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September 1, 2014
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ponceletAMM.tex
Abstract. We present a proof of Poncelets Theorem in the real projective plane which relies
only on Pascals Theorem.
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used Abels Theorem and the representation of elliptic curves by means of the Weierstrass -function to establish the equivalence of Poncelets Theorem and the group
structure on elliptic curves, see [11]. Poncelets Theorem has a surprising mechanical interpretation for elliptic billiards in the language of dynamical systems: see [8]
or [7] for an overview of this facet. A common approach to all four classical closing
theorems (the Poncelet porism, Steiners Theorem, the Zigzag Theorem, and Emchs
Theorem) has recently been established by Protasov in [18]. King showed in [14], that
Poncelets porism is isomorphic to Tarskis plank problem (a problem about geometric
set-inclusion) and to Gelfands question (a number theoretic problem) via the construction of an invariant measure. However, according to Berger [1, p. 203], all known
proofs of Poncelets Theorem are rather long and recondite.
The aim of this paper is to give a simple proof of Poncelets Theorem in the real
projective plane. More precisely, we will show that Poncelets Theorem is a purely
combinatorial consequence of Pascals Theorem. Before we give several forms of the
latter, let us introduce some notation. For two points a and b, let a b denote the line
through a and b, and for two lines 1 and 2 , let 1 2 denote the intersection point
of these lines in the projective plane. In abuse of notation, we often write a b c in
order to emphasize that the points a, b, c are collinear. In the sequel, points are often
labeled with numbers, and lines with encircled numbers like .
In this terminology, Pascals Theorem and its equivalent forms read as follows.
Pascals Theorem (cf. [16])
bc
3
bc
5
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
3
b
bc
6
bc
bc
bc
if and only if
if and only if
(1 2) (4 5)
(2 3) (5 6)
(3 4) (6 1)
are collinear.
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Carnots Theorem
bc
bc
3:29 p.m.
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
if and only if
if and only if
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
are concurrent.
[( ) ( )] [( ) ( )]
( )
( )
are collinear.
As a matter of fact, we would like to mention that if the conic is not degenerate,
then the collinear points in Pascals Theorem are always pairwise distinct (the same
applies to the concurrent lines in Brianchons Theorem).
Since the real projective plane is self-dual, Pascals Theorem and Brianchons Theorem are equivalent. Moreover Carnots Theorem and its dual Carnots Theorem are
just reformulations of Pascals Theorem and Brianchons Theorem by exchanging the
points 3 and 5, and the lines and , respectively. Recall that if two adjacent points,
say 1 and 2, coincide, then the corresponding line 1 2 becomes a tangent with 1 as
contact point. Similarly, if two lines, say and , coincide, then becomes the
contact point of the tangent . As a last remark, we would like to mention that a conic
is in general determined by five points, by five tangents, or by a combination like three
tangents and two contact points of these tangents.
The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we prove Poncelets Theorem for
the special case of triangles and at the same time we develop the kind of combinatorial arguments we shall use later. Section 3 contains the crucial tool which allows to
show that Poncelets Theorem holds for an arbitrary number of edges. Finally, in Section 4, we use the developed combinatorial technics in order to prove some additional
symmetry properties of Poncelet-polygons.
2. PONCELETS THEOREM FOR TRIANGLES In order to prove Poncelets
Theorem for triangles, we will show that if the six vertices of two triangles lie on
a conic K , then the six sides of the triangles are tangents to some conic C .
The crucial point in the proof of the following theorem (as well as in the proofs
of the other theorems of this paper) is to find the suitable numbering of points and
edges, and to apply some form of Pascals Theorem in order to find collinear points or
concurrent lines.
Theorem 2.1. If two triangles are inscribed in a conic and the two triangles do not
have a common vertex, then the six sides of the triangles are tangent to a conic.
January 2014]
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ponceletAMM.tex
b3
bc
a1
bc
bc
b2
bc
a3
bc
bc
a2
b1
I := (a1 a2 ) (b1 b2 ) ,
X := (a2 b3 ) (b2 a3 ) ,
I := (a3 a1 ) (b3 b1 ) .
In order to visualize the intersection points I , X , and I , we break up the conic K and
draw it as two straight lines, one for each triangle as follows.
a1
a2
bc
a3
bc
bc
bc
I
b
bc
bc
I
bc
bc
b
bc
b2
a2
bc
bc
b1
a1
bc
I
b
bc
b3
bc
b1
b2
a2
2
bc
bc
4
b1
a3
6
bc
bc
bc
a1
1
bc
bc
c THE MATHEMATICAL
bc
3
b3
bc
I
bc
5
b2
a2
2
bc
bc
bc
4
b1
I
bc
5
b2
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
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(1 2) (4 5) ,
(2 3) (5 6) ,
and
(3 4) (6 1)
are collinear, which is the same as saying that the points I X I are collinear.
