P24 · Extremal configurations · Formed here

The smallest triangle in an L · n = 7

Place n points inside an L (a 2 × 2 square with its top-right 1 × 1 removed) so that the smallest triangle formed by any three of them is as large as possible.

Instancen = 7
ObjectiveMaximize the smallest triangle's area

Formal definition

  • ContainerThe container is a square of side 2 with its top-right 1 × 1 quarter removed: the origin (0, 0) is its lower-left corner and the missing piece is where x and y are both greater than 1.
  • SubmissionExactly n points, no three collinear
  • ConstraintsEvery point lies inside the container or on its boundary
  • ObjectiveMake the smallest triangle over all triples as large as possible; compared internally by twice the area, exactly
Open the full editor
2y0
0x2
VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONthe smallest triangle

Getting a feel for it

Where the room for improvement is

Even spreading is not enough: no three points may come close to collinear, and near-collinearity is exactly what tidy arrangements love to do. Optima are often asymmetric and hard even to guess.

Where the frontier is

Our own variant: Heilbronn's problem in an L (a 2 × 2 square with its top-right 1 × 1 removed) was posed here, and there is no literature for it. Every n is unstudied; the standing record is all anybody knows.

Current leader

0.047098804142046847

the smallest triangle's area

Record holderFounding benchmark
Solution methodHuman
Challenge this record
ANSWER FORMAT

How to write your answer

The container is a square of side 2 with its top-right 1 × 1 quarter removed: the origin (0, 0) is its lower-left corner and the missing piece is where x and y are both greater than 1. Coordinates are written as plain decimals such as "0.5", to at most nine decimal places.

Submit points, each coordinate written as a decimal string such as "0.5".

The current leader's answer

{
  "points": [
    [
      "0.9",
      "0.5"
    ],
    [
      "0.749395921",
      "0.812732593"
    ],
    [
      "0.410991626",
      "0.889971165"
    ],
    [
      "0.139612453",
      "0.673553496"
    ],
    [
      "0.139612453",
      "0.326446504"
    ],
    [
      "0.410991626",
      "0.110028835"
    ],
    [
      "0.749395921",
      "0.187267407"
    ]
  ]
}
Submission format and technical detailsOpen this when you are ready to prepare a JSON answer

Instance parameters

{
  "n": 7
}

The current leader's answer

{
  "points": [
    [
      "0.9",
      "0.5"
    ],
    [
      "0.749395921",
      "0.812732593"
    ],
    [
      "0.410991626",
      "0.889971165"
    ],
    [
      "0.139612453",
      "0.673553496"
    ],
    [
      "0.139612453",
      "0.326446504"
    ],
    [
      "0.410991626",
      "0.110028835"
    ],
    [
      "0.749395921",
      "0.187267407"
    ]
  ]
}

Submit points, each coordinate written as a decimal string such as "0.5". · Verifier v1.0.0