the following conjecture (if I am not mistaken).
Let $u_1,\dots,u_n$ be unit vectors in an $n$-dimensional Euclidean vector space. Then there exists another unit vector ...
- 21.8k
18
votes
3
answers
405
views
Tilting the $d$-cube to vertically separate its vertices
Let $C_d$ be a unit edge-length cube in $d$ dimensions.
I would like to orient it ("tilt" it) so that the vertical (last) coordinates
of its $2^d$ vertices are maximally separated, in the sense
that ...
- 151k
18
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Deciding membership in a convex hull
Given points $u, v_1, \dots,v_n \in \mathbb{R}^m$, decide if $u$ is contained in the convex hull of $v_1, \dots, v_n$.
This can be done efficiently by linear programming (time polynomial in $n,m$) in ...
- 667
18
votes
4
answers
801
views
Volume of convex lattice polytopes with one interior lattice point
Let $P$ be a convex polytope in $\mathbb{R}^3$ whose every vertex lies in the $\mathbb{Z}^3$ lattice.
Question: If $P$ contains exactly one lattice point in its interior, what is the maximum possible ...
- 7,276