Consider a point $O$ in the plane. Find all sets $S$ of at least two points in the plane such that if $A\in S$ ad $A\neq O$, then the circle with diameter $OA$ is in $S$. Nikolai Nikolov, Slavomir Dinev
Problem
Source: Bulgarian National Olympiad 2006 Second day Problem 3
Tags: rotation, trigonometry, combinatorics proposed, combinatorics
04.06.2006 20:07
Lemma: If $A\in S$ and $O\neq A$ then a closed disc with radius $OA$ belongs to $S$. Proof: By the conditions of the problem we have that the circle $w$ with diameter $OA$ lies in $S$. Then take any point $B$ in the interior of this circle and draw a line $l$ perpendicular to $OB$ at $B$. Take $C\in l\cap w$ (note that the latter in non-empty) and draw the circle with diameter $OC$ ($C\in S$). Note that $B$ lies on this circle. Hence $B\in S$. Q.E.D. Now comes the proof of the problem. First of all let's consider the case when there is a ray $z$ passing through $O$ such that $\forall x\in \mathbb R^+\ \ \exists X\in S\colon X\in z,\ OX>x$. Draw a line $y\bot z : y\cap z=O$ and denote the half plane whose boundary is $y$ and in which $z$ lies by $U$. Note that every point that lies in $U$ but does not lie on $y$ is in $S$ (using the choice of $z$ we prove it in the same fasion as we have proven lemma). Now note that every point that lies on $y$ is in $S$ (take a point in $U$ sufficiently close to $y$ and sufficiently far from $O$, draw a circle with diameter whose one endpoint is the chosen point and the other is $O$ and use lemma). Now in the same manner (taking $y$ instead $z$) we prove that every point in each of the two half-planes in which $z$ and $-z$ divides the plane belongs to $S$. And finaly we prove that $-z$ lies in $S$ (again analogously). Hence $S$ coincides with the plane. That was the nasty part of the solution. Now comes the other one with a briliant idea. In this case that is left such ray $z$ as aforementioned does not exist and consequently $\exists m\in \mathbb{R^+}\colon \forall A\in S\ \ OA\le m$. And let $m$ be as minimal as it can be. In other words $m=\sup \{ |OA| \colon A\in S \}$. Now perform inversion centered at $O$ with radius $m$. Denote $X'$ an inversive image of $X$ and $S'$ an inversive image of $S$. Note that the conditions of the problem imply that for every $A'\in S'$ the line $l'\bot OA'\colon A'\in l'$ lies in $S'$ and our lemma implies that all half-plane which has $l'$ as the boundary and does not contain $O$ lies in $S'$. Now choose $l'$ sufficiently close to an open disc centered at $O$ with radius $m$. Fix $\epsilon >0$ and set $l_0=l'$. By $A_i$ we will denote a point on $l_i$ such that $OA_i\bot l_i$. Now choose $B_0\in l_0 \colon B_0A_0=\epsilon$ and let $l_1$ pass through $B_0$ perpendicularly to $OB_0$. $l_{n+1}$ is obtained from $l_n$ in the same fashion. We just have to choose such $B_n$ that $\angle A_{n-1}B_nA_{n+1}$ is obtuse. Note that in such a way we step by step rotate around the circle of inversion by a fixed a angle. And note that every $l_i$ and a half plane which has the boundary $l_i$ and does not contain $O$ lies in $S'$ (we get this using lemma and the aforementioned equivalence of the conditions of the problem). In such a way we rotate around the circle and get that all plane without the open disc centered at $O$ with radius $m$ lies in $S'$. (Indeed it is easy but nasty to make the above argument rigorous: one just have to choose $l'$ sufficiently close to the circle and $\epsilon$ sufficiently small. However intuitively it's clear what is going on). Hence an open disc centered at $O$ with radius $m$ lies in $S$. By the definition of $m$ no other points different from those lying on the boundary of the closed disc centered at $O$ with radius $m$ can lie in $S$. Let $T$ be any subset of this boundary and note that we can have $T\subset S$ and $S$ will satisfy the conditions of the problem. So $S$ is either all plane or a union $T\cup U$ where $U$ is any disc centered at $O$ without its boundary and $U$ is any subset of points of this boundary. Clearly all such $S$ satisfy the conditions of the problem.
