Mark Helman

Mark Helman, Dominique Laurain, Dan Reznik et al.

We present a theory which predicts if the locus of a triangle center over certain Poncelet triangle families is a conic or not. We consider families interscribed in (i) the confocal pair and (ii) an outer ellipse and an inner concentric circular caustic. Previously, determining if a locus was a conic was done on a case-by-case basis. In the confocal case, we also derive conditions under which a locus degenerates to a segment or a circle. We show the locus' turning number is +/- 3, while predicting its monotonicity with respect to the motion of a vertex of the triangle family.

Mark Helman, Dominique Laurain, Ronaldo Garcia et al.

We study center power with respect to circles derived from Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a generic pair of ellipses as well as loci of their triangle centers. We show that (i) for any concentric pair, the power of the center with respect to either circumcircle or Euler's circle is invariant, and (ii) if a triangle center of a 3-periodic in a generic nested pair is a fixed affine combination of barycenter and circumcenter, its locus over the family is an ellipse.

Mark Helman, Ronaldo Garcia, Dan Reznik

We describe invariants of centers of ellipse-inscribed triangle families with two vertices fixed to the ellipse boundary and a third one which sweeps it. We prove that: (i) if a triangle center is a fixed affine combination of barycenter and orthocenter, its locus is an ellipse; (ii) and that over the family of said affine combinations, the centers of said loci sweep a line; (iii) over the family of parallel fixed vertices, said loci rigidly translate along a second line. Additionally, we study invariants of the envelope of elliptic loci over combinations of two fixed vertices on the ellipse.