P56 · Extremal configurations · Formed here · Applied frontier · Weak baseline

The most uniform sampling mesh in the unit square

1y0
0x1
VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONthe red circle marks the largest empty hole and the blue segment the closest pair; the score is their ratio
n = 12Current record · open

Place n points in the unit square. Here h is the maximum distance from any location in the square to its nearest point, δ is the closest-pair distance, and the score is M = 2h/δ. Make M as small as possible.

Formal definition

  • ContainerThe unit square, with (0, 0) at the lower-left corner and (1, 1) at the upper-right
  • SubmissionExactly n points, each coordinate a decimal with at most nine places; no two points may coincide
  • Covering radiush(P) is the distance from the worst-covered location in the square to its nearest submitted pointh(P)=maxx∈[0,1]2min1≤i≤n‖x−pi‖
  • Separationδ(P) is the distance between the closest pair of submitted pointsδ(P)=min1≤i<j≤n‖pi−pj‖
  • ScoreM(P) penalizes both large holes and close pairs; internally M(P)² = 4h(P)²/δ(P)² is computed exactly, then rounded upward at 10⁻¹⁵M(P)=2h(P)δ(P)
  • ObjectiveMake M(P) as small as possible over all legal point sets PminPM(P)

Getting a feel for it

An analogy: siting base stations

Think of the n points as n base stations. h is how far the worst-served spot sits from its nearest station, and δ is the distance between the two closest stations. M = 2h/δ penalizes both large uncovered holes and crowded pairs.

Where the room for improvement is

A square grid gives M = √2 ≈ 1.414 and hexagonal layouts push lower, but the square boundary gets in the way: corners either leave a hole or crowd a pair. Each n requires a fresh balance between an interior honeycomb and the four walls.

Where the frontier is

Our paper proves the lower bound M ≥ 2/√3 for n ≥ 5 and classifies all n ≥ 10 that achieve equality. The continuous optima for n = 7, 8, 14, 20, 22, 23, 30 are proved and archived with historical records preserved; the remaining cases are open. Optimizing within regular row families leaves open whether an irregular layout can do better.

Source
ONE LEADERBOARD PER n

Current best solutions by n

Each parameter n is an independently scored sub-problem. Select any card to inspect the current record construction or submit a stronger solution.

Discussion (3) ↓
n5
CURRENT RECORD1.337117307331
Medium
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n6
CURRENT RECORD1.201850425895
Medium
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n7
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n8
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n9
CURRENT RECORD1.181565117881
Medium
Record holderw33d
Solution methodAI · Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1
n10
CURRENT RECORD1.250000000451
Medium
Record holderw33d
Solution methodAI · Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1
n11
CURRENT RECORD1.293583854408
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n12
CURRENT RECORD1.166190379278
Medium
Record holderw33d
Solution methodAI · Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1
n13
CURRENT RECORD1.245410065670
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n14
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n15
CURRENT RECORD1.221468801798
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n16
CURRENT RECORD1.194649172032
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n17
CURRENT RECORD1.201850427374
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n18
CURRENT RECORD1.201850427374
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n19
CURRENT RECORD1.261259313231
Medium
Record holderw33d
Solution methodAI · Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1
n20
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n21
CURRENT RECORD1.234231298999
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n22
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n23
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n24
CURRENT RECORD1.228903612069
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n25
CURRENT RECORD1.205107111615
Easy
Answer sourceMinMax Arena
Solution methodMinMax Arena reference construction
n26
CURRENT RECORD1.254636965915
Medium
Record holder今天
Solution methodAI · DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
n27
CURRENT RECORD1.179247641508
Medium
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n28
CURRENT RECORD1.234490836810
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n29
CURRENT RECORD1.235816295526
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n30
CURRENT RECORD2/√3
Proven optimum
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n31
CURRENT RECORD1.225470981868
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n32
CURRENT RECORD1.221703835609
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n33
CURRENT RECORD1.164529212256
Medium
Record holderTmrg
Solution methodHuman
n34
CURRENT RECORD1.229432148124
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n35
CURRENT RECORD1.201850429593
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n36
CURRENT RECORD1.213512406553
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol
n37
CURRENT RECORD1.246397192049
Medium
Record holder今天
Solution methodAI · DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
n38
CURRENT RECORD1.166190380204
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n39
CURRENT RECORD1.166190380204
Medium
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n40
CURRENT RECORD1.224028692751
Medium
Record holdercondor
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol

Data and citation

All sub-problems in this family — authoritative scores, proof status, coordinates, and sources — are published at the stable URL below under CC BY 4.0. Because scores update as records fall, please cite the file's generatedAt timestamp.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/uniform-mesh.json

Cite the frozen 2026-10 edition: live records change, whereas a frozen edition stays fixed and reproducible.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-10/uniform-mesh.json
BibTeX (click to copy)
@misc{minmaxarena-uniform-mesh-2026-10,
  title  = {{The most uniform sampling mesh in the unit square} (P56)},
  author = {{MinMax Arena}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Machine-verified records, 2026-10 edition},
  url    = {https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-10/uniform-mesh.json},
  license = {CC BY 4.0}
}
DISCUSSION

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