On the Stretch Factor of Polygonal Chains

Let $P=(p_1, p_2, \dots, p_n)$ be a polygonal chain. The stretch factor of $P$ is the ratio between the total length of $P$ and the distance of its endpoints, $\sum_{i = 1}^{n-1} |p_i p_{i+1}|/|p_1 p_n|$. For a parameter $c \geq 1$, we call $P$ a $c$-chain if $|p_ip_j|+|p_jp_k| \leq c|p_ip_k|$, for every triple $(i,j,k)$, $1 \leq i<j<k \leq n$. The stretch factor is a global property: it measures how close $P$ is to a straight line, and it involves all the vertices of $P$; being a $c$-chain, on the other hand, is a fingerprint-property: it only depends on subsets of $O(1)$ vertices of the chain. We investigate how the $c$-chain property influences the stretch factor in the plane: (i) we show that for every $\varepsilon > 0$, there is a noncrossing $c$-chain that has stretch factor $\Omega(n^{1/2-\varepsilon})$, for sufficiently large constant $c=c(\varepsilon)$; (ii) on the other hand, the stretch factor of a $c$-chain $P$ is $O\left(n^{1/2}\right)$, for every constant $c\geq 1$, regardless of whether $P$ is crossing or noncrossing; and (iii) we give a randomized algorithm that can determine, for a polygonal chain $P$ in $\mathbb{R}^2$ with $n$ vertices, the minimum $c\geq 1$ for which $P$ is a $c$-chain in $O\left(n^{2.5}\ {\rm polylog}\ n\right)$ expected time and $O(n\log n)$ space.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure

Self-approaching paths in simple polygons

info:eu-repo/semantics/inPres

Self-approaching paths in simple polygons

We study self-approaching paths that are contained in a simple polygon. A self-approaching path is a directed curve connecting two points such that the Euclidean distance between a point moving along the path and any future position does not increase, that is, for all points a, b, and c that appear in that order along the curve, cSCOPUS: cp.pinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Self-approaching paths in simple polygons

\u3cp\u3eWe study the problem of connecting two points in a simple polygon with a self-approaching path. A self-approaching path is a directed curve such that the Euclidean distance between a point moving along the path and any future position does not increase, that is, for all points a, b, and c that appear in that order along the curve, |ac|≥|bc|. We analyze properties of self-approaching paths inside simple polygons, and characterize shortest self-approaching paths. In particular, we show that a shortest self-approaching path connecting two points in a simple polygon can be forced to follow a general class of non-algebraic curves. While this makes it difficult to design an exact algorithm, we show how to find the shortest self-approaching path under a model of computation which assumes that we can compute involute curves of high order. Lastly, we provide an efficient algorithm to test if a given simple polygon is self-approaching, that is, if there exists a self-approaching path for any two points inside the polygon.\u3c/p\u3

Self-approaching paths in simple polygons

We study the problem of connecting two points in a simple polygon with a self-approaching path. A self-approaching path is a directed curve such that the Euclidean distance between a point moving along the path and any future position does not increase, that is, for all points a, b, and c that appear in that order along the curve, [Formula presented]. We analyze properties of self-approaching paths inside simple polygons, and characterize shortest self-approaching paths. In particular, we show that a shortest self-approaching path connecting two points in a simple polygon can be forced to follow a general class of non-algebraic curves. While this makes it difficult to design an exact algorithm, we show how to find the shortest self-approaching path under a model of computation which assumes that we can compute involute curves of high order. Lastly, we provide an efficient algorithm to test if a given simple polygon is self-approaching, that is, if there exists a self-approaching path for any two points inside the polygon

Self-approaching paths in simple polygons

We study self-approaching paths that are contained in a simple polygon. A self-approaching path is a directed curve connecting two points such that the Euclidean distance between a point moving along the path and any future position does not increase, that is, for all points a, b, and c that appear in that order along the curve, |ac| >= |bc|. We analyze the properties, and present a characterization of shortest self-approaching paths. In particular, we show that a shortest self-approaching path connecting two points inside a polygon can be forced to follow a general class of non-algebraic curves. While this makes it difficult to design an exact algorithm, we show how to find a self-approaching path inside a polygon connecting two points under a model of computation which assumes that we can calculate involute curves of high order. Lastly, we provide an algorithm to test if a given simple polygon is self-approaching, that is, if there exists a self-approaching path for any two points inside the polygon