arXiv subjects

Sean Dewar

Publications and source records attributed to Sean Dewar.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Graph rigidity properties of Ramanujan graphs

A recent result of Cioabă, Dewar and Gu implies that any $k$-regular Ramanujan graph with $k\geq 8$ is globally rigid in $\mathbb{R}^2$. In this paper, we extend these results and prove that any $k$-regular Ramanujan graph of sufficiently large order is globally rigid in $\mathbb{R}^2$ when $k\in \{6, 7\}$, and when $k\in \{4,5\}$ if it is also vertex-transitive. These results imply that the Ramanujan graphs constructed by Morgenstern in 1994 are globally rigid. We also prove several results on other types of framework rigidity, including body-bar rigidity, body-hinge rigidity, and rigidity on surfaces of revolution. In addition, we use computational methods to determine which Ramanujan graphs of small order are globally rigid in $\mathbb{R}^2$.

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arXiv2022

Quotient graphs of symmetrically rigid frameworks

A natural problem in combinatorial rigidity theory concerns the determination of the rigidity or flexibility of bar-joint frameworks in $\mathbb{R}^d$ that admit some non-trivial symmetry. When $d=2$ there is a large literature on this topic. In particular, it is typical to quotient the symmetric graph by the group and analyse the rigidity of symmetric, but otherwise generic frameworks, using the combinatorial structure of the appropriate group-labelled quotient graph. However, mirroring the situation for generic rigidity, little is known combinatorially when $d\geq 3$. Nevertheless in the periodic case, a key result of Borcea and Streinu characterises when a quotient graph can be lifted to a rigid periodic framework in $\mathbb{R}^d$. We develop an analogous theory for symmetric frameworks in $\mathbb{R}^d$. The results obtained apply to all finite and infinite 2-dimensional point groups, and then in arbitrary dimension they concern a wide range of infinite point groups, sufficiently large finite groups and groups containing translations and rotations. For the case of finite groups we also derive results concerning the probability of assigning group labels to a quotient graph so that the resulting lift is symmetrically rigid in $\mathbb{R}^d$.

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arXiv2021

Coincident-point rigidity in normed planes

A bar-joint framework $(G,p)$ is the combination of a graph $G$ and a map $p$ assigning positions, in some space, to the vertices of $G$. The framework is rigid if every edge-length-preserving continuous motion of the vertices arises from an isometry of the space. We will analyse rigidity when the space is a (non-Euclidean) normed plane and two designated vertices are mapped to the same position. This non-genericity assumption leads us to a count matroid first introduced by Jackson, Kaszanitsky and the third author. We show that independence in this matroid is equivalent to independence as a suitably regular bar-joint framework in a normed plane with two coincident points; this characterises when a regular normed plane coincident-point framework is rigid and allows us to deduce a delete-contract characterisation. We then apply this result to show that an important construction operation (generalised vertex splitting) preserves the stronger property of global rigidity in normed planes and use this to construct rich families of globally rigid graphs when the normed plane is analytic.

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arXiv2021

Infinitesimal rigidity and prestress stability for frameworks in normed spaces

A (bar-and-joint) framework is a set of points in a normed space with a set of fixed distance constraints between them. Determining whether a framework is locally rigid - i.e. whether every other suitably close framework with the same distance constraints is an isometric copy - is NP-hard when the normed space has dimension 2 or greater. We can reduce the complexity by instead considering derivatives of the constraints, which linearises the problem. By applying methods from non-smooth analysis, we shall strengthen previous sufficient conditions for framework rigidity that utilise first-order derivatives. We shall also introduce the notions of prestress stability and second-order rigidity to the topic of normed space rigidity, two weaker sufficient conditions for framework rigidity previously only considered for Euclidean spaces.

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arXiv2021

Generalised rigid body motions in non-Euclidean planes with applications to global rigidity

A bar-joint framework $(G,p)$ in a (non-Euclidean) real normed plane $X$ is the combination of a finite, simple graph $G$ and a placement $p$ of the vertices in $X$. A framework $(G,p)$ is globally rigid in $X$ if every other framework $(G,q)$ in $X$ with the same edge lengths as $(G,p)$ arises from an isometry of $X$. The weaker property of local rigidity in normed planes (where only $(G,q)$ within a neighbourhood of $(G,p)$ are considered) has been studied by several researchers over the last 5 years after being introduced by Kitson and Power for $\ell_p$-norms. However global rigidity is an unexplored area for general normed spaces, despite being intensely studied in the Euclidean context by many groups over the last 40 years. In order to understand global rigidity in $X$, we introduce new generalised rigid body motions in normed planes where the norm is determined by an analytic function. This theory allows us to deduce several geometric and combinatorial results concerning the global rigidity of bar-joint frameworks in $X$.

