An enumeration of equilateral triangle dissections

DOI10.1016/J.DAM.2010.04.012MaRDI QIDQ608253zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Aleš Drápal, Carlo Hämäläinen

Publication date 25 November 2010

Published in Discrete Applied Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0910.5199

zbMATH Keywords

equilateral triangleLatin tradeperfect dissectiontriangle dissection

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Exact enumeration problems, generating functions (05A15) Dissections and valuations (Hilbert's third problem, etc.) (52B45) Tilings in (2) dimensions (aspects of discrete geometry) (52C20)

Abstract: We enumerate all dissections of an equilateral triangle into smaller equilateral triangles up to size 20, where each triangle has integer side lengths. A perfect dissection has no two triangles of the same side, counting up- and down-oriented triangles as different. We computationally prove W. T. Tutte's conjecture that the smallest perfect dissection has size 15 and we find all perfect dissections up to size 20.

Review text

A dissection of an equilateral triangle is a partition of the area in nonoverlapping equilateral triangles. The size of the dissection is the number of these nonoverlapping equilateral triangles. All triangles have integer side lengths. In a perfect dissection all triangles of the partition are different which means that they have different side lengths or different orientations (up- and down-oriented). In this paper the numbers of all dissections and all perfect dissections of an equilateral triangle up to size 20 are determined. It is proved in particular that Tutte's conjecture that the smallest perfect dissection of an equilateral triangle has size~15 is true.

Recommendations

• A note on perfect dissections of an equilateral triangle
• Dissections into equilateral triangles
• Dissections of polygons into convex polygons
• Distinct equilateral triangle dissections of convex regions.
• Tilings of convex polygons by equilateral triangles of many different sizes

Cites work

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Cited in

(12)

• Dissections into equilateral triangles
• On the dissection of rectangles into right-angled isosceles triangles
• Infinite perfect triangle dissections also for equilateral triangles
• Rational points of some elliptic curves related to the tilings of the equilateral triangle
• Tilings of convex polygons by equilateral triangles of many different sizes
• Dissection of a triangle into similar triangles
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4153346 (Why is no real title available?)
• Dissections of polygons into convex polygons
• A note on perfect dissections of an equilateral triangle
• Distinct equilateral triangle dissections of convex regions.
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 6756979 (Why is no real title available?)
• The dissection of a polygon into nearly equilateral triangles

Describes a project that uses

Uses Software

• SymPy
• plantri

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