Questions tagged [spherical-geometry]
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130 questions
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Formula for the volume of hyper-spherical simplices
I have without success tried to find a formula for the area of the hyper-spheric $n$-simplex spanned by $n+1$ linearly independent unit vectors on the $n$-sphere.
Question:
where can the ...
- 14k
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Rotating $n$ unit vectors in $\mathbb{R}^n$ into positive orthant of sphere [duplicate]
I am working over the unit sphere $S^{n-1} \subset \mathbb{R}^n$. This is a metric space under its "arclength/angle" metric $d(x,y) := \arccos \langle x,y \rangle = \sphericalangle(x,y)$. ...
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Packing real vectors at a fixed minimal angle
Let $\alpha$ be an angle contained in $(0,\pi/2]$ -- to fix ideas, let $\alpha = \pi/3$.
Then with $d > 1$ a positive integer, what is a minimal bound $M_d(\alpha)$ for the maximum number of ...
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A tetrahedron's vertices are random points on a sphere. What is the probability that the tetrahedron's four faces are all acute triangles?
This question resisted attacks at MSE.
A tetrahedron's vertices are independent uniformly random points on a sphere. What is the probability that the tetrahedron's four faces are all acute triangles?
...
- 5,059
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Random tetrahedron inscribed in a sphere: expectation of angle between faces?
The vertices of a tetrahedron are independent and uniform random points on a sphere.
What is the expectation of the internal angle between faces?
Simulation suggests $\frac{3\pi}{8}$
I simulated $10^...
- 5,059
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198
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measure of Haar
Let $(G,K)$ be a Gelfand pair.
Why, for a function $f$ $K$-binvariant with respect to a compact subgroup $K$ of a group $G$, do we have the following equality:
$$ f(xy) = \int_K f(xky) \, dk$$
A ...
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MGFs of sum of (Rademacher) independent variables and (hyperbolic/spherical) Pythagorean theorem
Consider a set of iid random variables $X_1, X_2, \ldots$ (distribution to-be-specified later). For real numbers $a_1, a_2, \ldots$ (with $\sum_{k} a_k^2 < \infty$) define
$$X = a_1 X_1 + a_2 X_2 +...
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Defining convex sums locally on the sphere?
$S^1$ and the torus $T^2$ are spaces in which convex combinations don't make sense globally but do locally. Despite their standard representations in $\mathbf{R}^2$ and $\mathbf{R}^3$ respectively not ...
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Fourier transform relation for spherical convolution
Let $f$ and $g$ be two functions defined over the 2d sphere $\mathbb{S}^2$.
The convolution between $f$ and $g$ is defined as a function $f * g$ over the space $SO(3)$ of 3d rotations as
$$(f*g)(R) = \...
- 2,602
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Inner Products of Elements in Spherical Cap [closed]
I am interested in understanding what is the lowerbound on the inner products of two elements of a sphere. Based on my intuition in dimension 2, I come up with the following conjecture. I appreciate ...
- 109
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Given a collection of vectors $x_1,\ldots,x_k$, which inner products $\langle x_i,x_j\rangle$ are needed to uniquely determine all inner products
Given a collection of vectors $x_1,\ldots,x_k$, which inner products $\langle x_i,x_j\rangle$ need to be known to uniquely determine all inner products? I'll begin with the specific case I am ...
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Poincare inequality on the hemisphere
Background:
Let $\mathbb{S}^2_+$ be the hemisphere. Then we know that for $f:\mathbb{S}^2_+\to \mathbb{R}$ satisfying (when written in coordinates) $\int_{0}^{2\pi}\int_{0}^{\pi/2}f(r,\theta)\sin(r)dr ...
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Is there an absolute geometry that underlies spherical, Euclidean and hyperbolic geometry?
A space form is defined as a complete Riemannian manifold with constant sectional curvature. Fixing the curvature to +1, 0 & -1 and then taking the universal cover by the Killing–Hopf theorem ...
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What is the largest subset of the sphere such that inner product of any two points in the set is nonnegative
I'm interested in the question of finding the maximum area of $A\subset S^{d-1}$, such that, for all $x,y \in A, \left<x,y\right>\ge 0$. The portion of the sphere lying in the positive orthant ...
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Intersection of unit-norm vectors with a large sum in high dimensions with a spherical cap
Let $d$ and $n$ be integers. For $i \in \lbrace 1,\dots,n \rbrace$ let $x_i \in \mathbb{R}^d$ be a vector such that $\lVert x \rVert=1 $. For a fixed $1/2 < \alpha \leq 1$, assume we have $\lVert \...
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Minimum area of a region on the sphere in which an octant can be turned through $\text{360}^{\circ}$
Consider an octant $A \subset S^2$ on the sphere, for example the region $(\theta,\phi)\in[0,\pi/2]\times[0,\pi/2]$ in spherical coordinates. What is the subset $B \subseteq S^2$ with smallest ...
