Construction of indecomposable Heronian triangles (Q1293525): Difference between revisions

A Heronian triangle has integer sides and area. It is decomposable iff it is obtained by juxtaposing two right triangles or excising one from another. A triangle with rational sides has rational area iff the tangents \(t_1, t_2, t_3\) of its half angles are rationals. We have \(\sum t_it_j=1\); if \(t_i= n_i/d_i\) in lowest terms, the quantities \(g_i= \text{GCD} (d_jd_k- n_jn_k, n_jd_k+ d_jn_k)\) are called simplifying factors. Having recourse to Gaussian integers \(z_i= d_i+ n_i \sqrt{-1}\), the author shows that \(\text{GCD} (g_1, g_2, g_3)=1\), that a Heronian triangle is right iff its simplifying factors have the form \((1,2,g)\) with \(g\) odd and divisible only by primes congruent to \(1\pmod 4\), and that a non-right primitive Heronian triangle is indecomposable iff each of the \(g_i\) contains an odd prime divisor. Also treated are orthocentric quadrangles (each vertex is the orthocentre of the triangle formed by the other three) and the construction of Heronian triangles with given simplifying factors. Numerical examples are tabulated.