Given $2n$ points we can form $n$ segments such that no segments intersect.

combinatoricscontest-mathsolution-verification

Given $2n$ points in the plane with no three collinear, show that
it is possible to pair them up in such a way that the $n$ line
segments joining paired points do not intersect.

I just wanted you guys to check if this works:

We call two points "neighbors" if line segments connecting those two points has minimum distance and one point forms exactly one segment with other point.

Then we claim that if all neighbors are connected then no two segments intersect.

Proof:

If at least two segments intersect, then we perform the following operation :-

Remove the all the segments that intersect each other and connect them to its closest neighbors. This must ensure that no segments intersect.

Continuing this process will give desired result.

I think in this proof, I assumed something that was needed to be shown. Is my idea/proof correct or am I missing something? A small help would be really appreciated.

Best Answer

You did not show that the process of reconnecting points decreases the number of crossings, nor in which order the points get connected initially.

One correct way to connect the points is to order them by increasing $x$-coordinate, then increasing $y$-coordinate, producing a list $p_1,p_2,\dots,p_{2n}$. Then hook up $p_1p_2,p_3p_4$ and so on. For a given segment $p_ip_{i+1}$, because of the no-three-in-line condition there can be at most one point with the same $x$-coordinate as $p_i$ and $p_{i+1}$, and if such points exist it's easy to show that their segments cannot cross $p_ip_{i+1}$. Otherwise, the fact that $p_ip_{i+1}$ partitions the set of $x$-coordinates into two disjoint intervals guarantees no crossings.