Iterative Universal Rigidity

A bar framework determined by a finite graph $G$ and configuration $\bf p$ in $d$ space is universally rigid if it is rigid in any ${\mathbb R}^D \supset {\mathbb R}^d$. We provide a characterization of universally rigidity for any graph $G$ and any configuration ${\bf p}$ in terms of a sequence of affine subsets of the space of configurations. This corresponds to a facial reduction process for closed finite dimensional convex cones.Comment: 41 pages, 12 figure

Periodic Planar Disk Packings

Several conditions are given when a packing of equal disks in a torus is locally maximally dense, where the torus is defined as the quotient of the plane by a two-dimensional lattice. Conjectures are presented that claim that the density of any strictly jammed packings, whose graph does not consist of all triangles and the torus lattice is the standard triangular lattice, is at most $\frac{n}{n+1}\frac{\pi}{\sqrt{12}}$, where $n$ is the number of packing disks. Several classes of collectively jammed packings are presented where the conjecture holds.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figure

Straight Line motion with rigid sets

If one is given a rigid triangle in the plane or space, we show that the only motion possible, where each vertex of the triangle moves along a straight line, is given by a hypocycloid line drawer in the plane, and a natural extension in three-space. Each point lies on a circle which rolls around, without slipping, inside a larger circle of twice its diameter

Comment on "Jamming at zero temperature and zero applied stress: The epitome of disorder"

O'Hern, Silbert, Liu and Nagel [Phys. Rev. E. 68, 011306 (2003)] (OSLN) claim that a special point $J$ of a "jamming phase diagram" (in density, temperature, stress space) is related to random close packing of hard spheres, and that it represents, for their suggested definitions of jammed and random, the recently introduced maximally random jammed state. We point out several difficulties with their definitions and question some of their claims. Furthermore, we discuss the connections between their algorithm and other hard-sphere packing algorithms in the literature.Comment: 4 pages of text, already publishe