In the next step, we label the sides of the triangles as shown in the following figure.
a1
bc
a3
bc
bc
b1
a2
bc
bc
I
b
bc
b3
bc
I
bc
bc
bc
b1
a2
bc
X
bc
b2
a1
bc
I
b
bc
b2
By Carnots Theorem we get that the six sides , . . . , of the two triangles are
tangents to a conic if and only if
[( ) ( )] [( ) ( )] ,
( ) , and
( )
are collinear. Now, this is the same as saying that the points X I I are collinear,
which, as we have seen above, is equivalent to a1 , a2 , a3 , b1 , b2 , b3 lying on a conic.
b3
bc
a1
bc
bc
b2
bc
a3
bc
bc
a2
b1
q.e.d.
As an immediate consequence we get Poncelets Theorem for triangles.
Corollary 2.2 (Poncelets Theorem for triangles). Let K and C be nondegenerate
conics. Suppose there is a triangle a1 a2 a3 inscribed in K and circumscribed about
C . Then for any point b1 of K for which two tangents to C exist, there is a triangle
b1 b2 b3 which is also inscribed in K and circumscribed about C .
January 2014]
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ponceletAMM.tex
page 6
= a3 a1 = ,
= a1 a2 = .
bc
bn1
an
bc
bc
bn
a1
bc
bc
b1
an1
a2
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
b2
an
bc
bc
a1
bc
bc
bn
b1
I := (a1 a2 ) (b1 b2 ) ,
X := (a2 bn1 ) (b2 an1 ) , and
I := (an1 an ) (bn1 bn ) ,
6
c THE MATHEMATICAL
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a2
bc
bc
b2
a1
a2
bc
bc
September 1, 2014
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an1
bc
bc
bc
ponceletAMM.tex
an
bc
bc
bc
bc
X
bc
bc
bc
b1
bc
bc
bc
b
bn1
b2
bn
are pairwise distinct and collinear, which is visualized above by the dashed line.
Proof. Depending on the parity of n, we have one of the following anchorings, from
which we will work step by step outwards.
n even, with k = n2 :
ak1
bc
ak
ak+1
bc
bc
ak+2
bc
ak1
bc
bc
bc
I
bc
bc
bc
bc
bk+1
bk
bc
3
bc
bc
X
bk1
bc
ak+1
ak
bc
n+1
:
2
n odd, with k =
4
bc
5
b
bc
bk+2
bc
bk1
bk
6
bc
bk+1
For n 5, the lemma will follow from the following two claims.
Claim 1. Let p and q be integers with 2 p < q n 1. Further, let
Iq := (aq1 aq ) (bq1 bq ) ,
and let
X := (ap bq ) (bp aq ) .
If Ip X Iq are pairwise distinct and collinear, then Ip1 X Iq+1 are also
pairwise distinct and collinear. This implication is visualized by the following figure.
ap1
ap
bc
ap+1
bc
aq1
Ip
bc
aq
bc
bc
aq+1
bc
bc
bc
Iq
bc
X
bc
bp1
bc
bp
bc
bc
bp+1
bq1
bc
bq
bc
bq+1
January 2014]
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ap1
ap
bc
ap+1
bc
Ip1
September 1, 2014
aq1
bc
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aq
bc
bc
ponceletAMM.tex
aq+1
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
X
bc
bc
bp1
bc
bp
bc
bp+1
bc
bq1
bc
bq
bq+1
Proof of Claim 1.
ap
bc
bc
bc
Ip
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
Iq
bc
bc
bp
aq
bc
bc
bc
bc
bq
(a) By Brianchons Theorem, the lines , , are pairwise distinct and concurrent.
ap
bc
aq
bc
Ip
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
Iq
bc
X
bc
bc
bc
bc
bp
bq
(b) The lines , , meet, by assumption, in X , and they are pairwise distinct.
By (a), we have that and are distinct, and by symmetry also and are distinct.
Since a straight line meets a nondegenerate conic in at most two points, and are
also distinct.
a
p1
bc
ap
Ip1
bc
bc
ap+1
aq
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
bp1
bc
bq1
bp
aq+1
bc
bq
bc
bq+1
(c) By Brianchons Theorem, the lines , , are pairwise distinct and concurrent.
