A combinatorial analog of a theorem of F.J. Dyson (Q975232): Difference between revisions

\textit{F. J. Dyson}'s theorem [Ann. Math. (2) 54, 534--536 (1951; Zbl 0045.02901)] states that for any real-valued function on \(S^2\) there are two orthogonal diameters whose endpoints are mapped to the same point. The authors give a combinatorial proof of this theorem exploiting Tucker labellings: Let \(T\) be a triangulation of \(S^2\) which is invariant under the antipodal map \(A\). A Tucker labelling \(\ell\) assigns the values \(\pm1\) to the vertices of \(T\) such that \(\ell(-v)=\ell(v)\). The authors show that for the linear extension \(L\) of \(\ell\) there exists a polygonal simple closed path that is invariant under \(A\) and is mapped to zero under \(L\). They then show that this result is ``equivalent'' to Dyson's theorem.