The minimum area of a simple polygon with given side lengths (Q5932667)

In this paper the minimum area of a simple polygon with given side lengths is studied. (This investigation relates to a question by H. Harborth during a conference.) Let \(a_1,\dots,a_n>0\), \(n\geq 3\), and let \(a_i<\sum_{j\neq i}a_j\), \(i=1,\dots,n\). The authors show that the infimum of the areas of the simple polygons in the Euclidean plane, with the side lengths \(a_1,\dots,a_n\) (in some order), is attained (in limit) if the polygon degenerates into a certain kind of triangle, plus some parts of zero area. (The paper contains a detailed theorem.) If \(n>3\), then the infimum is never attained. Specifically, for \(n\) odd the area of a simple \(n\)-gon with unit sides is at least \(\sqrt 3/4\) (the area of equilateral triangle). The authors obtain an analogous result for the (not necessarily strictly) convex polygons in the Euclidean plane. The infimum attained also here for polygons degenerates into a certain kind of triangle. Remarkable are the investigations of the same question for simple polygons on the sphere and in the hyperbolic plane. Also here analougous answers are given.