By (a) & (b) we get that , , and meet in X , and by (c) we get that also , , and
meet in X , which implies that Ip1 X Iq+1 are collinear and pairwise distinct.
If Ip1 = Iq+1 , then the four lines ap1 ap , bp1 bp , aq aq+1 , bq bq+1 , which
are all tangent to C , would be concurrent. But then these four lines are not pairwise
distinct, and since the eight points ap1 , ap , aq , aq+1 , bp1 , bp , bq , bq+1 are pairwise
distinct (recall that 1 p 1 < q + 1 n), this contradicts our assumption that the
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conic K is nondegenerate. By similar arguments it follows that both Ip1 and Iq+1 are
q.e.d.
distinct from X .
Claim 2. Let Ip1 , Iq+1 , and X be as above, and let
ap
bc
ap+1
Ip1
bc
aq1
bc
aq
bc
bc
aq+1
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
X
bc
bc
bc
bp1
bp
bc
bp+1
bc
bc
b
bq1
bq
aq1
aq
bq+1
ap1
ap
bc
ap+1
Ip1
bc
bc
bc
bc
aq+1
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
X
bc
bc
bp1
bc
bp
bc
bp+1
bc
bq1
bc
bq
bq+1
Proof of Claim 2.
ap
bc
aq
Ip1
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
X
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bp
bc
bq
(a) By assumption, the points Ip1 X Iq+1 are pairwise distinct and collinear.
b
ap
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
J
bc
bc
Ip1
4
aq
bc
bc
bc
5
bc
bc
bc
bp
3
bc
bc
bq
b
(b) By Pascals Theorem, the points Ip1 X J are pairwise distinct and
collinear.
January 2014]
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ponceletAMM.tex
page 10
ap
bc
aq
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
J
4
bc
bc
bc
bc
Iq+1
bc
bc
bc
bc
bp
bc
bq
b
(c) By Pascals Theorem, the points X J Iq+1 are pairwise distinct and
collinear.
By (a) & (b) we get that Ip1 J Iq+1 are collinear, and by (c) we get that X
lies on J Iq+1 . Hence, Ip1 X Iq+1 are collinear. By (a), (c) and a symmetric
q.e.d.
version of (c), the three points Ip1 , X , Iq+1 are pairwise distinct.
By an iterative application of Claim 1 & 2, we finally get the situation
a1
a2
bc
bc
an1
bc
bc
bc
an
bc
bc
bc
bc
X
bc
bc
b1
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
b2
bn
q.e.d.
With similar arguments as in the proof of Poncelets Theorem for triangles (Corollary 2.2), we can now prove the general case of Poncelets Theorem (Theorem 1.1):
Proof of Poncelets Theorem. Let K and C be nondegenerate conics in general position. We assume that there is an n-sided polygon a1 , . . . , an which is inscribed in K
such that all its n sides a1 a2 , a2 a3 , . . . , an a1 are tangent to C and none of its
vertices belongs to C . Let us assume that n is minimal with this property. Further we
assume that there is an (n 1)-sided polygonal chain b1 , . . . , bn whose n 1 sides
are tangent to C and none of its vertices is one of a1 , . . . , an or belongs to C . We have
to show that bn b1 is tangent to C .
an1
bc
bc
bn1
an
a1
bc
bc
bn
bc
!
bc
b1
an1
a2
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
b2
an
a1
bc
bc
!
bc
bn
bc
b1
J := (an1 a1 ) (bn1 b1 ) ,
X := (an b1 ) (bn a1 ) .
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a2
bc
bc
b2
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ponceletAMM.tex
a1
bc
a2
bc
bc
an1
bc
bc
an
bc
bc
a1
bc
bc
bc
bc
a2
bc
bc
I
bc
X
bc
bc
b1
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
b2
bc
bn
bc
b1
b2
a1
b
a2
bc
bc
bc
b1
bc
an
bc
bc
5
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
I
bc
bc
b2
J
bc
a2
bc
bc
a1
bc
I
4
an1
bc
bc
bn
b1
5
bc
b2
(a) By Pascals Theorem, the points I X J are pairwise distinct and collinear.
b
a1
bc
a2
bc
bc
an1
bc
bc
I
bc
bc
bc
4
bc
bc
bc
bc
bn1
b2
a1
bc
b1
an
J
bc
bc
bc
bn
b1
bc
a2
bc
bc
b2
(b) By Pascals Theorem, the points I J X are pairwise distinct and collinear.
