Dominique Laurain

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.

Dominique Laurain, Daniel Jaud, Dan Reznik

Given a triangle, a trio of circumellipses can be defined, each centered on an excenter. Over the family of Poncelet 3-periodics (triangles) in a concentric ellipse pair (axis-aligned or not), the trio resembles a rotating propeller, where each "blade" has variable area. Amazingly, their total area is invariant, even when the ellipse pair is not axis-aligned. We also prove a closely-related invariant involving the sum of blade-to-excircle area ratios.