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Minimum number of points on sphere which cannot be covered by three double caps
What is the minimum number of points on the sphere $S^d \subset \mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ which cannot be covered by $d+1$ double caps? A double cap is defined to be a set $\{x \in S^d: |\langle x,a \rangle| &...
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Are these the only first eigenfunctions on a hemisphere?
Let $\mathbb{S}^2_+$ denote the closed upper hemisphere of the unit round sphere in $\mathbb{R}^3$. It is well known that the first positive eigenvalue of the Laplacian on the closed unit sphere is $2$...
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Let $\alpha\in(0,1),d\in\mathbb N^+$ and $X,Y\in\mathbb S^d$ be uniform, what is $\Pr[\lVert X-Y\cdot\sqrt{1-\alpha} \rVert^2\le \alpha]$?
Suppose that $X,Y$ are independent random $d$-dimensional vectors each uniformly distributed on the unit sphere, and let $Z=Y\cdot\sqrt{1-\alpha}$ be a uniformly selected vector on a slightly smaller ...
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Dividing a spherical cap into $n$ equal wedges
This is a follow-up of the question Dividing a spherical cap into three equal wedges where the $n=3$ case was shown.
Motivation: Optimal ways to cut an orange.
In this problem, we have a spherical ...
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Dividing a spherical cap into three equal wedges
Background: Optimal ways to cut an orange.
In this problem, we have a spherical orange, and we do not wish to eat its central column which is modelled as a cylinder. Part of the procedure involves an ...
- 1,379
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Minimal overlap required to cover a sphere with caps is greater than expected for many caps
My question is derived from Covering the surface of a sphere with circles with least overlap on Math SE.
In the referenced question, the problem of completely covering a sphere with the smallest ...
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A spherical geometry claim related to the perspective 3-point problem
I have a simple claim in spherical geometry that has come out of my research into the so-called "perspective 3-point (pose) problem."
Here it is:
Fix three (distinct) great circles on the ...
- 156
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1
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Nonexistence of sphere with one conical point [reference request]
It seems to be considered a classical fact that one cannot have a spherical polyhedral/cone-metric on the 2-sphere with precisely one conical point. However, I've never actually seen it proven ...
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Bounds on the expectation of a product of zonal spherical harmonics
Let us consider a $d-1$ dimensional sphere $S^{d-1}$, and for a point $a \in S^{d-1}$ let $Z_{a,k} : S^{d-1} \to \mathbb{R}$ be the zonal spherical harmonic of degree $k$ in the direction $a$, with ...
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Decreasing magnitude of spherical centroid (simplex version)
Let $\sigma$ be the uniform measure on $\mathbb{S}^{d-1}\subset \mathbb{R}^d$. For any region $R\subset \mathbb{S}^{d-1}$, let $X_R$ be a random variable which is uniformly distributed across $R$. We ...
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Decreasing magnitude of spherical centroid
Let $\sigma$ be the uniform measure on $\mathbb{S}^{d-1}\subset \mathbb{R}^d$. For any region $R\subset \mathbb{S}^{d-1}$, let $X_R$ be a random variable which is uniformly distributed across $R$. We ...
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How to calculate the integral of a product of a spherical Hankel function with associated Legendre polynomials
From numerical experiments in Mathematica, I have found the following expression for the integral:
$$
\int_{-1}^{1}h_{n}^{(1)}\left(\sqrt{a^{2}+b^{2}+2ab\tau}\right)P_{n}^{m}\left(\frac{a\tau+b}{\sqrt{...
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Integral over $S^{n-1}$ [duplicate]
What is the values of the following integral:
$$\int_{w \in S^{n-1}} e^{i\lambda< x,w >} dw.$$
where $\lambda\in\Bbb R, i^2=-1,x\in\Bbb R^n;<,>$ the inner product scalar on $\Bbb R^n$ ...
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Probability that three vectors of a unit sphere lie on one side of a hyperplane if angle between the vectors are given
As the title says, How to find the probability of vectors a, b, c, on some unit sphere, all lies on same side of some hyperplane passing through the origin. Information present are the angles between ...
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The mean of positive points on a unit $n$-sphere $S^n$
My question is similar to The mean of points on a unit n-sphere $S^n$.
I have a unit $n$-sphere $S^n$ and a set $P$ of points lying on its surface.
I use geodesic distance metric $d(p,q)=\arccos(pq^T)$...
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4
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Prove that $(v^Tx)^2−(u^Tx)^2\leq \sqrt{1−(u^Tv)^2}$ for any unit vectors $u, v, x$
I believe I found a complicated proof by bounding the spectral norm $||uu^T-vv^T||^2_2:=\max_{||x||=1}|(u^Tx)^2-(v^Tx)^2|$.
Using the fact that $dist(x,y):=\sin|x-y|$ is a distance function over unit ...
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When are ellipsoids in a convex hull of a sequence with prescribed growth rate?
I am currently reading Dudley's 'Uniform Central Limit Theorems' and found two sections which together would have an interesting geometric interpretation for ellipses in Hilbert spaces. I would like ...
