Forum Geometricorum Volume 1 (2001) 99105.

FORUM GEOM ISSN 1534-1178

Multiplying and Dividing Curves by Points

Clark Kimberling
Abstract. Pointwise products and quotients, dened in terms of barycentric and trilinear coordinates, are extended to products P and quotients /P, where P is a point and is a curve. In trilinears, for example, if 0 denotes the circumcircle, then P 0 is a parabola if and only if P lies on the Steiner inscribed ellipse. Barycentric division by the triangle center X110 carries 0 onto the Kiepert hyperbola ; if P is on 0 , then the point P = P/X110 is the point, other than the Tarry point, X98 , in which the line P X98 meets , and if 1 and 2 denote the Brocard points, then |P 1 |/|P 2 | = |P 1 |/|P 2 |; that is, P and P lie on the same Apollonian circle with respect to 1 and 2 .

1. Introduction Paul Yiu [7] gives a magnicent construction for a product P Q of points in the plane of triangle ABC . If P = 1 : 1 : 1 and Q = 2 : 2 : 2 (1)

are representations in homogeneous barycentric coordinates, then the Yiu product is given by (2) P Q = 1 2 : 1 2 : 1 2 whenever {1 2 , 1 2 , 1 2 } = {0}. Cyril Parry [3] constructs an analogous product using trilinear coordinates. In view of the applicability of both the Yiu and Parry products, the notation in equations (1) and (2) will represent general homogeneous coordinates, as in [6, Chapter 1], unless otherwise noted. We also dene the quotient P/Q := 1 2 2 : 1 2 2 : 1 2 2 whenever Q / {A, B, C }. Specialization of coordinates will be communicated by phrases such as those indicated here: multiplication barycentric product . trilinear division quotient
Publication Date: July 12, 2001. Communicating Editor: Floor van Lamoen.

100

C. Kimberling

If S is a set of points, then P S := {P Q : Q S }. In particular, if S is a curve , then P and /P are curves, except for degenerate cases, such as when P {A, B, C }. In all that follows, suppose P = p : q : r is a point not on a sideline of triangle v w ABC , so that pqr = 0, and consequently, U/P = u p : q : r for all U = u : v : w. Example 1. If is a line + m + n = 0, then P is the line ( /p) + (m/q ) + (n/r ) = 0 and /P is the line p + qm + rn = 0. Given the line QR of points Q and R, it is easy to check that P QR is the line of P Q and P R. In particular, P ABC = ABC, and if T is a cevian triangle, then P T is a cevian triangle. 2. Conics and Cubics Each conic in the plane of triangle ABC is given by an equation of the form u2 + v 2 + w 2 + 2f + 2g + 2h = 0. That P is the conic (u/p2 )2 + (v/q 2 ) 2 + (w/r 2 ) 2 + 2(f /qr ) + 2(g/rp) + 2(h/pq ) = 0 (4) is clear, since : : saties (3) if and only if p : q : r satises (4). In the case of a circumconic given in general form by g h f + + = 0, (5) the product P is the circumconic qg rh pf + + = 0. u v + +w Thus, if X is the point such that X is a given circumconic = 0, then u v w X = f : g : h. Example 2. In trilinears, the circumconic in (5) is the isogonal transform of the line L given by f + g + h = 0. The isogonal transform of P L is /P . Example 3. Let U = u : v : w. The conic W (U ) given in [1, p. 238] by u2 2 + v 2 2 + w2 2 2vw 2wu 2uv = 0 is inscribed in triangle ABC . The conic P W (U ) given by (u/p)2 2 +(v/q )2 2 +(w/r )2 2 2(vw/qr ) 2(wu/rp)2(uv/pq ) = 0 is the inscribed conic W (U/P ). In trilinears, we start with = incircle, given by u = u(a, b, c) = a(b + c a), v = u(b, c, a), w = u(c, a, b), and nd 1
including incircle = W (X55 ), Steiner inscribed ellipse = W (X6 ), Kiepert parabola = W (X512 ), and Yff parabola = W (X647 ). A list of Xi including trilinears, barycentrics, and remarks is given in [2].
1The conics in Example 3 are discussed in [1, p.238] as examples of a type denoted by W (X ), i

(3)

Multiplying and dividing curves by points

101

Conic Trilinear product Barycentric product Steiner inscribed ellipse X9 X8 Kiepert parabola X643 X645 Yff parabola X644 X646 Example 4. Here we combine notions from Examples 1-3. The circumcircle, 0 , may be regarded as a special circumconic, and every circumconic has the form P 0 . We ask for the locus of a point P for which the circumconic P 0 is a parabola. As such a conic is the isogonal transform of a line tangent to 0 , we begin with this statement of the problem: nd P = p : q : r (trilinears) for which p q r a b c + + = 0 meets 0 , given by + + = 0 in exactly the line L given by one point. Eliminating leads to cr ap bq = We write the discriminant as (ap + bq cr )2 4abpq . 2bp

