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Erdős Problem 655

Reference: erdosproblems.com/655

open Filter Finset EuclideanGeometry namespace Erdos655

A collection $x_1, \dots, x_n\in\mathbb{R}^2$ is valid if no circle whose centre is one of the $x_i$ contains three other points.

def IsValid (X : Finset ℝ²) : Prop := ∀ᵉ (x X) (r > 0), ¬3 (Metric.sphere x r X).ncard

Let $x_1,\ldots,x_n\in \mathbb{R}^2$ be such that no circle whose centre is one of the $x_i$ contains three other points. Are there at least $$(1+c)\frac{n}{2}$$ distinct distances determined between the $x_i$, for some constant $c>0$ and all $n$ sufficiently large?

The answer is no: as Zach Hunter observed, the regular n-gon (n points equally spaced on a circle) is valid and determines only ⌊n/2⌋ < (1+c)n/2 distinct distances, for every c > 0. (In the spirit of related conjectures of Erdős and others, presumably some kind of assumption that the points are in general position was intended; see erdos_655.variants.general_position.)

The disproof — the regular n-gon construction together with its supporting lemmas — is formalised at the linked commit.

@[category research solved, AMS 5 52, formal_proof using formal_conjectures at "https://github.com/AlperTheKing/formal-conjectures/blob/4aaaf544b6ed0ef22580787a8d8a19e85dc49556/FormalConjectures/ErdosProblems/655.lean"] theorem declaration uses 'sorry'erdos_655 : answer(False) c > (0 : ), ∀ᶠ n in atTop, (X : Finset ℝ²), #X = n IsValid X (1 + c) * n / 2 distinctDistances X := False c > 0, ∀ᶠ (n : ) in atTop, (X : Finset ℝ²), #X = n IsValid X (1 + c) * n / 2 (distinctDistances X) All goals completed! 🐙

Let $x_1,\ldots,x_n\in \mathbb{R}^2$ be such that no circle whose centre is one of the $x_i$ contains three other points. Are there at least$$(1+c)\frac{n}{2}$$ distinct distances determined between the $x_i$, for some constant $c>0$ and all $n$ sufficiently large?

In the spirit of related conjectures of Erdős and others, presumably some kind of assumption that the points are in general position (e.g. no three on a line and no four on a circle) was intended.

@[category research open, AMS 5 52] theorem declaration uses 'sorry'erdos_655.variants.general_position : answer(sorry) c > (0 : ), ∀ᶠ n in atTop, (X : Finset ℝ²), #X = n IsValid X InGeneralPosition X (1 + c) * n / 2 distinctDistances X := True c > 0, ∀ᶠ (n : ) in atTop, (X : Finset ℝ²), #X = n IsValid X InGeneralPosition X (1 + c) * n / 2 (distinctDistances X) All goals completed! 🐙 end Erdos655