On Visibility Representations of Non-planar Graphs

A rectangle visibility representation (RVR) of a graph consists of an assignment of axis-aligned rectangles to vertices such that for every edge there exists a horizontal or vertical line of sight between the rectangles assigned to its endpoints. Testing whether a graph has an RVR is known to be NP-hard. In this paper, we study the problem of finding an RVR under the assumption that an embedding in the plane of the input graph is fixed and we are looking for an RVR that reflects this embedding. We show that in this case the problem can be solved in polynomial time for general embedded graphs and in linear time for 1-plane graphs (i.e., embedded graphs having at most one crossing per edge). The linear time algorithm uses a precise list of forbidden configurations, which extends the set known for straight-line drawings of 1-plane graphs. These forbidden configurations can be tested for in linear time, and so in linear time we can test whether a 1-plane graph has an RVR and either compute such a representation or report a negative witness. Finally, we discuss some extensions of our study to the case when the embedding is not fixed but the RVR can have at most one crossing per edge

A Note on Flips in Diagonal Rectangulations

Rectangulations are partitions of a square into axis-aligned rectangles. A number of results provide bijections between combinatorial equivalence classes of rectangulations and families of pattern-avoiding permutations. Other results deal with local changes involving a single edge of a rectangulation, referred to as flips, edge rotations, or edge pivoting. Such operations induce a graph on equivalence classes of rectangulations, related to so-called flip graphs on triangulations and other families of geometric partitions. In this note, we consider a family of flip operations on the equivalence classes of diagonal rectangulations, and their interpretation as transpositions in the associated Baxter permutations, avoiding the vincular patterns { 3{14}2, 2{41}3 }. This complements results from Law and Reading (JCTA, 2012) and provides a complete characterization of flip operations on diagonal rectangulations, in both geometric and combinatorial terms

Lattice Topological Field Theory on Non-Orientable Surfaces

The lattice definition of the two-dimensional topological quantum field theory [Fukuma, {\em et al}, Commun.~Math.~Phys.\ {\bf 161}, 157 (1994)] is generalized to arbitrary (not necessarily orientable) compact surfaces. It is shown that there is a one-to-one correspondence between real associative $*$-algebras and the topological state sum invariants defined on such surfaces. The partition and $n$-point functions on all two-dimensional surfaces (connected sums of the Klein bottle or projective plane and $g$-tori) are defined and computed for arbitrary $*$-algebras in general, and for the the group ring $A=\R[G]$ of discrete groups $G$, in particular.Comment: Corrected Latex file, 39 pages, 28 figures available upon reques

Spacetime and Euclidean Geometry

Using only the principle of relativity and Euclidean geometry we show in this pedagogical article that the square of proper time or length in a two-dimensional spacetime diagram is proportional to the Euclidean area of the corresponding causal domain. We use this relation to derive the Minkowski line element by two geometric proofs of the "spacetime Pythagoras theorem".Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures; for a festschrift honoring Michael P. Ryan; v.2: References to related work adde

Area-Universal Rectangular Layouts

A rectangular layout is a partition of a rectangle into a finite set of interior-disjoint rectangles. Rectangular layouts appear in various applications: as rectangular cartograms in cartography, as floorplans in building architecture and VLSI design, and as graph drawings. Often areas are associated with the rectangles of a rectangular layout and it might hence be desirable if one rectangular layout can represent several area assignments. A layout is area-universal if any assignment of areas to rectangles can be realized by a combinatorially equivalent rectangular layout. We identify a simple necessary and sufficient condition for a rectangular layout to be area-universal: a rectangular layout is area-universal if and only if it is one-sided. More generally, given any rectangular layout L and any assignment of areas to its regions, we show that there can be at most one layout (up to horizontal and vertical scaling) which is combinatorially equivalent to L and achieves a given area assignment. We also investigate similar questions for perimeter assignments. The adjacency requirements for the rectangles of a rectangular layout can be specified in various ways, most commonly via the dual graph of the layout. We show how to find an area-universal layout for a given set of adjacency requirements whenever such a layout exists.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figure

Singular link Floer homology

We define a grid presentation for singular links i.e. links with a finite number of rigid transverse double points. Then we use it to generalize link Floer homology to singular links. Besides the consistency of its definition, we prove that this homology is acyclic under some conditions which naturally make its Euler characteristic vanish.Comment: 29 pages, many figure

Metastability in the two-dimensional Ising model with free boundary conditions

We investigate metastability in the two dimensional Ising model in a square with free boundary conditions at low temperatures. Starting with all spins down in a small positive magnetic field, we show that the exit from this metastable phase occurs via the nucleation of a critical droplet in one of the four corners of the system. We compute the lifetime of the metastable phase analytically in the limit $T\to 0$, $h\to 0$ and via Monte Carlo simulations at fixed values of $T$ and $h$ and find good agreement. This system models the effects of boundary domains in magnetic storage systems exiting from a metastable phase when a small external field is applied.Comment: 24 pages, TeX fil