Point-curve incidences in the complex plane

We prove an incidence theorem for points and curves in the complex plane. Given a set of $m$ points in ${\mathbb R}^2$ and a set of $n$ curves with $k$ degrees of freedom, Pach and Sharir proved that the number of point-curve incidences is $O\big(m^{\frac{k}{2k-1}}n^{\frac{2k-2}{2k-1}}+m+n\big)$. We establish the slightly weaker bound $O_\varepsilon\big(m^{\frac{k}{2k-1}+\varepsilon}n^{\frac{2k-2}{2k-1}}+m+n\big)$ on the number of incidences between $m$ points and $n$ (complex) algebraic curves in ${\mathbb C}^2$ with $k$ degrees of freedom. We combine tools from algebraic geometry and differential geometry to prove a key technical lemma that controls the number of complex curves that can be contained inside a real hypersurface. This lemma may be of independent interest to other researchers proving incidence theorems over ${\mathbb C}$.Comment: The proof was significantly simplified, and now relies on the Picard-Lindelof theorem, rather than on foliation

Improved estimates on the number of unit perimeter triangles

We obtain new upper and lower bounds on the number of unit perimeter triangles spanned by points in the plane. We also establish improved bounds in the special case where the point set is a section of the integer grid.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

VC-Dimension of Hyperplanes over Finite Fields

Let $\mathbb{F}_q^d$ be the $d$-dimensional vector space over the finite field with $q$ elements. For a subset $E\subseteq \mathbb{F}_q^d$ and a fixed nonzero $t\in \mathbb{F}_q$, let $\mathcal{H}_t(E)=\{h_y: y\in E\}$, where $h_y$ is the indicator function of the set $\{x\in E: x\cdot y=t\}$. Two of the authors, with Maxwell Sun, showed in the case $d=3$ that if $|E|\geq Cq^{\frac{11}{4}}$ and $q$ is sufficiently large, then the VC-dimension of $\mathcal{H}_t(E)$ is 3. In this paper, we generalize the result to arbitrary dimension and improve the exponent in the case $d=3$.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

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