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Prove that $(v^Tx)^2-(u^Tx)^2 < 1-(u^Tv)^2$ for any unit vectors $u$, $v$, $x$
Let $u,v,x \in \mathbb R^d$ be three unit vectors. I found a very complicated proof that $(v^Tx)^2-(u^Tx)^2 \leq 1-(u^Tv)^2$.
That is $\lVert uu^T-vv^T\rVert^2_2 = 1-(u^Tv)^2$, or that $f(v,x)\leq f(v,...
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Geometry in Hilbert spaces / spheres in high dimensions
Let $H$ be a separable Hilbert space of infinite dimension and let $(e_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$ be an orthonormal basis of $H$. For a series $(\alpha_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}} \subset \mathbb{R^+}$ we are ...
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Matrix equation and spherical harmonics
I have a set of functions expanded in a finite number of spherical harmonics (up to degree $L$),
$$
\eta_k^n(\theta,\phi) = \sum_{l=0}^L \sum_{m=-l}^l d_{kl}^{nm} Y_l^m(\theta,\phi)
$$
Similar to the ...
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The relationship between facets of an inscribed polytope and those facets' shadows
I posted this question thinking that the response would be two or three answers that say "Counterexamples to this are found in every textbook—for example this one and this one and this one." ...
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Covering the sphere with an approximately planar grid
Consider a triangulation of a radius $R$ sphere into $n$ triangles. Must $Ω(\sqrt n)$ triangles have $Ω(1)$ relative difference from being an equilateral triangle of area $4πR^2/n$? ($Ω$ is from ...
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A spherical version of the generalized half-angle formulas
The following is a generalization of the half-angle formulas presented at Nabla - Applications of Trigonometry.
Generalization. Let $a$, $b$, $c$, $d$ be the sides of a general convex quadrilateral, $...
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Spherical harmonics, $\frak{sl}_2$, and algebra gradings
Let $S^2$ be the usual $2$-sphere considered as the quotient $S^3/S^1$, and denote by $\operatorname{Pol}(S^2)$ the algebra of polynomial functions on $S^2$. We can decompose $\operatorname{Pol}(S^2)$ ...
- 151
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Spherical harmonic expansion of a power function
Let $f$ be an even continuous function on the sphere $S^{n-1}$.
Find a relation of the spherical harmonic expansion between coefficients of $f^n$ and those of $f$.
- 109
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References Request: A paper Tanno's equation
I need a paper which wrote by Tanno where he prove that a equations $f_{ijk} + k(2f_{k}g_{ij} + f_{i}g_{jk} + f_{j}g_{ik})$ can be solved if and only if on sphere. But I can not find it on Internet ...
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Is there a nice orthogonal basis of spherical harmonics?
Recall that a function is harmonic if its Laplacian is zero. Let $\mathrm{Harm}(n,k)$ denote the vector space of $n$-variate harmonic polynomials that are homogeneous with degree $k$. When working ...
- 8,150
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What is the expected value of the volume of a tetrahedron inscribed in the unit sphere?
Four (non-coincident) points on the unit sphere determine a tetrahedron. What is the expected value of the volume of such a tetrahedron--the volume of the sphere itself being $\frac{4 \pi}{3} \approx ...
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How to tile a plane such that moving from one tile to the next in any of the 8 cardinal directions is the same length?
When tiling the euclidean plane with squares (like most board games), moving diagonally to another tile is longer than moving vertically or horizontally. Is there a tiling such that moving in any of ...
- 11
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1
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Explanation of a formula to calculate the zenith distance of sun and moon [closed]
I am studying tidal accelerations and referring to a well known paper by I M Longman :
Formulas for computing.." J Geophys Research 64 (12) Dec 1959.
At Eq 12 he writes a term "1336.rev"...
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511
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Minimum number of distinct triangles for tesselating the sphere
Consider sequences of tesselations of the sphere. For instance, one such sequence might start with an icosahedron and proceed by subdividing each triangle face into 4 triangles and projecting the new ...
- 1,912
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"Universal" polynomial of bounded norm on the sphere
Consider the space $V_{d,n}=\mathbb{R}[x_1,\ldots,x_n]_d$ of homogeneous polynomials of degree $d$ in $n$ variables. I am interested in the set of bounded polynomials on the sphere $$B_{d,n}=\{f\in V_{...
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1
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Uniqueness of function with range $\mathbb{S}^2$ under a constraint
Assume $g,f\colon A\subset\mathbb{R}^M\rightarrow\mathbb{S}^2$ are two bijective functions defined on the set $A$. Now assume a constraint $C$: $\forall x,y\in A, \exists R\in SO(3)\colon Rf(x)=f(y)\...
- 13
4
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1
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300
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Is there a spherical analogue of polar duality for spherical complexes?
Let $P$ be a spherical complex, which essentially means a tiling of a sphere, let us say the $(d-1)$-dimensional sphere $\mathbb{S}^{d-1}$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ to fix notation, where each cell is a ...
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