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arXiv2021

Spectral conditions for graph rigidity in the Euclidean plane

Rigidity is the property of a structure that does not flex. It is well studied in discrete geometry and mechanics, and has applications in material science, engineering and biological sciences. A bar-and-joint framework is a pair $(G,p)$ of graph $G$ together with a map $p$ of the vertices of $G$ into the Euclidean plane. We view the edges of $(G, p)$ as bars and the vertices as universal joints. The vertices can move continuously as long as the distances between pairs of adjacent vertices are preserved. The framework is rigid if any such motion preserves the distances between all pairs of vertices. In 1970, Laman obtained a combinatorial characterization of rigid graphs in the Euclidean plane. In 1982, Lovász and Yemini discovered a new characterization and proved that every $6$-connected graph is rigid. Combined with a characterization of global rigidity, their proof actually implies that every 6-connected graph is globally rigid. Consequently, if Fiedler's algebraic connectivity is greater than 5, then $G$ is globally rigid. In this paper, we improve this bound and show that for a graph $G$ with minimum degree $δ\geq 6$, if its algebraic connectivity is greater than $2+\frac{1}{δ-1}$, then $G$ is rigid and if its algebraic connectivity is greater than $2+\frac{2}{δ-1}$, then $G$ is globally rigid. Our results imply that every connected regular Ramanujan graph with degree at least $8$ is globally rigid. We also prove a more general result giving a sufficient spectral condition for the existence of $k$ edge-disjoint spanning rigid subgraphs. The same condition implies that a graph contains $k$ edge-disjoint spanning $2$-connected subgraphs. This result extends previous spectral conditions for packing edge-disjoint spanning trees.

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arXiv2020

Homothetic packings of centrally symmetric convex bodies

A centrally symmetric convex body is a convex compact set with non-empty interior that is symmetric about the origin. Of particular interest are those that are both smooth and strictly convex -- known here as regular symmetric bodies -- since they retain many of the useful properties of the $d$-dimensional Euclidean ball. We prove that for any given regular symmetric body $C$, a homothetic packing of copies of $C$ with randomly chosen radii will have a $(2,2)$-sparse planar contact graph. We further prove that there exists a comeagre set of centrally symmetric convex bodies $C$ where any $(2,2)$-sparse planar graph can be realised as the contact graph of a stress-free homothetic packing of $C$.

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arXiv2020

Flexible placements of graphs with rotational symmetry

We study the existence of an $n$-fold rotationally symmetric placement of a symmetric graph in the plane allowing a continuous deformation that preserves the symmetry and the distances between adjacent vertices. We show that such a flexible placement exists if and only if the graph has a NAC-colouring satisfying an additional property on the symmetry; a NAC-colouring is a surjective edge colouring by two colours such that every cycle is either monochromatic, or there are at least two edges of each colour.

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arXiv2018

Infinitesimal rigidity in normed planes

We prove that a graph has an infinitesimally rigid placement in a non-Euclidean normed plane if and only if it contains a $(2,2)$-tight spanning subgraph. The method uses an inductive construction based on generalised Henneberg moves and the geometric properties of the normed plane. As a key step, rigid placements are constructed for the complete graph $K_4$ by considering smoothness and strict convexity properties of the unit ball.

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arXiv2018

Equivalence of continuous, local and infinitesimal rigidity in normed spaces

We present a rigorous study of framework rigidity in general finite dimensional normed spaces from the perspective of Lie group actions on smooth manifolds. As an application, we prove an extension of Asimow and Roth's 1978/9 result establishing the equivalence of local, continuous and infinitesimal rigidity for regular bar-and-joint frameworks in a d-dimensional Euclidean space. Further, we obtain upper bounds for the dimension of the space of trivial motions for a framework and establish the flexibility of small frameworks in general non-Euclidean normed spaces.

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