The most general planar transformations that map parabolas into parabolas (Q2390632)

For the extended dual plane the authors prove the following theorem: Every injective map from a closed region bounded by a vertical parabola or a nonvertical line that maps vertical parabolas and nonvertical lines to vertical parabolas and nonvertical lines is the composition of a nonisotropic dilation \(d_{\lambda}:(x,y)\to(\lambda\,x,\lambda^2y)\), \(\lambda\in{\mathbb R}\setminus\{0\}\), with a direct or indirect Laguerre transformation. The proof is modelled on Carathéodory's proof of the analogous theorem for the extended complex plane (Möbius plane); [cf. \textit{C. Carathéodory}, Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 43, 573--579 (1937; JFM 63.0294.03)].