arXiv subjects

József Solymosi

Publications and source records attributed to József Solymosi.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Simple Counting Argument for Dense Linear Hypergraphs

In connection to the Brown-Erdős-Sós conjecture, we give a short local averaging proof of a density theorem for linear uniform hypergraphs. Let $r \ge 3$, $k \ge 3$, and suppose that $n \ge (r-2)(k-2)+1$. If $H$ is a linear $r$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices and \[|E(H)| \geq \frac{k-2}{r^2((r-2)(k-2)+1)}n^2 + \frac{n}{r},\] then $H$ contains $k$ edges spanning at most $(r-2)k+3$ vertices. In the standard linear-density normalization, this gives the asymptotic density threshold $c \geq \frac{r-1}{r} \cdot \frac{k-2}{(r-2)(k-2)+1} + o(1)$. In particular, this yields a simple proof of the large-uniformity form of the Brown-Erdős-Sós theorem, due to Keevash and Long. In the case of triple systems, our bound becomes $c \geq \frac{2(k-2)}{3(k-1)} + o(1)$, improving upon a bound of $\frac{4}{5}$ due to Santos and Tyomkyn.

math.CO↗

arXiv2025

Erdős's unit distance problem and rigidity

According to a classical result of Spencer, Szemerédi, and Trotter (1984), the maximum number of times the unit distance can occur among $n$ points in the plane is $O(n^{4/3})$. This is far from Erdős's lower bound, $n^{1+O(1/\log\log n)}$, which is conjectured to be optimal. We prove a structural result for point sets with nearly $n^{4/3}$ unit distances and use it to reduce the problem to a conjecture on rigid frameworks. This conjecture, if true, would yield the first improvement on the bound of Spencer et al. A weaker version of this conjecture has been established by the last two authors.

math.CO↗

arXiv2025

Many unit distances requires many directions

In this note, we show that in planar pointsets determining many unit distances, these unit distances must span many directions. Specifically, we show that a set of $n$ points can determine only $o(n^{4/3})$ unit distances from a set of at most $O(n^{1/3})$ directions.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Dense graphs have rigid parts

While the problem of determining whether an embedding of a graph $G$ in $\mathbb{R}^2$ is {\it infinitesimally rigid} is well understood, specifying whether a given embedding of $G$ is {\it rigid} or not is still a hard task that usually requires ad hoc arguments. In this paper, we show that {\it every} embedding (not necessarily generic) of a dense enough graph (concretely, a graph with at least $C_0n^{3/2}\log n$ edges, for some absolute constant $C_0>0$), which satisfies some very mild general position requirements (no three vertices of $G$ are embedded to a common line), must have a subframework of size at least three which is rigid. For the proof we use a connection, established in Raz [Ra], between the notion of graph rigidity and configurations of lines in $\mathbb{R}^3$. This connection allows us to use properties of line configurations established in Guth and Katz [GK2]. In fact, our proof requires an extended version of Guth and Katz result; the extension we need is proved by János Kollár in an Appendix to our paper. We do not know whether our assumption on the number of edges being $Ω(n^{3/2}\log n)$ is tight, and we provide a construction that shows that requiring $Ω(n\log n)$ edges is necessary.

math.CO↗

arXiv2018

Rank bounds for design matrices with block entries and geometric applications

Design matrices are sparse matrices in which the supports of different columns intersect in a few positions. Such matrices come up naturally when studying problems involving point sets with many collinear triples. In this work we consider design matrices with block (or matrix) entries. Our main result is a lower bound on the rank of such matrices, extending the bounds proved in {BDWY12,DSW12} for the scalar case. As a result we obtain several applications in combinatorial geometry. The first application involves extending the notion of structural rigidity (or graph rigidity) to the setting where we wish to bound the number of `degrees of freedom' in perturbing a set of points under collinearity constraints (keeping some family of triples collinear). Other applications are an asymptotically tight Sylvester-Gallai type result for arrangements of subspaces (improving {DH16}) and a new incidence bound for high dimensional line/curve arrangements. The main technical tool in the proof of the rank bound is an extension of the technique of matrix scaling to the setting of block matrices. We generalize the definition of doubly stochastic matrices to matrices with block entries and derive sufficient conditions for a doubly stochastic scaling to exist.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

On the Existence of Ordinary Triangles

Let $P$ be a finite point set in the plane. A \emph{$c$-ordinary triangle} in $P$ is a subset of $P$ consisting of three non-collinear points such that each of the three lines determined by the three points contains at most $c$ points of $P$. Motivated by a question of Erdős, and answering a question of de Zeeuw, we prove that there exists a constant $c>0$ such that $P$ contains a $c$-ordinary triangle, provided that $P$ is not contained in the union of two lines. Furthermore, the number of $c$-ordinary triangles in $P$ is $Ω(|P|)$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2016

