On curves and polygons with the equiangular chord property

Abstract

Let $C$ be a smooth, convex curve on either the sphere $\mathbb{S}^{2}$, the hyperbolic plane $\mathbb{H}^{2}$ or the Euclidean plane $\mathbb{E}^{2}$, with the following property: there exists $\alpha$, and parameterizations $x(t), y(t)$ of $C$ such that for each $t$, the angle between the chord connecting $x(t)$ to $y(t)$ and $C$ is $\alpha$ at both ends. Assuming that $C$ is not a circle, E. Gutkin completely characterized the angles $\alpha$ for which such a curve exists in the Euclidean case. We study the infinitesimal version of this problem in the context of the other two constant curvature geometries, and in particular we provide a complete characterization of the angles $\alpha$ for which there exists a non-trivial infinitesimal deformation of a circle through such curves with corresponding angle $\alpha$. We also consider a discrete version of this property for Euclidean polygons, and in this case we give a complete description of all non-trivial solutions.