(p, q, r ) = a2 p2 + b2 q 2 + c2 r 2 2bcqr 2carp 2abpq. In view of Example 3 and [5, p.81], we conclude that if W (X6 ) denotes the Steiner inscribed ellipse, with trilinear equation (, , ) = 0, then hyperbola inside W (X6 ) parabola on W (X6 ) . according as P lies P 0 is a ellipse outside W (X6 ) (6) Returning to the case that L is tangent to 0 , it is easy to check that the point of tangency is (X1 /P ) c X6 . (See Example 7 for Ceva conjugacy, denoted by c .) If the method used to obtain statement (6) is applied to barycentric multiplication, then a similar conclusion is reached, in which the role of W (X6 ) is replaced by the inscribed conic whose barycentric equation is 2 + 2 + 2 2 2 2 = 0, that is, the ellipse W (X2 ). Example 5. Suppose points P and Q are given in trilinears: P = p : q : r, and U = u : v : w. We shall nd the locus of a point X = : : such that P X lies on the line U X . This on-lying is equivalent to the determinant equation u v w p q r = 0,

expressible as a circumconic: u(q r ) v (r p) w(p q ) + + = 0. (7) One may start with the line X1 P, form its isogonal transform , and then recognize (7) as U . For example, in trilinears, equation (7) represents the hyperbolas of

102

C. Kimberling

Kiepert, Jerabek, and Feuerbach according as (P, U ) = (X31 , X75 ), (X6 , X48 ), and (X1 , X3 ); or, in barycentrics, according as (P, U ) = (X6 , X76 ), (X1 , X3 ), and (X2 , X63 ). Example 6. Again in trilinears, let be the self-isogonal cubic Z (U ) given in [1, p. 240] by u( 2 2 ) + v ( 2 2 ) + w (2 2 ) = 0. This is the locus of points X such that X, X1 /X, and U are collinear; the point U is called the pivot of Z (U ). The quotient /P is the cubic up(q 2 2 r 2 2 ) + vq (r 2 2 p2 2 ) + wr (p2 2 q 2 2 ) = 0. Although /P is not generally self-isogonal, it is self-conjugate under the P2 isoconjugacy dened (e.g., [4]) by X X1 /(X P 2 ). Example 7. Let X c P denote the X -Ceva conjugate of P , dened in [1, p.57] for X = x : y : z and P = p : q : r by r q r p r p q p q X c P = p( + + ) : q ( + + ) : r ( + + ). x y z y z x z x y Assume that X = P . It is easy to check that the locus of a point X for which X c P lies on the line XP is given by 2 2 2 2 2 2 ( 2 2 ) + ( 2 2 ) + ( 2 2 ) = 0. (8) p q r q r p r p q In trilinears, equation (8) represents the product P where is the cubic Z (X 1 ). The locus of X for which P c X lies on XP is also the cubic (8). 3. Brocard Points and Apollonian Circles Here we discuss some special properties of the triangle centers X98 (the Tarry point) and X110 (the focus of the Kiepert parabola). X98 is the point, other than A, B , C , that lies on both the circumcircle and the Kiepert hyperbola. Let be the Brocard angle, given by cot = cot A + cot B + cot C. In trilinears, X98 = sec(A + ) : sec(B + ) : sec(C + ), a b c : : . X110 = 2 b c2 c2 a2 a2 b2 Theorem. Barycentric division by X110 carries the circumcircle 0 onto the Kiepert hyperbola . For every point P on 0 , the line joining P to the Tarry point X98 (viz., the tangent at X98 if P = X98 ) intersects again at P = P/X110 . Furthermore, P/X110 lies on the Apollonian circle of P with respect to the two Brocard points 1 and 2 ; that is |P 1 | |P 1 | = . (9) |P 2 | |P 2 |

Multiplying and dividing curves by points

103

X98 B P

P 2 O K 1 C A

X110

Figure 1

Proof. In barycentrics, 0 and are given by b2 c2 c2 a2 a2 b2 a2 b2 c2 + + = 0 and + + = 0, and, also in barycentrics, a b c : 2 : 2 X110 = 2 2 2 b c c a a b2 so that = 0 /X110 . For the remainder of the proof, we use trilinears. A parametric representation for 0 is given by P = P (t) = a(1 t) : bt : ct(t 1), (10) for < t < , and the barycentric product P/X110 is given in trilinears by a2 b2 b2 c2 c2 a2 :t : t(t 1) . a b c That this point lies on line P X98 is equivalent to the following easily veried identity: (1 t)

