Petty’s Conjecture Holds in Lₚ for 2 ≤ p ≤ 4: d+1 Equidistant Points in Every Dimension d

We prove Petty's conjecture for all finite-dimensional real \(L_p\) subspaces with \(2\le p\le4\). Every \(d\)-dimensional real linear subspace of \(L_p\), over any measure space, contains \(d+1\) equidistant points. More strongly, every equilateral subset extends to exactly \(d+1\) points, preserving its original points and common distance. Every equilateral set is affinely independent, so every maximal equilateral set has cardinality \(d+1\). This extends the \(2\le p\le4\) case of Kusner's conjecture from coordinate spaces to arbitrary subspaces and complements the constructions of linear excess for every fixed \(p>4\). The proof combines conditional positivity of the powered distance kernel, a circumradius estimate, and Brouwer's fixed-point theorem. The main theorems are formalised in Lean.

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Publication Details

Journal
Preprints.org
Published
2026-10-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202610.2426.v1
Primary Topic
Point processes and geometric inequalities
Type
preprint
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preprint

Petty’s Conjecture Holds in Lₚ for 2 ≤ p ≤ 4: d+1 Equidistant Points in Every Dimension d

Logan R. Chalmers
Preprints.org
Point processes and geometric inequalities
preprint

Petty’s Conjecture Holds in Lₚ for 2 ≤ p ≤ 4: d+1 Equidistant Points in Every Dimension d

Logan R. Chalmers
preprint en

Abstract

We prove Petty's conjecture for all finite-dimensional real \(L_p\) subspaces with \(2\le p\le4\). Every \(d\)-dimensional real linear subspace of \(L_p\), over any measure space, contains \(d+1\) equidistant points. More strongly, every equilateral subset extends to exactly \(d+1\) points, preserving its original points and common distance. Every equilateral set is affinely independent, so every maximal equilateral set has cardinality \(d+1\). This extends the \(2\le p\le4\) case of Kusner's conjecture from coordinate spaces to arbitrary subspaces and complements the constructions of linear excess for every fixed \(p>4\). The proof combines conditional positivity of the powered distance kernel, a circumradius estimate, and Brouwer's fixed-point theorem. The main theorems are formalised in Lean.

Preprints.org
Point processes and geometric inequalities
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