ENVELOPES OF SPECIAL CLASS OF ONE-PARAMETER FAMILIES OF CURVES (Q4340709)

This interesting paper studies envelopes of the family of real valued functions \(t\mapsto g(t/\alpha)+g(t)\), (\(t>0\)), where \(\alpha>0\) is the parameter (and of three similar families, where addition is replaced by multiplication and/or division is replaced by subtraction). In particular, conditions are given for the family to contain just a single function or, if \(g\) is differentiable, the envelope to be the graph of \(x\mapsto g'(x)x\). Reviewer's remark: On p. 800 a 12-line proof is given for the fact that \(g(t/\alpha)+g(\alpha)=g(t/\beta)+g(\beta)\) implies \(g(xy)+g(1)=g(x)+g(y)\) (all variables and parameters go through the positive reals). This is seen immediately by putting \(\alpha=1\), \(\beta=y\), \(t=xy\). -- Similarly, on p. 802 it is proved in 12 lines that, for continuous functions \(F\colon{]-\infty,\infty[}\to{]-\infty,\infty[}\), \(g,h\colon{]0,\infty[}\to{]-\infty,\infty[}\), with bijective \(g\) the equation \(F(g(t/\alpha)+g(\alpha))=h(t/\alpha)+h(\alpha)\) for all positive \(t\) and \(\alpha\) implies that there exist real constants \(a,b\) such that \(F(x)=ax+b\). This also follows immediately by substituting \(x=g(t/\alpha)\), \(y=g(\alpha)\).