104
2 2 2 2 2 2

C. Kimberling

c a b tc t(t 1) a (1 t) b a b c = 0. a(1 t) bt ct(t 1) sec(A + ) sec(B + ) sec(C + ) We turn now to a formula [1, p.31] for the distance between two points expressed in normalized2 trilinears (, , ) and ( , , ):

1 abc[a cos A( )2 + b cos B ( )2 + c cos C ( )2 ], 2 where denotes the area of triangle ABC . Let D = c2 t2 (c2 + a2 b2 )t + a2 , S = a2 b2 + b2 c2 + c2 a2 . Normalized trilinears for (10) and the two Brocard points follow: P = ((1 t)ha, thb, t(t 1)hc), where h =
2 D,

(11)

and h1 c h1 a h1 b , , b c a , 2 = h1 b h1 c h1 a , , c a b ,

1 =

where and h1 = 2abc S . Abbreviate a cos A, b cos B , c cos C , and 1 t as a , b , c , and t respectively, and write E = a F = a t ha h1 c b t ha h1 b c
2

+b +b

thb h1 a c thb h1 c a

+c +c

tt hc h1 b a tt hc h1 a b

, (12) . (13)

Equation (11) then gives

E |P 1 |2 (14) = . 2 |P 2 | F In (12) and (13), replace cos A by (b2 + c2 a2 )/2bc, and similarly for cos B and

cos C, obtaining from (14) the following: t2 a2 t(a2 + b2 c2 ) + b2 |P 1 |2 = . |P 2 |2 t2 b2 t(b2 + c2 a2 ) + c2

2Sometimes trilinear coordinates are called normal coordinates. We prefer trilinears, so that

we can say normalized trilinears, not normalized normals. One might say that the latter double usage of normal can be avoided by saying actual normal distances, but this would be unsuitable for normalization of points at innity. Another reason for retaining trilinear and quadriplanar not replacing both with normal is that these two terms distinguish between lines and planes as the objects with respect to which normal distances are dened. In discussing points relative to a tetrahedron, for example, one could have both trilinears and quadriplanars in the same sentence.

Multiplying and dividing curves by points

105

Note that if the numerator in the last fraction is written as f (t, a, b, c), then the denominator is t2 f ( 1 t , c, b, a). Similarly, g(t, a, b, c) |P 1 |2 , = 4 1 2 |P 2 | t g( t , c, b, a) where and e4 = a4 b2 (a2 b2 )2 , e3 = a2 (a2 b2 )(b6 + c6 + 2a2 b2 c2 2a4 b2 2a2 c4 2b2 c4 + a4 c2 + a2 b4 ), e2 = b2 c2 (b2 c2 )3 + a2 c2 (c2 a2 )3 + a2 b2 (a6 + 2b6 3a2 b4 ) + a2 b2 c2 (b4 + c4 2a4 4b2 c2 + 2a2 c2 + 2a2 b2 ), e1 = b2 (c2 b2 )(a6 + c6 3b2 c4 + 2b4 c2 2a4 b2 2a4 c2 + 2a2 b2 c2 + a2 b4 ), e0 = b4 c2 (b2 c2 )2 . One may now verify directly, using a computer algebra system, or manually with plenty of paper, that 1 1 t2 f (t, a, b, c)g( , c, b, a) = f ( , c, b, a)g(t, a, b, c), t t which is equivalent to the required equation (9). References
[1] C. Kimberling, Triangle Centers and Central Triangles, Congressus Numerantium, 129 (1998) 1 285. [2] C. Kimberling, Encyclopedia of Triangle Centers, 2000 http://cedar.evansville.edu/ck6/encyclopedia/. [3] C. Kimberling and C. Parry, Products, square roots, and layers in triangle geometry, Mathematics and Informatics Quarterly, 10 (2000) 9-22. [4] C. Kimberling, Conjugacies in the plane of a triangle, Aequationes Mathematicae, 61 (2001) forthcoming. [5] S.L. Loney, The Elements of Coordinate Geometry, Part II: Trilinear Coordinates, Etc., Macmillan, London, 1957. [6] E.A. Maxwell, The Methods of Plane Projective Geometry Based on the Use of General Homogeneous Coordinates, Cambridge University Press, 1957. [7] P. Yiu, The uses of homogeneous barycentric coordinates in plane euclidean geometry, Int. J. Math. Educ. Sci. Technol., 31 (2000) 569 578. Clark Kimberling: Department of Mathematics, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, Indiana 47722, USA E-mail address: ck6@evansville.edu

g(t, a, b, c) = t4 e4 + t3 e3 + t2 e2 + te1 + e0 ,