Poncelet-Darboux, Kippenhahn, and Szegő: interactions between projective geometry, matrices and orthogonal polynomials (Q2669356)

The authors study algebraic curves that are envelopes of families of polygons supported on the unit circle \(\mathbb{T}\) and look for a characterization of such curves of minimal class. All realizations of these curves are shown to be essentially equivalent. They can be described in terms of Szegö polynomials, i.e. orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle. The results of the paper are related to theorems of Poncelet, Darboux, and Kippenhahn, to Blaschke products and disk functions etc. The authors give a rigorous definition of the Poncelet property, of curves tangent to a family of polygons, and of polygons associated with Poncelet curves. This is illustrated by detailed figures. Some misconceptions that appear in the literature are clarified and counterexamples to some existing assertions are presented. Example: curves inscribed in some families of polygons supported on \(\mathbb{T}\) are not necessarily convex, can have cusps and can even intersect the unit circle. The authors show the usefulness of Szegö polynomials and of tangent coordinates; the latter idea has been previously exploited by B. Mirman.