19.09.2006 13:59
hey this looks complicated! Any easier ways?
24.11.2006 00:37
Firstly how does the lemma work? Surely you've only shown that the interior of the circle with diameter OA belongs to S? I think I have a nicer way of tackling the unbounded case. Suppose there exists a point P in the plane that is not in S. Then the line through P perpendicular to OP is also not in S (if it were, it would imply that P were in S, which it isn't). Also, for any point R of the plane on the other side of this line, one can choose a point Q on the line such that $\angle OQR = \pi/2$, so if R were in S, Q would be in S, again a contradiction, so the whole of the plane on the other side of this line would be excluded from S. We can also choose $Q\not =P$ on the line, draw the perpendicular to OQ through Q, and draw similar conclusions. If we do this a few times (so we next choose a point A such that AQ is perpendicular to OQ, etc.), we can form a closed polygon around O, which is a bound for S. Therefore, if S is unbounded, S must coincide with the plane. I didn't manage to find a solution for what S looks like when it's bounded though .
10.01.2007 22:49
I beg your pardon, indeed the word radius in the statement of the lemma must be changed to diameter. But it's just a typo since afterwards I'm using the lemma properly.
24.02.2012 15:00
I hope I haven't done any silly mistakes,because I spent quite some time writing down this proof(just when I was about to finish it my PC crashed and I had to start all over again :O ) Lemma 1: Suppose $A\in S$ then the closed disk of diameter $OA$ is contained in $S$. Proof: Take point $X$ in the disk, bring perpendicular to $OX$ at $X$ and let the section with the circle of diameter $OA$ be $Y$,then $X$ belongs to the circle of diameter $OY$(obviously $Y\in S$). Lemma 2: Suppose $A\in S$,then the open disk $(O,OA)$ is contained in $S$. First,we prove the following "sublemma": Given point $Z$ on circle $(O,OA)$ there is a point $X$ in the interior of the disk such that $\left | ZX \right |<\epsilon$ for every $\epsilon >0$ Proof: Split the angle $\measuredangle AOZ$ into $n$ equal parts by the lines $OA=\lambda_0,\lambda_{1}, \lambda_{2},...,\lambda_n=OZ$ and define the sequence of points $X_0=A$ and $X_{k+1}$ the projection of $X_{k}$ onto $OA_{k+1}$. All such $X_{k}$ belong to $S$ because $X_{k+1}$ belongs to the circle of diameter $OX_{k}$. Then I have $\left | OX_{k+1} \right |=\left | OX_{k} \right |\cos( \frac{\measuredangle AOZ}{n})$. Therefore $\left | OX_{n} \right |=\left | OA \right |(\cos( \frac{\measuredangle AOZ}{n}))^n$ and $\left | X_{n}Z \right |=\left | OA\right |(1-(\cos( \frac{\measuredangle AOZ}{n}))^n)$ which tends to $0$ as $n$ tends to infinity. Using the sublemma, I can have a point $X\in S$ at any radius $r<OA$ and by taking the union of the closed disks with diameter $OX$,where $X$ varies over all points at radius $r$, I get that the closed disk $(O,r)$ belongs to $S$ and since $OA$ is the supremum of such $r$ the open disk $(O,OA)$ belongs to $S$. Now, we take cases. If $S$ is unbounded, then it is the plane. Suppose there exists point $Z$ in the plane not contained in $S$, then there is a point with $OX>OZ$ and by lemma 2 $X\in S$,contradiction. If $S$ is bounded, then consider the set of points (not necessarily finite) $A$ that $OA=R$ is maximum distance(or the supremum of such distances). Then,by Lemma 2 $S$ contains the open disk $(0,R)$ and a set of points on the circle.