Binary space partitions for axis-parallel line segments: Size-height tradeoffs. (Q1853137)

We present worst-case lower bounds on the minimum size of a Binary Space Partition (BSP) tree as a function of its height, for a set \(S\) of \(n\) axis-parallel line segments in the plane. We assume that the BSP uses only axis-parallel cutting lines. These lower bounds imply that, in the worst case, a BSP tree of height \(O(\log n)\) must have size \(\Omega(n\log n)\) and a BSP tree of size \(O(n)\) must have height \(\Omega(n^{\delta})\), where \(\delta\) is a suitable constant.