On the rotation index of bar billiards and Poncelet's porism (Q2376832)

This paper presents new results on some relations of the rotation index for bar billiards of two nested circles of different radii, that satisfy Poncelet's porism property. The model problem originates from the traditional game, where players score points by knocking the balls on a table into a number of holes, while avoiding to topple a skittle placed in the middle. In the mathematical problem addressed here, the skittle is replaced by the inner circle and all trajectory lines sprang from the outer circle are required to be tangent to this circle. In this context, the authors concentrate on the mathematical properties of a Poncelet transverse, that is one of such trajectories satisfying the Poncelet porism property, namely if there is a starting point for which a Poncelet transverse is closed, then the transverse will also be closed for any other starting point on the outer circle. The authors determine a new double series, arising from the theory of special functions, relating the rotation index 1/3 with the radii of the two circles and the inter-distance of their centres. Similar expressions can be derived for all rational rotation numbers in ]0,1[, except for 1/2. The particular case of the rotation index 2/5 expressed in terms of an absolutely convergent series is discussed in relation to the necessary condition for a bar billiard to be a pentagon (with self-intersections), by providing an explicit formula of Steiner type.