Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2009.06786

A Finite, Feasible, Quantifier-free Foundation for Constructive Geometry

John R. Burke
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In this paper we will develop an axiomatic foundation for the geometric study of straight edge, protractor, and compass constructions, which while being related to previous foundations, will be the first to have all axioms written and all proofs conducted in quantifier-free first order logic. All constructions within the system will be justified to be feasible by basic human faculties. No statement in the system will refer to infinitely many objects and one can posit an interpretation of the system which is in accordance to our free, creative process of geometric constructions. We are also able to capture analogous results to Euclid's work on non-planar geometry in Book XI of The Elements. This paper primarily builds on Suppes' paper Quantifier-Free Axioms for Constructive Affine Plane Geometry and draws from Beeson's article A Constructive Version of Tarski's Geometry. By further developing Suppes' work on parallel line segments, we are able to develop analogs to most theorems about parallel lines without assuming an equivalent to Euclid's Fifth Postulate which we deem as introducing non-feasible constructions. In A Constructive Version of Tarski's Geometry, Beeson defines the characteristics such a geometric foundation should have to called constructive. This work satisfies these characteristics. Additionally this work would be considered constructive as Suppes defined it.

Explore related subjects

math.MGmath.LO

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

John R. Burke. 2020-09-16. A Finite, Feasible, Quantifier-free Foundation for Constructive Geometry. https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.06786

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

From the Steiner Inellipse to the John Ellipsoid of a Simplex: A Corner-Volume Characterization

For a triangle of area \(T\), a planar corner-area characterization states that an interior point \(M\) lies on the Steiner inellipse precisely when the three corner triangles cut off by the lines through \(M\) parallel to the sides have areas \(T_1,T_2,T_3\) satisfying $$ T_1+T_2+T_3=\frac12 T. $$ We give the corresponding statement for a simplex in arbitrary dimension. If \(S\) is a nondegenerate \(n\)-simplex of volume \(V\) and \(V_1(M),\ldots,V_{n+1}(M)\) are the volumes of the facet-parallel corner simplices determined by \(M\), then $$ M\in\partial E_J(S) \quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad \sum_{i=1}^{n+1}V_i(M)^{2/n}=\frac1n V^{2/n}, $$ where \(E_J(S)\) is the John ellipsoid of \(S\). We also identify the entire corner-volume functional with the central second-moment quadratic of the uniform simplex. The novelty claimed here is limited to the corner-volume formulations and their connections with the planar Steiner-inellipse result; the underlying barycentric, covariance, and John-ellipsoid facts are classical.

math.MG↗
arXiv2026

The $L_p$ Minkowski problem for $C$-close sets: existence and continuity

Let $C$ be a pointed closed convex cone in $\mathbb{R}^n$ with nonempty interior, and let $S^{n-1}$ denote the unit sphere in $\mathbb{R}^n$. The $L_p$ Minkowski problem for $C$-close sets is to determine, for a real number $p$ and a nonzero finite Borel measure $μ$ defined on $Ω_{C^\circ}=S^{n-1}\cap \mathrm{int} C^{\circ}$, whether there exists a $C$-close set $\mathds{A}$ such that $μ$ is the $L_p$ surface area measure of $\mathds{A}$. In this paper, we will solve the problem for $p\in (0,1)$ and for $μ$ being a nonzero finite Borel measure on $Ω_{C^\circ}$. Moreover, we establish the continuity of solutions to the $L_p$ Minkowski problem for $p\in [0, 1]$ in several settings.

math.MG↗
arXiv2026

Convergence of metric measure spaces via embeddings in the Urysohn universal space

We study different notions of convergence of metric measure spaces by means of isometric embeddings into the Urysohn universal metric space $\mathbb U$. Due to the universality of $\mathbb U$, the collection $\mathbb X_1$ of isomorphism classes of normalised metric measure spaces can be canonically identified with the quotient (set) $\mathscr P_\sim(\mathbb U)=\mathscr P(\mathbb U)/\sim$ of the space $\mathscr P(\mathbb U)$ of Borel probability measures on $\mathbb U$, where $μ\simν$ if $ν$ is the pushforward of $μ$ under an isometry between their respective supports. By making crucial use of the ultrahomogeneity of $\mathbb U$, we show that, under the above identification, Gromov's box topology on $\mathbb X_1$ coincides with the quotient topology induced by the weak topology of $\mathscr P(\mathbb U)$. More quantitatively, the truncated $1$-Wasserstein distance on $\mathscr P(\mathbb U)$ induces a complete and separable distance ${\sf d}_{\rm mG}$ on $\mathbb X_1\cong\mathscr P_\sim(\mathbb U)$, which metrises the quotient topology of $\mathscr P_\sim(\mathbb U)$ and is Hölder equivalent to the box distance $\square$.

math.MG↗