Surface triangulations with isometric boundary (Q1339862)

Let \(T\) be a triangulation of a bordered compact surface; let \(V(T)\) be endowed with a metric induced by a 1-skeleton of \(T\). Let \(C\) be a boundary component of \(T\). Then \(T\) is said to be isometric with respect to \(C\) if for any two vertices of \(C\) their distance in \(T\) is equal to their distance on \(C\). The authors generalize a theorem of \textit{N. Alon}, \textit{P. Seymour} and \textit{R. Thomas} [SIAM J. Discrete Math. 7, No. 2, 184-193 (1994; Zbl 0797.05039)] by proving the following: If \(T\) is an isometric triangulation of the disk with holes, with respect to a distinguished boundary cycle containing \(n\) vertices, and if the number of vertices on all other boundary components is \(o(n)\), then \(T\) has \(\Omega (n^ 2)\) vertices. The second main result concerns irreducible triangulations, i.e., such that contraction of any interior edge results in a non-isometric triangulation or changes the homeomorphism type of the surface. It is shown that the number of combinatorially distinct irreducible isometric triangulations of a fixed surface with \(n\) vertices on the boundary is finite for each \(n\).