We study well-known reconfiguration problems. Given a start and a target configuration of geometric objects in a polygon, we wonder whether we can move the objects from the start configuration to the target configuration while avoiding collisions between the objects and staying within the polygon. Problems of this type have been considered since the early 80s by roboticists and computational geometers. In this paper, we study some of the simplest possible variants where the objects are labeled or unlabeled unit squares or unit disks. In unlabeled reconfiguration, the objects are identical, so that any object is allowed to end at any of the targets positions. In the labeled variant, each object has a designated target position. The results for the labeled variants are direct consequences from our insights on the unlabeled versions. We show that it is PSPACE-hard to decide whether there exists a reconfiguration of (unlabeled/labeled) unit squares even in a simple polygon. Previously, it was only known to be PSPACE-hard in a polygon with holes for both the unlabeled and labeled version [Solovey and Halperin, Int. J. Robotics Res. 2016]. Our proof is based on a result of independent interest, namely that reconfiguration between two satisfying assignments of a formula of Monotone-Planar-3-Sat is also PSPACE-complete. The reduction from reconfiguration of Monotone-Planar-3-Sat to reconfiguration of unit squares extends techniques recently developed to show NP-hardness of packing unit squares in a simple polygon [Abrahamsen and Stade, FOCS 2024]. We also show PSPACE-hardness of reconfiguration of (unlabeled/labeled) unit disks in a polygon with holes. Previously, it was known that unlabeled reconfiguration of disks of two different sizes was PSPACE-hard [Brocken, van der Heijden, Kostitsyna, Lo-Wong and Surtel, FUN 2021].

Abstract We study whether a given graph can be realized as an adjacency graph of the polygonal cells of a polyhedral surface in $${\mathbb {R}}^3$$ R 3 . We show that every graph is realizable as a polyhedral surface with arbitrary polygonal cells, and that this is not true if we require the cells to be convex. In particular, if the given graph contains $$K_5$$ K 5 , $$K_{5,81}$$ K 5 , 81 , or any nonplanar 3-tree as a subgraph, no such realization exists. On the other hand, all planar graphs, $$K_{4,4}$$ K 4 , 4 , and $$K_{3,5}$$ K 3 , 5 can be realized with convex cells. The same holds for any subdivision of any graph where each edge is subdivided at least once, and, by a result from McMullen et al. (Isr. J. Math. 46(1–2), 127–144 (1983)), for any hypercube. Our results have implications on the maximum density of graphs describing polyhedral surfaces with convex cells: The realizability of hypercubes shows that the maximum number of edges over all realizable n-vertex graphs is in $$\Omega (n\log n)$$ Ω ( n log n ) . From the non-realizability of $$K_{5,81}$$ K 5 , 81 , we obtain that any realizable n-vertex graph has $${\mathcal {O}}(n^{9/5})$$ O ( n 9 / 5 ) edges. As such, these graphs can be considerably denser than planar graphs, but not arbitrarily dense.

A graph is 2-degenerate if every subgraph contains a vertex of degree at most 2. We show that every 2-degenerate graph can be drawn with straight lines such that the drawing decomposes into 4 plane forests. Therefore, the geometric arboricity, and hence the geometric thickness, of 2-degenerate graphs is at most 4. On the other hand, we show that there are 2-degenerate graphs that do not admit any straight-line drawing with a decomposition of the edge set into 2 plane graphs. That is, there are 2-degenerate graphs with geometric thickness, and hence geometric arboricity, at least 3. This answers two questions posed by Eppstein [Separating thickness from geometric thickness. In Towards a Theory of Geometric Graphs, vol. 342 of Contemp. Math., AMS, 2004].

Node-link diagrams enable visual assessment of homophily when viewers can identify and evaluate the relative number of intra-cluster and inter-cluster links. Our online experiment shows that a new design with link type encoded edge color leads to more accurate perception of homophily than a design with same-color edges.

Abstract Set systems can be visualized in various ways. An important distinction between techniques is whether the elements have a spatial location that is to be used for the visualization; for example, the elements are cities on a map. Strictly adhering to such location may severely limit the visualization and force overlay, intersections and other forms of clutter. On the other hand, completely ignoring the spatial dimension omits information and may hide spatial patterns in the data. We study layouts for set systems (or hypergraphs) in which spatial locations are displaced onto concentric circles or a grid, to obtain schematic set visualizations. We investigate the tractability of the underlying algorithmic problems adopting different optimization criteria (e.g. crossings or bends) for the layout structure, also known as the support of the hypergraph. Furthermore, we describe a simulated‐annealing approach to heuristically optimize a combination of such criteria. Using this method in computational experiments, we explore the trade‐offs and dependencies between criteria for computing high‐quality schematic set visualizations.

