A note on the minimum number of red lines needed to pierce the intersections of blue lines (Q2123295)

From MaRDI portal
scientific article
Language Label Description Also known as
English
A note on the minimum number of red lines needed to pierce the intersections of blue lines
scientific article

    Statements

    A note on the minimum number of red lines needed to pierce the intersections of blue lines (English)
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    8 April 2022
    0 references
    \textit{P. Erdős} and \textit{G. Purdy} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 25, 205--210 (1978; Zbl 0422.05023)] suggested the following problem: Problem: Let \(\mathcal{L}\) be a set of \(n\) non-concurrent blue lines and let \(\mathcal{R}\) be a set of \(m\) red lines in the real projective plane. If \(\mathcal{L} \cap \mathcal{R} = \emptyset\) and there is a line from \(\mathcal{R}\) through every intersection point of lines in \(\mathcal{L}\), how big is \(m\) in terms of \(n\)? Before the current work, the best known bound for this problem was \(m \geq \frac{1}{3}(n- 1)\) obtained by \textit{R. Pinchasi} [Isr. J. Math. 198, 205--214 (2013; Zbl 1278.52010)]. Using mainly elementary geometric arguments, the authors improve the former result of R. Pinchasi by proving that: \[m \geq \frac{4}{11}\left( n - \frac{13}{11}\right).\]
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references
    combinatorics
    0 references
    family of lines
    0 references
    line arrangement
    0 references
    weak Dirac's conjecture
    0 references
    red lines required to pierce blue intersections
    0 references
    0 references
    0 references