Karoly Bezdek – författare

Volume of geometric objects plays an important role in applied and theoretical mathematics. This is particularly true in the relatively new branch of discrete geometry, where volume is often used to find new topics for research. Volumetric Discrete Geometry demonstrates the recent aspects of volume, introduces problems related to it, and presents methods to apply it to other geometric problems.

Part I of the text consists of survey chapters of selected topics on volume and is suitable for advanced undergraduate students. Part II has chapters of selected proofs of theorems stated in Part I and is oriented for graduate level students wishing to learn about the latest research on the topic. Chapters can be studied independently from each other.

Volume of geometric objects plays an important role in applied and theoretical mathematics. This is particularly true in the relatively new branch of discrete geometry, where volume is often used to find new topics for research. Volumetric Discrete Geometry demonstrates the recent aspects of volume, introduces problems related to it, and presents methods to apply it to other geometric problems.

Part I of the text consists of survey chapters of selected topics on volume and is suitable for advanced undergraduate students. Part II has chapters of selected proofs of theorems stated in Part I and is oriented for graduate level students wishing to learn about the latest research on the topic. Chapters can be studied independently from each other.

This monograph gives a short introduction to the relevant modern parts of discrete geometry, in addition to leading the reader to the frontiers of geometric research on sphere arrangements. The readership is aimed at advanced undergraduate and early graduate students, as well as interested researchers. It contains more than 40 open research problems ideal for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and computer science. Additionally, this book may be considered ideal for a one-semester advanced undergraduate or graduate level course.

The core part of this book is based on three lectures given by the author at the Fields Institute during the thematic program on “Discrete Geometry and Applications” and contains four core topics. The first two topics surround active areas that have been outstanding from the birth of discrete geometry, namely dense sphere packings and tilings. Sphere packings and tilings have a very strong connection to number theory, coding, groups, and mathematical programming. Extending the tradition of studying packings of spheres, is the investigation of the monotonicity of volume under contractions of arbitrary arrangements of spheres. The third major topic of this book can be found under the sections on ball-polyhedra that study the possibility of extending the theory of convex polytopes to the family of intersections of congruent balls. This section of the text is connected in many ways to the above-mentioned major topics and it is also connected to some other important research areas as the one on coverings by planks (with close ties to geometric analysis). This fourth core topic is discussed under covering balls by cylinders.

​Optimization has long been a source of both inspiration and applications for geometers, and conversely, discrete and convex geometry have provided the foundations for many optimization techniques, leading to a rich interplay between these subjects. The purpose of the Workshop on Discrete Geometry, the Conference on Discrete Geometry and Optimization, and the Workshop on Optimization, held in September 2011 at the Fields Institute, Toronto, was to further stimulate the interaction between geometers and optimizers. This volume reflects the interplay between these areas.

The inspiring Fejes Tóth Lecture Series, delivered by Thomas Hales of the University of Pittsburgh, exemplified this approach. While these fields have recently witnessed a lot of activity and successes, many questions remain open. For example, Fields medalist Stephen Smale stated that the question of the existence of a strongly polynomial time algorithm for linear optimization is one of the most important unsolved problems at the beginning of the 21st century. The broad range of topics covered in this volume demonstrates the many recent and fruitful connections between different approaches, and features novel results and state-of-the-art surveys as well as open problems.