We study whether a given graph can be realized as an adjacency graph of the polygonal cells of a polyhedral surface in ℝ³. We show that every graph is realizable as a polyhedral surface with arbitrary polygonal cells, and that this is not true if we require the cells to be convex. In particular, if the given graph contains K_5, K_{5,81}, or any nonplanar 3-tree as a subgraph, no such realization exists. On the other hand, all planar graphs, K_{4,4}, and K_{3,5} can be realized with convex cells. The same holds for any subdivision of any graph where each edge is subdivided at least once, and, by a result from McMullen et al. (1983), for any hypercube. Our results have implications on the maximum density of graphs describing polyhedral surfaces with convex cells: The realizability of hypercubes shows that the maximum number of edges over all realizable n-vertex graphs is in Ω(n log n). From the non-realizability of K_{5,81}, we obtain that any realizable n-vertex graph has 𝒪(n^{9/5}) edges. As such, these graphs can be considerably denser than planar graphs, but not arbitrarily dense.

Laman graphs are the minimally rigid graphs in the plane. We present two algorithms for recognizing planar Laman graphs. A simple algorithm with running time O(n^(3/2)) and a more complicated algorithm with running time O(n log^3 n) based on involved planar network flow algorithms. Both improve upon the previously fastest algorithm for general graphs by Gabow and Westermann [Algorithmica, 7(5-6):465 - 497, 1992] with running time O(n sqrt{n log n}). To solve this problem we introduce two algorithms (with the running times stated above) that check whether for a directed planar graph G, disjoint sets S, T subseteq V(G), and a fixed k the following connectivity condition holds: for each vertex s in S there are k directed paths from s to T pairwise having only vertex s in common. This variant of connectivity seems interesting on its own.

A stacking operation adds a d-simplex on top of a facet of a simplicial d-polytope while maintaining the convexity of the polytope. A stacked d-polytope is a polytope that is obtained from a d-simplex and a series of stacking operations. We show that for a fixed d every stacked d-polytope with n vertices can be realized with nonnegative integer coordinates. The coordinates are bounded by $$O(n^{2\log _2(2d)})$$ , except for one axis, where the coordinates are bounded by $$O(n^{3\log _2(2d)})$$ . The described realization can be computed with an easy algorithm. The realization of the polytopes is obtained with a lifting technique which produces an embedding on a large grid. We establish a rounding scheme that places the vertices on a sparser grid, while maintaining the convexity of the embedding.

We prove that every simple polygon can be made as a (2D) pop-up card/book that opens to any desired angle between 0 and 360°. More precisely, given a simple polygon attached to the two walls of the open pop-up, our polynomial-time algorithm subdivides the polygon into a single-degree-of-freedom linkage structure, such that closing the pop-up flattens the linkage without collision. This result solves an open problem of Hara and Sugihara from 2009. We also show how to obtain a more efficient construction for the special case of orthogonal polygons, and how to make 3D orthogonal polyhedra, from pop-ups that open to 90°, 180°, 270°, or 360°.

We obtain new lower and upper bounds for the maximum multiplicity of some weighted and, respectively, nonweighted common geometric graphs drawn on $n$ points in the plane in general position (with no three points collinear): perfect matchings, spanning trees, spanning cycles (tours), and triangulations. (i) We present a new lower bound construction for the maximum number of triangulations a set of $n$ points in general position can have. In particular, we show that a generalized double chain formed by two almost convex chains admits $\Omega (8.65^n)$ different triangulations. This improves the bound $\Omega (8.48^n)$ achieved by the previous best construction, the double zig-zag chain studied by Aichholzer et al. (ii) We obtain a new lower bound of $\Omega(12.00^n)$ for the number of noncrossing spanning trees of the double chain composed of two convex chains. The previous bound, $\Omega(10.42^n)$, stood unchanged for more than 10 years. (iii) Using a recent upper bound of $30^n$ for the number of triangulations, due to Sharir and Sheffer, we show that $n$ points in the plane in general position admit at most $O(68.62^n)$ noncrossing spanning cycles. (iv) We derive lower bounds for the number of maximum and minimum weighted geometric graphs (matchings, spanning trees, and tours). We show that the number of shortest tours can be exponential in $n$ for points in general position. These tours are automatically noncrossing. Likewise, we show that the number of longest noncrossing tours can be exponential in $n$. It was known that the number of shortest noncrossing perfect matchings can be exponential in $n$, and here we show that the number of longest noncrossing perfect matchings can be also exponential in $n$. It was known that the number of longest noncrossing spanning trees of a point set can be exponentially large, and here we show that this can be also realized with points in convex position. For points in convex position we re-derive tight bounds for the number of longest and shortest tours with some simpler arguments. We also give a combinatorial characterization of longest tours, which yields an $O(n\log n)$ time algorithm for computing them.