Since, by Lemma 3.1, I X I are pairwise distinct and collinear, by (a) we get
that I X J I are collinear, and by (b) we finally get that I X I are
collinear.
For the last step, we apply Carnots Theorem .
an1
bc
bc
a1
bc
I
bc
an
bc
bc
bn1
bc
bn
bc
bc
I
bc
bc
b1
a2
bc
b2
Since I X I are collinear, by Carnots Theorem we get that the six lines , . . . ,
are tangent to some conic C . Now, since a conic is determined by five tangents, and
the five lines ,,,, are tangent to C , C and C coincide. This implies that is
q.e.d.
tangent to C , which is what we had to show.
January 2014]
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ponceletAMM.tex
a2
bc
a1
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
a1
bc
an+1
bc
bc
bc
an+1
an
bc
bc
bc
bc
bc
an+2
a2n
an+1
This is the same as saying that the three diagonals a1 an+1 , a2 an+2 , and an
a2n meet in a point, say H0 . Now, by cyclic permutation we get that all n diagonals
meet in H0 .
(b) By the proof of Lemma 3.1, we get that the three points t1 H0 tn+1 are
collinear.
a1
b
a2
bc
t1
bc
a3
an
bc
bc
bc
an+1
an+2
bc
bc
bc
tn+1
bc
H0
bc
a2
bc
a1
bc
a2n
bc
an+3
bc
b
an+2
bc
an+1
Thus, by cyclic permutation we get that all n lines t1 tn+1 , t2 tn+2 , . . . , tn t2n
pass through H0 , which implies that all n lines meet in H0 .
q.e.d.
In the last result, we show that the point H0 is independent of the particular 2nPoncelet-polygon (compare with Poncelets results no. 570 & 571 in [17]).
Theorem 4.2. Let K and C be nondegenerate conics in general position which neither meet nor intersect and let a1 , . . . , a2n and b1 , . . . , b2n be the vertices of two
2n-Poncelet-polygons with respect to K & C . Further let t1 , . . . , t2n and t1 , . . . , t2n
be the contact points of the Poncelet-polygons. Then all 4n lines a1 an+1 , . . .,
t1 tn+1 , . . ., b1 bn+1 , . . ., t1 tn+1 , . . . meet in a point H0 . Moreover, opposite
sides of the Poncelet-polygons meet on a fixed line h, where h is the polar of H0 , both
with respect to C and K .
Proof. By Theorem 4.1 we know that the 2n lines a1 an+1 , . . ., t1 tn+1 , . . . meet
in a point H0 . First, we show that the polar h of the pole H0 with respect to C is the
same as the polar h of H0 with respect to K , and then we show that the point H0 is
independent of the choice of the 2n-Poncelet-polygon.
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bc
ai
ak
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ai+1
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ponceletAMM.tex
bc
ti
bc
tk
bc
bc
bc
H0
ak+1
bc
bc
ai+n
ti+n
bc
bc
ak+n+1
bc
tk+n
bc
ak+n
bc
bc
ai+n+1
First notice that in the figure above, H0 is on the polar p of P with respect to the
conic C and that H0 is also on the polar p of P with respect to the conic K (see for
example Coxeter and Greitzer [6, Theorem 6.51]). Thus, P lies on the polar h of H0
with respect to C , as well as on the polar h of H0 with respect ot K . Since the same
applies to the point Q, the polars h and h coincide, which shows that the pole H0 has
the same polar with respect to both conics.
The fact that H0 is independent of the choice of the 2n-Poncelet-polygon is just a
consequence of the following.
Claim. Let H0 be as above and let h be the polar of H0 (with respect to K or C ).
Choose an arbitrary point P on h. Let s1 & s2 be the two tangents from P to C and
let A & A and B & B be the intersection points of s1 and s2 with K .
bc
bc
bc
bc
H0
bc
bc
A
s1
s2
Then H0 = (A B ) (B A ).
Proof of Claim. By a projective transformation, we may assume that h is the line at
infinity. Then, the pole H0 becomes the common center of both conics and the claim
q.e.d.
follows by symmetry.
January 2014]
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NORBERT HUNGERBUHLER
(norbert.hungerbuehler@math.ethz.ch) received his PhD at ETH Zurich in
1994. After research positions in Germany and the US he became assistant professor at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham and later professor at the University of Fribourg. Currently he is professor at ETH.
His interests range across analysis, geometry, discrete mathematics and number theory.
Department of Mathematics, ETH Zentrum, Ramistrasse 101, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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