arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Gaiane Panina.
Let~$S^{n-1}\rightarrow E \rightarrow M^n$ be an oriented sphere bundle supporting a smooth affine transverse foliation. We give an upper bound for the Euler number of the bundle. We also give a new and elementary proof of the following fact: if the fundamental group $π_1(M^n)$ is amenable, then the Euler number of the bundle vanishes.
We prove the following results: (1) For every generic closed smooth curve in $\mathbb{R}^3$ there is a point with at least $6$ emanating normals to the curve. (2) For every generic closed piecewise linear curve in $\mathbb{R}^3$ there is a point with at least $8$ emanating normals to the curve. If the curve is knotted, there is a point with at least $10$ emanating normals. The proof is based on the Morse theory for the squared distance function and self intersections of the focal surface.
We prove that for $n>3$ each generic simple polytope in $\mathbb{R}^n$ contains a point with at least $2n+4$ emanating normals to the boundary. This result is a piecewise-linear counterpart of a long-standing problem about normals to smooth convex bodies.
The Milnor-Wood inequality states that if a (topological) oriented circle bundle over an orientable surface of genus $g$ has a smooth transverse foliation, then the Euler class of the bundle satisfies $$|\mathcal{E}|\leq 2g-2.$$ We give a new proof of the inequality based on a (previously proven by the authors) local formula which computes $\mathcal{E}$ from the singularities of a quasisection. We also sketch two other proofs: one based on Poincarè rotation number theory, and the other of topological nature.
It is conjectured since long that each smooth convex body $\mathbf{P}\subset \mathbb{R}^n$ has a point in its interior which belongs to at least $2n$ normals from different points on the boundary of $\mathbf{P}$. The conjecture is proven for $n=2,3,4$. We treat the same problem for convex polytopes in $\mathbb{R}^3$ and prove that each generic polytope has a point in its interior with at least $10$ normals to the boundary. This bound is exact: there exists a tetrahedron with no more than $10$ normals emanating from a point in its interior. The proof is based on piecewise linear analog of Morse theory, analysis of bifurcations, and some combinatorial tricks.
We analyze lower bounds for the number of envy-free divisions, in the classical Woodall-Stormquist setting and in a non-classical case, when envy-freeness is combined with the equipartition of a measure. 1. In the first scenario, there are $r$ hungry players, and the cake (that is, the segment $[0,1]$) is cut into $r$ pieces. Then there exist at least two different envy-free divisions. This bound is sharp: for each $r$, we present an example of preferences such that there are exactly two envy-free divisions. 2. In the second (hybrid) scenario, there are $p$ not necessarily hungry players ($p$ is a prime) and a continuous measure $μ$ on $[0,1]$. The cake is cut into $2p-1$ pieces, the pieces are allocated to $p$ boxes (with some restrictions) and the players choose the boxes. Then there exists at least $\binom{2p-1}{p-1} \cdot 2^{2-p}$ envy-free divisions such that the measure $μ$ is equidistributed among the players.
Let $ E \xrightarrow[\text{}]π B$ be an oriented circle bundle over an oriented closed surface $B$. A quasisection is a smooth surface ${Q}$ (either closed or bordered) mapped by a generic smooth mapping $q$ to $E$ such that $π\circ q({Q})=B$. In the paper we derive a local formula for the Euler number, that is, we show that Euler number (Euler class) of the bundle equals the sum of weights of (some of) singularities of a quasisection.We also prove the uniqueness of such a formula. The local formula is a close relative of M. Kazarian's formula which relates the Euler number and Morse bifurcations of a generic function defined on the total space $E$.
Spider mechanisms are the simplest examples of arachnoid mechanisms, they are one step more complicated than polygonal linkages. Their configuration spaces have been studied intensively, but are yet not completely understood. In the paper we study them using the Morse theory of the squared distance function from the "body" of the spider to some fixed point in the plane. Generically, it is a Morse-Bott function. We list its critical manifolds, describe them as products of polygon spaces, and derive a formula for their Morse-Bott indices. We apply the obtained results to Hooke energy and Voronoi distance.
A triangulation of a circle bundle $ E \xrightarrow[\text{}]π B$ is a triangulation of the total space $E$ and the base $B$ such that the projection $π$ is a simplicial map. In the paper we address the following questions: Which circle bundles can be triangulated over a given triangulation of the base? What are the minimal triangulations of a bundle? A complete solution for semisimplicial triangulations was given by N. Mnëv. Our results deal with classical triangulations, that is, simplicial complexes. We give an exact answer for an infinite family of triangulated spheres (including the boundary of the $3$-simplex, the boundary of the octahedron, the suspension over an $n$-gon, the icosahedron). For the general case we present a sufficient criterion for existence of a triangulation. Some minimality results follow straightforwadly.
It is conjectured since long that for any convex body $P\subset \mathbb{R}^n$ there exists a point in its interior which belongs to at least $2n$ normals from different points on the boundary of $P$. The conjecture is known to be true for $n=2,3,4$. We treat the same problem for convex polytopes in $\mathbb{R}^3$. It turns out that the PL concurrent normals problem differs a lot from the smooth one. One almost immediately proves that a convex polytope in $\mathbb{R}^3$ has $8$ normals to its boundary emanating from some point in its interior. Moreover, we conjecture that each simple polytope in $\mathbb{R}^3$ has a point in its interior with $10$ normals to the boundary. We confirm the conjecture for all tetrahedra and triangular prisms and give a sufficient condition for a simple polytope to have a point with $10$ normals. Other related topics (average number of normals, minimal number of normals from an interior point, other dimensions) are discussed.
