No label defined (Q4352322)

\(E^{2n}\) denotes the set of ordered \(n\)-tuples of points in the Euclidean plane. Let \(P=(P_1, \dots, P_n)\), \(Q=(Q_1, \dots, Q_n)\) in \(E^{2n}\), we say \(P\) is a contraction of the system \(Q\) and write \(P\leq Q\) if \(d(P_i,P_j)\leq d(Q_i,Q_j)\) for \(i,j=1,2, \dots, n\). \(P\) is called a continuous contraction of \(Q\) if there is a continuous curve \(\pi: [0,1] \to E^{2n}\) such that \(\pi(0) =Q\), \(\pi(1) =P\) and \(\pi(t) \leq\pi(t')\) for every \(0\leq t' \leq t\leq 1\). This is denoted by \(P<<<Q\). Also \(A(P,r)\) denotes \(\lambda (\bigcup^n_{i=i} d(P_i,r_i))\) where \(\lambda\) is the Lebesgue measure on the plane and \(r=(r_1, \dots, r_n)\) in \(R^n_+\). The Hadwiger-Kneser-Poulsen conjecture of 1954-56 is that if \(P\leq Q\) in \(E^{2n}\), then \(A(P,r) \leq A(Q,r)\) for any \(r\in \Delta= \{(r_1, \dots, r_n) \in R^n_+ \mid r_1= \cdots =r_n\}\). The author proves that if \(P<<<Q\) in \(E^{2n}\), then \(A(P,r) \leq A(Q,r)\) for any \(r\in R^n_+\). A brief version of this result has appeared in Hungar. in the Proc. XVI Nat. Scientific Conf. of Students 1987. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0868.00054].