On the number of directions determined by a three-dimensional points set

János Pach*, Rom Pinchasi, Micha Sharir

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Let P be a set of n points in ℝ3, not all of which are in a plane and no three on a line. We partially answer a question of Scott (Amer. Math. Monthly 77 (1970) 502) by showing that the connecting lines of P assume at least 2n - 3 different directions if n is even and at least 2n - 2 if n is odd. These bounds are sharp. The proof is based on a far-reaching generalization of Ungar's theorem concerning the analogous problem in the plane.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Combinatorial Theory. Series A
Volume108
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2004

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israeli Academy of Sciences
PSC-CUNY63382-0032
US–Israel Binational Science Foundation
National Science FoundationCCR-00-98246, CCR-97-32101
Tel Aviv University
Hungarian Science FoundationOTKA T-043520

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'On the number of directions determined by a three-dimensional points set'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this