Gershgorin disks for multiple eigenvalues of non-negative matrices

Gershgorin's famous circle theorem states that all eigenvalues of a square matrix lie in disks (called Gershgorin disks) around the diagonal elements. Here we show that if the matrix entries are non-negative and an eigenvalue has geometric multiplicity at least two, then this eigenvalue lies in a smaller disk. The proof uses geometric rearrangement inequalities on sums of higher dimensional real vectors which is another new result of this paper.

math.CO↗

arXiv2016

On triple intersections of three families of unit circles

Let $p_1,p_2,p_3$ be three distinct points in the plane, and, for $i=1,2,3$, let $\mathcal C_i$ be a family of $n$ unit circles that pass through $p_i$. We address a conjecture made by Székely, and show that the number of points incident to a circle of each family is $O(n^{11/6})$, improving an earlier bound for this problem due to Elekes, Simonovits, and Szabó [Combin. Probab. Comput., 2009]. The problem is a special instance of a more general problem studied by Elekes and Szabó [Combinatorica, 2012] (and by Elekes and Rónyai [J. Combin. Theory Ser. A, 2000]).

math.MG↗

arXiv2016

Cycles in graphs of fixed girth with large size

Consider a family of graphs having a fixed girth and a large size. We give an optimal lower asymptotic bound on the number of even cycles of any constant length, as the order of the graphs tends to infinity.

math.CO↗

arXiv2015

Incidence bounds for complex algebraic curves on Cartesian products

We prove bounds on the number of incidences between a set of algebraic curves in $\mathbb{C}^2$ and a Cartesian product $A\times B$ with finite sets $A,B\subset \mathbb{C}$. Similar bounds are known under various conditions, but we show that the Cartesian product assumption leads to a simpler proof. This assumption holds in a number of interesting applications, and with our bound these applications can be extended from $\mathbb{R}$ to $\mathbb{C}$. The proof is a new application of the polynomial partitioning technique introduced by Guth and Katz.

math.CO↗

arXiv2014

Polynomials vanishing on grids: The Elekes-Rónyai problem revisited

In this paper we characterize real bivariate polynomials which have a small range over large Cartesian products. We show that for every constant-degree bivariate real polynomial $f$, either $|f(A,B)|=Ω(n^{4/3})$, for every pair of finite sets $A,B\subset{\mathbb R}$, with $|A|=|B|=n$ (where the constant of proportionality depends on ${\rm deg} f$), or else $f$ must be of one of the special forms $f(u,v)=h(φ(u)+ψ(v))$, or $f(u,v)=h(φ(u)\cdotψ(v))$, for some univariate polynomials $φ,ψ,h$ over ${\mathbb R}$. This significantly improves a result of Elekes and Rónyai (2000). Our results are cast in a more general form, in which we give an upper bound for the number of zeros of $z=f(x,y)$ on a triple Cartesian product $A\times B\times C$, when the sizes $|A|$, $|B|$, $|C|$ need not be the same; the upper bound is $O(n^{11/6})$ when $|A|=|B|=|C|=n$, where the constant of proportionality depends on ${\rm deg} f$, unless $f$ has one of the aforementioned special forms. This result provides a unified tool for improving bounds in various Erd\H os-type problems in geometry and additive combinatorics. Several applications of our results to problems of these kinds are presented. For example, we show that the number of distinct distances between $n$ points lying on a constant-degree parametric algebraic curve which does not contain a line, in any dimension, is $Ω(n^{4/3})$, extending the result of Pach and de Zeeuw (2013) and improving the bound of Charalambides (2012), for the special case where the curve under consideration has a polynomial parameterization. We also derive improved lower bounds for several variants of the sum-product problem in additive combinatorics.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2013

Many collinear k-tuples with no k+1 collinear points

For every $k>3$, we give a construction of planar point sets with many collinear $k$-tuples and no collinear $(k+1)$-tuples. We show that there are $n_0=n_0(k)$ and $c=c(k)$ such that if $n\geq n_0$, then there exists a set of $n$ points in the plane that does not contain $k+1$ points on a line, but it contains at least $n^{2-\frac{c}{\sqrt{\log n}}}$ collinear $k$-tuples of points. Thus, we significantly improve the previously best known lower bound for the largest number of collinear $k$-tuples in such a set, and get reasonably close to the trivial upper bound $O(n^2)$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2013

Distinct distances on two lines

Let P_1 and P_2 be two sets of points in the plane, so that P_1 is contained in a line L_1, P_2 is contained in a line L_2, and L_1 and L_2 are neither parallel nor orthogonal. Then the number of distinct distances determined by the pairs of P_1xP_2 is Ω(\min{|P_1|^{2/3}|P_2|^{2/3},|P_1|^2, |P_2|^2}). In particular, if |P_1|=|P_2|=m, then the number of these distinct distances is Ω(m^{4/3}), improving upon the previous bound Ω(m^{5/4}) of Elekes.

