Approximate symmetries of perturbed planar discrete curves (Q2154247)

A discrete curve \(\mathcal{C}\) in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) is a finite set of vertices connected by line segments such that each vertex has only two neighbours. As the authors explain in the abstract, the main goal of this paper is to study (approximate) symmetries of discrete curves. Thus, a new algorithm to decide whether a discrete curve is symmetric or not is introduced. In the affirmative case, rotational and reflectional symmetries (if they exist) are described. The approach is to decompose the given curve into simpler discrete curves whose symmetries can be obtained more easily, and to derive the symmetries of the original curve from those of the components. Furthermore, they show that this method, suitably adapted, can also be used for perturbations of discrete curves, subsequently determining the approximate symmetries. Finally, several examples illustrating the method are also included.