The classic Ky Fan theorem is a combinatorial equivalent of Borsuk-Ulam theorem. It is a generalization and extension of Tucker's lemma and, just like its predecessor, it pinpoints important properties of antipodal colorings of vertices of a triangulated sphere $S^n$. Here we describe generalizations of Ky Fan theorem for the case when the sphere is replaced by the total space of a triangulated sphere bundle.
It is conjectured since long that for any convex body $K \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ there exists a point in the interior of $K$ which belongs to at least $2n$ normals from different points on the boundary of $K$. The conjecture is known to be true for $n=2,3,4$. Motivated by a recent results of Y. Martinez-Maure, and an approach by A. Grebennikov and G. Panina, we prove the following: Let a compact smooth $m$-dimensional manifold $M^m$ be immersed in $ \mathbb{R}^n$. We assume that at least one of the homology groups $H_k(M^m,\mathbb{Z}_2)$ with $k<m$ vanishes. Then under mild conditions, almost every normal line to $M^m$ contains an intersection point of at least $β+4$ normals from different points of $M^m$, where $β$ is the sum of Betti numbers of $M^m$.
Relying on configuration spaces and equivariant topology, we study a general "cooperative envy-free division problem". A group of players want to cut a "cake" $I=[0,1]$ and divide among themselves the pieces in an envy-free manner. Once the cake is cut and served in plates on a round table (at most one piece per plate), each player makes her choice by pointing at one (or several) plates she prefers. The novelty is that her choice may depend on the whole "allocation configuration". In particular, a player may choose an empty plate (possibly preferring one of the empty plates over the other), and take into account not only the content of her preferred plate, but also the content of the neighbouring plates. We show that if the number of players is a prime power, in this setting an envy-free division exists under standard assumptions that the preferences are closed.
We present an elementary approach to local combinatorial formulae for the Euler class of a fiber-oriented triangulated spherical fiber bundle. The approach is based on sections averaging technique and very basic knowledge of simplicial (co)homology theory. Our formulae are close relatives of those by N. Mnëv.
We prove several results addressing the envy-free division problem in the presence of an unpredictable (secretive) player, called the "dragon". There are two basic scenarios. 1. There are $r-1$ players and a dragon. Once the "cake" is divided into $r$ parts, the dragon makes his choice and grabs one of the pieces. After that the players want to divide the remaining pieces in an envy-free fashion. 2. There are $r+1$ players who divide the cake into $r$ pieces. A ferocious dragon comes and swallows one of the players. The players want to cut the cake in advance in such a way that no matter who is the unlucky player swallowed by the dragon, the remaining players can share the tiles in an envy-free manner. In both settings the players are allowed to choose degenerate pieces of the cake. Moreover, they construct in advance both a cut of the cake and a "decision tree", allowing them to minimize the uncertainty of what pieces can be given to each of the players.
The classical approach to envy-free division and equilibrium problems relies on Knaster-Kuratowski-Mazurkiewicz theorem, Sperner's lemma or some extension involving mapping degree. We propose a different and relatively novel approach where the emphasis is on configuration spaces and equivariant topology. We illustrate the method by proving several relatives (extensions) of the classical envy-free division theorem of David Gale, where the emphasis is on preferences allowing the players to choose degenerate pieces of the cake.
The type A colored Tverberg theorem of Blagojević, Matschke, and Ziegler provides optimal bounds for the colored Tverberg problem, under the condition that the number of intersecting rainbow simplices is a prime number. We extend this result to an optimal, type A colored Tverberg theorem for multisets of colored points, which is valid for each prime power $r=p^k$. One of the principal new ideas is to replace the ambient simplex $Δ^N$, used in the original Tverberg theorem, by an "abridged simplex" of smaller dimension, and to compensate for this reduction by allowing vertices to repeatedly appear a controlled number of times in different rainbow simplices. Configuration spaces, used in the proof, are combinatorial pseudomanifolds which can be represented as multiple chessboard complexes. Our main topological tool is the Eilenberg-Krasnoselskii theory of degrees of equivariant maps for non-free actions.
Two related constructions are studied: (1) The diagonal complex $\mathcal{D}$ and its barycentric subdivision $\mathcal{BD}$ related to a \textit{punctured} oriented surface $F$ equipped with a number of labeled marked points. (2) The symmetric diagonal complex $\mathcal{D}^{inv}$ and its barycentric subdivision $\mathcal{BD}^{inv}$ related to a symmetric (=with an involution) oriented surface $F$ equipped with a number of (symmetrically placed) labeled marked points. Eliminating a puncture gives rise to a bundle whose fibers are homeomorphic to a surgery of the surface $F$. The bundle can be viewed as the "universal curve with holes". The symmetric complex is shown to be homotopy equivalent to the complex of a punctured surface obtained by a surgery of the initial symmetric surface.