math.CO↗

arXiv2012

Extensions of a result of Elekes and Rónyai

Many problems in combinatorial geometry can be formulated in terms of curves or surfaces containing many points of a cartesian product. In 2000, Elekes and Rónyai proved that if the graph of a polynomial contains $cn^2$ points of an $n\times n\times n$ cartesian product in $\mathbb{R}^3$, then the polynomial has the form $f(x,y)=g(k(x)+l(y))$ or $f(x,y)=g(k(x)l(y))$. They used this to prove a conjecture of Purdy which states that given two lines in $\mathbb{R}^2$ and $n$ points on each line, if the number of distinct distances between pairs of points, one on each line, is at most $cn$, then the lines are parallel or orthogonal. We extend the Elekes-Rónyai Theorem to a less symmetric cartesian product. We also extend the Elekes-Rónyai Theorem to one dimension higher on an $n\times n\times n\times n$ cartesian product and an asymmetric cartesian product. We give a proof of a variation of Purdy's conjecture with fewer points on one of the lines. We finish with a lower bound for our main result in one dimension higher with asymmetric cartesian product, showing that it is near-optimal.

math.CO↗

arXiv2011

Remarks on a Ramsey theory for trees

Extending Furstenberg's ergodic theoretic proof for Szemerédi's theorem on arithmetic progressions, Furstenberg and Weiss (2003) proved the following qualitative result. For every d and k, there exists an integer N such that no matter how we color the vertices of a complete binary tree T_N of depth N with k colors, we can find a monochromatic replica of T_d in T_N such that (1) all vertices at the same level in T_d are mapped into vertices at the same level in T_N; (2) if a vertex x of T_d is mapped into a vertex y in T_N, then the two children of x are mapped into descendants of the the two children of y in T_N, respectively; and 3 the levels occupied by this replica form an arithmetic progression. This result and its density versions imply van der Waerden's and Szemerédi's theorems, and laid the foundations of a new Ramsey theory for trees. Using simple counting arguments and a randomized coloring algorithm called random split, we prove the following related result. Let N=N(d,k) denote the smallest positive integer such that no matter how we color the vertices of a complete binary tree T_N of depth N with k colors, we can find a monochromatic replica of T_d in T_N which satisfies properties (1) and (2) above. Then we have N(d,k)=Θ(dk\log k). We also prove a density version of this result, which, combined with Szemerédi's theorem, provides a very short combinatorial proof of a quantitative version of the Furstenberg-Weiss theorem.

math.CO↗

arXiv2011

Rational Distances with Rational Angles

In 1946 Erd\H os asked for the maximum number of unit distances, $u(n)$, among $n$ points in the plane. He showed that $u(n)> n^{1+c/\log\log n}$ and conjectured that this was the true magnitude. The best known upper bound is $u(n)<cn^{4/3}$, due to Spencer, Szemerédi and Trotter. We show that the upper bound $n^{1+6/\sqrt{\log n}}$ holds if we only consider unit distances with rational angle, by which we mean that the line through the pair of points makes a rational angle in degrees with the x-axis. Using an algebraic theorem of Mann we get a uniform bound on the number of paths between two fixed vertices in the unit distance graph, giving a contradiction if there are too many unit distances with rational angle. This bound holds if we consider rational distances instead of unit distances as long as there are no three points on a line. A superlinear lower bound is given, due to Erd\H os and Purdy. If we have at most $n^α$ points on a line then we get the bound $O(n^{1+α})$ or $n^{1+α+6/\sqrt{\log n}}$ for the number of rational distances with rational angle depending on whether $α\ge 1/2$ or $α< 1/2$ respectively.

math.CO↗

arXiv2009

Simultaneous Arithmetic Progressions on Algebraic Curves

A simultaneous arithmetic progression (s.a.p.) of length k consists of k points (x_i, y_σ(i)), where x_i and y_i are arithmetic progressions and σis a permutation. Garcia-Selfa and Tornero asked whether there is a bound on the length of an s.a.p. on an elliptic curve in Weierstrass form over Q. We show that 4319 is such a bound for curves over R. This is done by considering translates of the curve in a grid as a graph. A simple upper bound is found for the number of crossings and the 'crossing inequality' gives a lower bound. Together these bound the length of an s.a.p. on the curve. We then use a similar method to extend the result to arbitrary real algebraic curves. Instead of considering s.a.p.'s we consider k^2/3 points in a grid. The number of crossings is bounded by Bezout's Theorem. We then give another proof using a result of Jarnik bounding the number of grid points on a convex curve. This result applies as any real algebraic curve can be broken up into convex and concave parts, the number of which depend on the degree. Lastly, these results are extended to complex algebraic curves.

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