Squares, three fleas, sporadic integer sets, and squares

In the plane, three integer points ("fleas") are given. At every tick of time, two of them (say, P,Q) instantly jump to two vacant points R,S, so that PQRS is a square with that order of vertices. Description of all integers and half-integers which occur as areas of spanned triangles turns out to be unexpectedly intricate problem. For example, if one starts from a triple (0,0), (2,0), (4,1), these positive integers are missed: 2*{0, 1, 4, 15, 16, 20, 79, 84, 95, 119, 156}, with no other up to 3*10^6 (and seemingly, none at all); half-integers which are missed seem to form a 39-element set (the largest of them being 11365/2). However, there exist certain starting setups which have an "integrable" component as part of the answer. We demonstrate that for the initial triple (0,0), (2,1), (3,2), the integers missed as areas are perfect squares, and the the sporadic set {5, 29, 80, 99, 179} with no other elements up to 3*10^6 (most likely, no other at all; all half-integers serve as areas).

Publication Details

Journal
ArXiv.org
Published
2025-08-07
Primary Topic
Vascular Malformations Diagnosis and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Squares, three fleas, sporadic integer sets, and squares

ArXiv.org
Vascular Malformations Diagnosis and Treatment
article

Squares, three fleas, sporadic integer sets, and squares

article en

Abstract

In the plane, three integer points ("fleas") are given. At every tick of time, two of them (say, P,Q) instantly jump to two vacant points R,S, so that PQRS is a square with that order of vertices. Description of all integers and half-integers which occur as areas of spanned triangles turns out to be unexpectedly intricate problem. For example, if one starts from a triple (0,0), (2,0), (4,1), these positive integers are missed: 2*{0, 1, 4, 15, 16, 20, 79, 84, 95, 119, 156}, with no other up to 3*10^6 (and seemingly, none at all); half-integers which are missed seem to form a 39-element set (the largest of them being 11365/2). However, there exist certain starting setups which have an "integrable" component as part of the answer. We demonstrate that for the initial triple (0,0), (2,1), (3,2), the integers missed as areas are perfect squares, and the the sporadic set {5, 29, 80, 99, 179} with no other elements up to 3*10^6 (most likely, no other at all; all half-integers serve as areas).

ArXiv.org
Openalex Percentile: Top 39%
Vascular Malformations Diagnosis and Treatment
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.