Mark Helman

Rice University · Department of Mathematics

We present a theory which predicts if the locus of a triangle center over certain Poncelet triangle families is a conic or not. We consider families interscribed in (i) the confocal pair and (ii) an outer ellipse and an inner concentric circular caustic. Previously, determining if a locus was a conic was done on a case-by-case basis. In the confoca...

We study center power with respect to circles derived from Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a generic pair of ellipses as well as loci of their triangle centers. We show that (i) for any concentric pair, the power of the center with respect to either circumcircle or Euler’s circle is invariant, and (ii) if a triangle center of a 3-periodic in a...

We describe intriguing properties of a 1d family of triangles: two vertices are pinned to the boundary of an ellipse while a third one sweeps it. We prove that: (i) if a triangle center is a fixed affine combination of barycenter and orthocenter, its locus is an ellipse; (ii) over the family of said affine combinations, the centers of said loci swe...

Inverting the vertices of elliptic billiard N-periodics with respect to a circle centered on one focus yields a new “focus-inversive” family inscribed in Pascal’s limaçon. The following are some of its surprising invariants: (i) perimeter, (ii) sum of cosines, and (iii) sum of distances from inversion center (the focus) to vertices. We prove these...

We present a theory which predicts if the locus of a triangle center over certain Poncelet triangle families is a conic or not. We consider families interscribed in (i) the confocal pair and (ii) an outer ellipse and an inner concentric circular caustic. Previously, determining if a locus was a conic was done on a case-by-case basis. In the confoc...

We consider disordered Hamiltonians given by the Laplace operator subject to arbitrary random self-adjoint singular perturbations supported on random discrete subsets of the real line. Under minimal assumptions on the type of disorder, we prove the following dichotomy: Either every realization of the random operator has purely absolutely continuous...

We study center power with respect to circles derived from Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a generic pair of ellipses as well as loci of their triangle centers. We show that (i) for any concentric pair, the power of the center with respect to either circumcircle or Euler's circle is invariant, and (ii) if a triangle center of a 3-periodic in a...

Inverting the vertices of elliptic billiard N-periodics with respect to a circle centered on one focus yields a new "focus-inversive" family inscribed in Pascal's Limaçon. The following are some of its surprising invariants: (i) perimeter, (ii) sum of cosines, and (iii) sum of distances from inversion center (the focus) to vertices. We prove these...

We describe invariants of centers of ellipse-inscribed triangle families with two vertices fixed to the ellipse boundary and a third one which sweeps it. We prove that: (i) if a triangle center is a fixed linear combination of barycenter and orthocenter, its locus is an ellipse; (ii) and that over the family of said linear combinations, the centers...

The Negative Pedal Curve (NPC) of the Ellipse with respect to a boundary point M is a 3-cusp closed-curve which is the affine image of the Steiner Deltoid. Over all M the family has invariant area and displays an array of interesting properties.

The Negative Pedal Curve (NPC) of the Ellipse with respect to a boundary point M is a 3-cusp closed-curve which is the affine image of the Steiner Deltoid. Over all M the family has invariant area and displays an array of interesting properties.

We consider disordered Hamiltonians given by the Laplace operator subject to arbitrary random self-adjoint singular perturbations supported on random discrete subsets of the real line. Under minimal assumptions on the type of disorder, we prove the following dichotomy: Either every realization of the random operator has purely absolutely continuous...