New Euclidean theorems by the use of Laguerre transformations -- some geometry of Minkowski \((2+1)\)-space (Q1347003)

The authors consider the spear-cycle model of the real miquelian Laguerre plane in the Euclidean plane, that is, the points of this geometry are the oriented Euclidean lines and the circles of this geometry are the oriented Euclidean circles plus the points. A spear is incident with a cycle if and only if the corresponding Euclidean line and the corresponding Euclidean circle or point touch each other and the orientations agree at the point of tangency. A different model of the real miquelian Laguerre plane is obtained in the following way. Let \(M^ 3\) be the real 3-dimensional affine space equipped with an inner product on the underlying vector space of index 1. In the Minkowski space \(M^ 3\) cycles are represented by light cones (i.e. the collection of all points of distance 0 from a given point, the vertex of the light cone) and spears by singular planes (i.e. tangent planes of light cones). Since the vertex of a light cone uniquely determines the light cone, cycles can be identified with the points of \(M^ 3\). One can go from one model to the other by isotropic projection: Fixing an Euclidean plane \(E\) of \(M^ 3\) one obtains the spears and cycles of the Laguerre geometry as intersections of singular planes and light cones, respectively. The orientation of a cycle is chosen according to whether the vertex of the corresponding light cone is above or below the Euclidean plane \(E\); this then determines the orientations of spears. Similarity transformations of \(M^ 3\) represent Laguerre transformations of the Laguerre geometry (i.e. transformations that send spears to spears, cycles to cycles, and preserves the relation of touching) in \(E\). The authors work in both models of a Laguerre plane. Going from one model to the other they obtain new theorems in Euclidean or Minkowskian geometry. The authors exhibit this technique by proving the following Theorem of Pythagoras-Laguerre: Let \(A\), \(R\), \(B\), \(S\) be four cycles such that each touches the next (cyclically) with the four points of tangency being collinear, and \(R\) and \(S\) having opposite orientations. If \(C\) is any cycle touching \(R\) and \(S\), then the square of the tangential distance from \(A\) to \(B\) is the sum of squares of the tangential distances from \(B\) to \(C\) and from \(C\) to \(A\).