Bounds on three- and higher-distance sets

A finite set X in a metric space M is called an s-distance set if the set of distances between any two distinct points of X has size s. The main problem for s-distance sets is to determine the maximum cardinality of s-distance sets for fixed s and M. In this paper, we improve the known upper bound for s-distance sets in n-sphere for s=3,4. In particular, we determine the maximum cardinalities of three-distance sets for n=7 and 21. We also give the maximum cardinalities of s-distance sets in the Hamming space and the Johnson space for several s and dimensions.Comment: 12 page

Ptolemaic Indexing

This paper discusses a new family of bounds for use in similarity search, related to those used in metric indexing, but based on Ptolemy's inequality, rather than the metric axioms. Ptolemy's inequality holds for the well-known Euclidean distance, but is also shown here to hold for quadratic form metrics in general, with Mahalanobis distance as an important special case. The inequality is examined empirically on both synthetic and real-world data sets and is also found to hold approximately, with a very low degree of error, for important distances such as the angular pseudometric and several Lp norms. Indexing experiments demonstrate a highly increased filtering power compared to existing, triangular methods. It is also shown that combining the Ptolemaic and triangular filtering can lead to better results than using either approach on its own

Dense point sets have sparse Delaunay triangulations

The spread of a finite set of points is the ratio between the longest and shortest pairwise distances. We prove that the Delaunay triangulation of any set of n points in R^3 with spread D has complexity O(D^3). This bound is tight in the worst case for all D = O(sqrt{n}). In particular, the Delaunay triangulation of any dense point set has linear complexity. We also generalize this upper bound to regular triangulations of k-ply systems of balls, unions of several dense point sets, and uniform samples of smooth surfaces. On the other hand, for any n and D=O(n), we construct a regular triangulation of complexity Omega(nD) whose n vertices have spread D.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures. Full version of SODA 2002 paper. Also available at http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/~jeffe/pubs/screw.htm

Curvature dark energy reconstruction through different cosmographic distance definitions

In the context of $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity, dark energy is a geometrical fluid with negative equation of state. Since the function $f(\mathcal{R})$ is not known \emph{a priori}, the need of a model independent reconstruction of its shape represents a relevant technique to determine which $f(\mathcal{R})$ model is really favored with respect to others. To this aim, we relate cosmography to a generic $f(\mathcal R)$ and its derivatives in order to provide a model independent investigation at redshift $z \sim 0$. Our analysis is based on the use of three different cosmological distance definitions, in order to alleviate the duality problem, i.e. the problem of which cosmological distance to use with specific cosmic data sets. We therefore consider the luminosity, $d_L$, flux, $d_F$, and angular, $d_A$, distances and we find numerical constraints by the Union 2.1 supernovae compilation and measurement of baryonic acoustic oscillations, at $z_{BAO}=0.35$. We notice that all distances reduce to the same expression, i.e. $d_{L;F;A}\sim\frac{1}{\mathcal H_0}z$, at first order. Thus, to fix the cosmographic series of observables, we impose the initial value of $H_0$ by fitting $\mathcal H_0$ through supernovae only, in the redshift regime $z<0.4$. We find that the pressure of curvature dark energy fluid is slightly lower than the one related to the cosmological constant. This indicates that a possible evolving curvature dark energy realistically fills the current universe. Moreover, the combined use of $d_L,d_F$ and $d_A$ shows that the sign of the acceleration parameter agrees with theoretical bounds, while its variation, namely the jerk parameter, is compatible with $j_0>1$. Finally, we infer the functional form of $f(\mathcal{R})$ by means of a truncated polynomial approximation, in terms of fourth order scale factor $a(t)$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Annalen der Physi

Higher Distance Energies and Expanders with Structure

We adapt the idea of higher moment energies, originally used in Additive Combinatorics, so that it would apply to problems in Discrete Geometry. This new approach leads to a variety of new results, such as (i) Improved bounds for the problem of distinct distances with local properties. (ii) Improved bounds for problems involving expanding polynomials in ${\mathbb R}[x,y]$ (Elekes-Ronyai type bounds) when one or two of the sets have structure. Higher moment energies seem to be related to additional problems in Discrete Geometry, to lead to new elegant theory, and to raise new questions