We study the problem how to draw a planar graph crossing-free such that every vertex is incident to an angle greater than π . In general a plane straight-line drawing cannot guarantee this property. We present algorithms which construct such drawings with either tangent-continuous biarcs or quadratic Bézier curves (parabolic arcs), even if the positions of the vertices are predefined by a given plane straight-line drawing of the graph. Moreover, the graph can be drawn with circular arcs if the vertices can be placed arbitrarily. The topic is related to non-crossing drawings of multigraphs and vertex labeling.

In this paper, we investigate the problem of labeling point sites in focus regions of maps or diagrams. This problem occurs, for example, when the user of a mapping service wants to see the names of restaurants or other POIs in a crowded downtown area but keep the overview over a larger area. Our approach is to place the labels at the boundary of the focus region and connect each site with its label by a linear connection, which is called a leader. In this way, we move labels from the focus region to the less valuable context region surrounding it. In order to make the leader layout well readable, we present algorithms that rule out crossings between leaders and optimize other characteristics such as total leader length and distance between labels. This yields a new variant of the boundary labeling problem, which has been studied in the literature. Other than in traditional boundary labeling, where leaders are usually schematized polylines, we focus on leaders that are either straight-line segments or Bezier curves. Further, we present algorithms that, given the sites, find a position of the focus region that optimizes the above characteristics. We also consider a variant of the problem where we have more sites than space for labels. In this situation, we assume that the sites are prioritized by the user. Alternatively, we take a new facility-location perspective which yields a clustering of the sites. We label one representative of each cluster. If the user wishes, we apply our approach to the sites within a cluster, giving details on demand.

We obtain new lower and upper bounds for the maximum multiplicity of some weighted, and respectively non-weighted, common geometric graphs drawn on $n$ points in the plane in general position (with no three points collinear): perfect matchings, spanning trees, spanning cycles (tours), and triangulations. (i) We present a new lower bound construction for the maximum number of triangulations a set of $n$ points in general position can have. In particular, we show that a generalized double chain formed by two almost convex chains admits Omega (8.65^n) different triangulations. This improves the bound Omega (8.48^n) achieved by the previous best construction, the double zig-zag chain studied by Aichholzer et al. (ii) We present a new lower bound of Omega(11.97^n) for the number of non-crossing spanning trees of the double chain composed of two convex chains. The previous bound, Omega(10.42^n), stood unchanged for more than 10 years. (iii) Using a recent upper bound of 30^n for the number of triangulations, due to Sharir and Sheffer, we show that n points in the plane in general position admit at most O(68.664^n) non-crossing spanning cycles. (iv) We derive exponential lower bounds for the number of maximum and minimum weighted geometric graphs (matchings, spanning trees, and tours). It was known that the number of longest non-crossing spanning trees of a point set can be exponentially large, and here we show that this can be also realized with points in convex position. For points in convex position we obtain tight bounds for the number of longest and shortest tours. We give a combinatorial characterization of the longest tours, which leads to an O(n log n) time algorithm for computing them.

We present a continuous submetric deformation of the surface of thecube which increases the enclosed volume by about 25.67.

We show how to embed a 3-connected planar graph with n verticesas a 3-polytope with small integer coordinates.The coordinates are bounded by O(27.55n). The crucial part is the construction of a plane embeddingwhich supports an equilibrium stress.We have to guarantee that the size of the coordinates and thestresses are small.This is achieved by applying Tutte's spring embedding method carefully.