arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Dominique Laurain.
We introduce Fregier ellipses which generalize the Fregier point in euclidean geometry. Subject is related to Dynamical Systems and Poncelet's closure theorem aka Poncelet porism and displaying geometric invariants (area,angles). Special angles pi/3 and 2pi/3 are emphasized and we show that we have invariant sum of areas for Fregier circles in general Poncelet configuration, occuring from an affine map of the elliptical billiard.
We present a theory which predicts if the locus of a triangle center over certain Poncelet triangle families is a conic or not. We consider families interscribed in (i) the confocal pair and (ii) an outer ellipse and an inner concentric circular caustic. Previously, determining if a locus was a conic was done on a case-by-case basis. In the confocal case, we also derive conditions under which a locus degenerates to a segment or a circle. We show the locus' turning number is +/- 3, while predicting its monotonicity with respect to the motion of a vertex of the triangle family.
The Cramer-Castillon problem (CCP) consists in finding one or more polygons inscribed in a circle such that their sides pass cyclically through a list of $N$ points. We study this problem where the points are the vertices of a triangle and the circle is either the incircle or excircles.
We study center power with respect to circles derived from Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a generic pair of ellipses as well as loci of their triangle centers. We show that (i) for any concentric pair, the power of the center with respect to either circumcircle or Euler's circle is invariant, and (ii) if a triangle center of a 3-periodic in a generic nested pair is a fixed affine combination of barycenter and circumcenter, its locus over the family is an ellipse.
Given a triangle, a trio of circumellipses can be defined, each centered on an excenter. Over the family of Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a concentric ellipse pair (axis-aligned or not), the trio resembles a rotating propeller, where each "blade" has variable area. Amazingly, their total area is invariant, even when the ellipse pair is not axis-aligned. We also prove a closely-related invariant involving the sum of blade-to-excircle area ratios.