2,314 research outputs found
In search for a perfect shape of polyhedra: Buffon transformation
For an arbitrary polygon consider a new one by joining the centres of
consecutive edges. Iteration of this procedure leads to a shape which is affine
equivalent to a regular polygon. This regularisation effect is usually ascribed
to Count Buffon (1707-1788). We discuss a natural analogue of this procedure
for 3-dimensional polyhedra, which leads to a new notion of affine -regular
polyhedra. The main result is the proof of existence of star-shaped affine
-regular polyhedra with prescribed combinatorial structure, under partial
symmetry and simpliciality assumptions. The proof is based on deep results from
spectral graph theory due to Colin de Verdiere and Lovasz.Comment: Slightly revised version with added example of pentakis dodecahedro
Variational principles for circle patterns
A Delaunay cell decomposition of a surface with constant curvature gives rise
to a circle pattern, consisting of the circles which are circumscribed to the
facets. We treat the problem whether there exists a Delaunay cell decomposition
for a given (topological) cell decomposition and given intersection angles of
the circles, whether it is unique and how it may be constructed. Somewhat more
generally, we allow cone-like singularities in the centers and intersection
points of the circles. We prove existence and uniqueness theorems for the
solution of the circle pattern problem using a variational principle. The
functionals (one for the euclidean, one for the hyperbolic case) are convex
functions of the radii of the circles. The analogous functional for the
spherical case is not convex, hence this case is treated by stereographic
projection to the plane. From the existence and uniqueness of circle patterns
in the sphere, we derive a strengthened version of Steinitz' theorem on the
geometric realizability of abstract polyhedra.
We derive the variational principles of Colin de Verdi\`ere, Br\"agger, and
Rivin for circle packings and circle patterns from our variational principles.
In the case of Br\"agger's and Rivin's functionals. Leibon's functional for
hyperbolic circle patterns cannot be derived directly from our functionals. But
we construct yet another functional from which both Leibon's and our
functionals can be derived.
We present Java software to compute and visualize circle patterns.Comment: PhD thesis, iv+94 pages, many figures (mostly vector graphics
Topological signatures in CMB temperature anisotropy maps
We propose an alternative formalism to simulate CMB temperature maps in
CDM universes with nontrivial spatial topologies. This formalism
avoids the need to explicitly compute the eigenmodes of the Laplacian operator
in the spatial sections. Instead, the covariance matrix of the coefficients of
the spherical harmonic decomposition of the temperature anisotropies is
expressed in terms of the elements of the covering group of the space. We
obtain a decomposition of the correlation matrix that isolates the topological
contribution to the CMB temperature anisotropies out of the simply connected
contribution. A further decomposition of the topological signature of the
correlation matrix for an arbitrary topology allows us to compute it in terms
of correlation matrices corresponding to simpler topologies, for which closed
quadrature formulae might be derived. We also use this decomposition to show
that CMB temperature maps of (not too large) multiply connected universes must
show ``patterns of alignment'', and propose a method to look for these
patterns, thus opening the door to the development of new methods for detecting
the topology of our Universe even when the injectivity radius of space is
slightly larger than the radius of the last scattering surface. We illustrate
all these features with the simplest examples, those of flat homogeneous
manifolds, i.e., tori, with special attention given to the cylinder, i.e.,
topology.Comment: 25 pages, 7 eps figures, revtex4, submitted to PR
Flipping Cubical Meshes
We define and examine flip operations for quadrilateral and hexahedral
meshes, similar to the flipping transformations previously used in triangular
and tetrahedral mesh generation.Comment: 20 pages, 24 figures. Expanded journal version of paper from 10th
International Meshing Roundtable. This version removes some unwanted
paragraph breaks from the previous version; the text is unchange
The Rigidity of Spherical Frameworks: Swapping Blocks and Holes
A significant range of geometric structures whose rigidity is explored for
both practical and theoretical purposes are formed by modifying generically
isostatic triangulated spheres. In the block and hole structures (P, p), some
edges are removed to make holes, and other edges are added to create rigid
sub-structures called blocks. Previous work noted a combinatorial analogy in
which blocks and holes played equivalent roles. In this paper, we connect
stresses in such a structure (P, p) to first-order motions in a swapped
structure (P', p), where holes become blocks and blocks become holes. When the
initial structure is geometrically isostatic, this shows that the swapped
structure is also geometrically isostatic, giving the strongest possible
correspondence. We use a projective geometric presentation of the statics and
the motions, to make the key underlying correspondences transparent.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figure
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