P84 · Packing and covering · Classic

Equilateral triangles in a disc

VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONVERIFIED CONSTRUCTION
n = 3Current record · open

Pack n unit-side equilateral triangles into a disc. Contact is allowed; interiors cannot overlap. Minimise the container circle radius.

Formal definition

  • ContainerThe editor and certificate normalize to the closed unit disc centred at (1,1). This is a coordinate convention only; scores use the literature's unit-piece scale. Boundary contact is allowed.
  • SubmissionSubmit {radius, placements:[{x,y,turn},…]}, with decimal strings of at most nine places. x,y are centres; circles require turn=0, polygons use turn=tan(θ/2). Coordinates and turn lie in ±4; 0 < radius ≤ 4.
  • ConstraintsExactly n congruent shapes lie wholly in the container with pairwise disjoint interiors. Polygon rotations are independent, not limited to quarter turns.
  • PrecisionInput decimals are exact rationals; regular-polygon vertices are algebraic, not rounded templates. Feasibility has no floating-point tolerance. A finite-decimal certificate is not a continuous optimality proof.
  • Objectivecontainer circle radius = 1/(2 sin(pi/3) r), smaller is better. Pages, leaderboards and literature share these units; conversion is automatic.

Getting a feel for it

Source and certificate

External targets are converted with their printed precision; decimal coordinate certificates are separate. Reconstruction loss never lowers the literature target, and a source construction is not automatically an optimality proof.

Source
ONE LEADERBOARD PER n

Current best solutions by n

Each n is an independent record with a page of its own. Open any of them to inspect the current construction, then challenge it.

Discussion (0) ↓
n3
CURRENT RECORD0.953511738best known 0.953
Matches the best known
Answer sourceErich Friedman
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n4
CURRENT RECORD0.980597932best known 0.980
Matches the best known
Answer sourceErich Friedman
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n7
CURRENT RECORD1.152382439best known 1.152
Matches the best known
Answer sourceErich Friedman
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n8
CURRENT RECORD1.263359173best known 1.263
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n9
CURRENT RECORD1.314752194best known 1.314
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n10
CURRENT RECORD1.384681284best known 1.38468
Matches the best known
Answer sourceJonathan Viquerat
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n11
CURRENT RECORD1.466988273best known 1.466
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n12
CURRENT RECORD1.507145206best known 1.507
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n13
CURRENT RECORD1.52752524best known 1.527
Matches the best known
Answer sourceErich Friedman
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n14
CURRENT RECORD1.604489741best known 1.60448
Matches the best known
Answer sourceJake Loyd
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n15
CURRENT RECORD1.636720719best known 1.636
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n16
CURRENT RECORD1.687452419best known 1.687
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n17
CURRENT RECORD1.730310721best known 1.730
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n18
CURRENT RECORD1.801764491best known 1.80176
Matches the best known
Answer sourceJake Loyd
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n19
CURRENT RECORD1.825741865best known 1.825
Matches the best known
Answer sourceHaym Hirsh
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n20
CURRENT RECORD1.874369584best known 1.874
Matches the best known
Answer sourceErich Friedman
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n21
CURRENT RECORD1.910541299best known 1.910
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n22
CURRENT RECORD1.94398837best known 1.943
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n23
CURRENT RECORD1.984672742best known 1.98467
Matches the best known
Answer sourceJake Loyd
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n25
CURRENT RECORD2.055249514best known 2.055
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n26
CURRENT RECORD2.106647674best known 2.10664
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n27
CURRENT RECORD2.138465229best known 2.138
Matches the best known
Answer sourceDavid W. Cantrell
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n28
CURRENT RECORD2.188057309best known 2.18805
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n29
CURRENT RECORD2.209353136best known 2.20935
Matches the best known
Answer sourceJake Loyd
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n30
CURRENT RECORD2.251247456best known 2.25124
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n31
CURRENT RECORD2.272610889best known 2.272
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n32
CURRENT RECORD2.312955248best known 2.31295
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n33
CURRENT RECORD2.341693803best known 2.34169
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n34
CURRENT RECORD2.375042541best known 2.37504
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n35
CURRENT RECORD2.39906468best known 2.39906
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n36
CURRENT RECORD2.439690195best known 2.43969
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n37
CURRENT RECORD2.463494364best known 2.46349
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n38
CURRENT RECORD2.490030016best known 2.49003
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n39
CURRENT RECORD9.879104681best known 2.51938
Hard
Record holderFounding benchmark
Solution methodHuman
n40
CURRENT RECORD2.556750012best known 2.55675
Matches the best known
Answer sourceThomas Schadt
Solution methodPublished reference construction

Data and citation

Every sub-problem in this family — authoritative scores, proof status, coordinates and sources — lives at the stable address below, published under CC BY 4.0. Scores move as records fall, so cite the generatedAt timestamp the file carries.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/triangles-in-disc.json

Cite the frozen 2026-08 edition: records move, a frozen edition never does, so the citation is still checkable years later.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-08/triangles-in-disc.json
BibTeX (click to copy)
@misc{minmaxarena-triangles-in-disc-2026-08,
  title  = {{Equilateral triangles in a disc} (P84)},
  author = {{MinMax Arena}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Machine-verified records, 2026-08 edition},
  url    = {https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-08/triangles-in-disc.json},
  license = {CC BY 4.0}
}
DISCUSSION

Discussion

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