Forum Geometricorum Volume 1 (2001) 9197.

FORUM GEOM ISSN 1534-1178

Some Properties of the Lemoine Point

Alexei Myakishev
Abstract. The Lemoine point, K , of ABC has special properties involving centroids of pedal triangles. These properties motivate a denition of Lemoine eld, F , and a coordinatization of the plane of ABC using perpendicular axes that pass through K . These principal axes are symmetrically related to two other lines: one passing through the isodynamic centers, and the other, the isogonic centers.

1. Introduction Let A B C be the pedal triangle of an arbitrary point Z in the plane of a triangle ABC, and consider the vector eld F dened by F(Z ) = ZA + ZB + ZC . It is well known that F(Z ) is the zero vector if and only if Z is the Lemoine point, K , also called the symmedian point. We call F the Lemoine eld of ABC and K the balance point of F.

F(Z ) C A B Z A B A Fy Z Fx B x F(Z )

Figure 1

Figure 2

The Lemoine eld may be regarded as a physical force eld. Any point Z in this eld then has a natural motion along a certain curve, or trajectory. See Figure 1. We shall determine parametric equations for these trajectories and nd, as a result, special properties of the lines that bisect the angles between the line of the isogonic centers and the line of the isodynamic centers of ABC .
Publication Date: June 21, 2001. Communicating Editor: Clark Kimberling. blagodar dorogu Lenu za okazannu mne moral nu podder ku. Tak e oqen priznatelen professoru Kimberlingu za razrexenie mnogoqislennyh problem, kasa wihs angliiskogo zyka. The author dedicates his work to Helen and records his appreciation to the Communicating Editor for assistance in translation.

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2. The Lemoine equation In the standard cartesian coordinate system, place ABC so that A = (0, 0), B = (c, 0), C = (m, n), and write Z = (x, y ). For any line P x + Qy + R = 0, the vector H from Z to the projection of Z on the line has components hx = P (P x + Qy + R), P 2 + Q2 hy = Q (P x + Qy + R). P 2 + Q2

From these, one nd the components of the three vectors whose sum denes F(Z ): vector ZA ZB ZC x component
n(nx+y (cm)cn) n2 +(cm)2 n(nxmy ) m2 +n2

y component
(mc)(nx+y (cm)cn) n2 +(cm)2 m(nxmy ) m2 +n2

The components of the Lemoine eld F(Z ) = ZA + ZB + ZC are given by Fx = (x + y ) + dx , where

2 n2 + n2 +(n , m2 +n2 cm)2 2 2 ( c m m + n2 +(c) ; = 1 + m2 +n2 m)2 cn2 dx = n2 +(cm)2 ,

Fy = (x + y ) + dy , = dy =
mn m2 +n2

n(cm) , n2 +(cm)2

cn(cm) . n2 +(cm)2

See Figure 2. Assuming a unit mass at each point Z , Newtons Second Law now gives a system of differential equations: x = (x + y ) + dx , y = (x + y ) + dy ,

where the derivatives are with respect to time, t. We now translate the origin from (0, 0) to the balance point (dx , dy ), which is the Lemoine point K , thereby obtaining the system x = (x + y ), which has the matrix form x y where M = = M x , y (1) y = (x + y ),

. We shall refer to (1) as the Lemoine equation.

3. Eigenvalues of the matrix M In order to solve equation (1), we rst nd eigenvalues 1 and 2 of M . These are the solutions of the equation |M I | = 0, i.e., ( )( ) 2 = 0, or 2 ( + ) + ( 2 ) = 0.

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m2 + n2 n2 + (c m)2 + = 3. m2 + n2 n2 + (c m)2 Writing a, b, c for the sidelengths |BC |, |CA|, |AB | respectively, we nd the determinant 1 + 2 = + = 1 + n2 2 (a + b2 + c2 ) > 0. a2 b2 The discriminant of the characteristic equation 2 ( + ) + ( 2 ) = 0 is given by (2) D = ( + )2 4( 2 ) = ( )2 + 4 2 0. |M | = 2 = Case 1: equal eigenvalues 1 = 2 = 3 2 . In this case, D = 0 and (2) yields = 0 and = . To reduce notation, write p = c m. Then since = 0, we have p m = p2 + , so that m2 +n2 n2 (m p)(mp n2 ) = 0. Also, since = , we nd after mild simplications n4 (m2 + p2 )n2 3m2 p2 = 0. (4) p, then equation (4) has Equation (3) imples that m = p or mp = n2 . If m = 1 solutions n = 3m = 3p. Consequently, C = 2 c, 23 c , so that ABC is (3)

Thus

equilateral. However, if mp = n2 , then equation (4) leads to (m + p)2 = 0, so that c = 0, a contradiction. Therefore from equation (3) we obtain this conclusion: if the eigenvalues are equal, then ABC is equilateral. Case 2: distinct eigenvalues 1,2 = 32 D . Here D > 0, and 1,2 > 0 according to (2). We choose to consider the implications when = 0, = . (5) We omit an easy proof that these conditions correspond to ABC being a right triangle or an isosceles triangle. In the former case, write c2 = a2 + b2 . Then the characteristic equation yields eigenvalues and , and n2 (a2 + b2 ) n2 c2 n2 n2 + = = = 1, b2 a2 a2 b2 a2 b2 since ab = nc = twice the area of the right triangle. Since + = 3, = 2. = 4. General solution of the Lemoine equation According to a well known theorem of linear algebra, rotation of the coordinate system about K gives the system x = 1 x, y = 2 y . Let us call the axes of this coordinate system the principal axes of the Lemoine eld. Note that if ABC is a right triangle or an isosceles triangle (cf. conditions (5)), then the angle of rotation is zero, and K is on an altitude of the triangle. In this case, one of the principal axes is that altitude, and the other is parallel to the

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corresponding side. Also if ABC is a right triangle, then K is the midpoint of that altitude. In the general case, the solution of the Lemoine equation is given by y = c3 cos 1 t + c4 sin 2 t, (6) x = c1 cos 1 t + c2 sin 2 t, where 1 = 1 , 2 = 2 . Initial conditions x(0) = x0 , y (0) = y0 , x (0) = 0, y (0) = 0 reduce (6) to x = x0 cos 1 t,
2 1 2 2

y = y0 cos 2 t,

(7)

+ = 3. Equations (7) show that each trajectory is with 1 > 0, 2 > 0, bounded. If 1 = 2 , then the trajectory is a line segment; otherwise, (7) represents 1 a Lissajous curve or an almost-everywhere rectangle-lling curve, according as 2 is rational or not. 5. Lemoine sequences and centroidal orbits Returning to the Lemoine eld, F, suppose Z0 is an arbitrary point, and GZ0 is the centroid of the pedal triangle of Z0 . Let Z0 be the point to which F translates Z0 . It is well known that GZ0 lies on the line Z0 Z0 at a distance 1 3 of that from Z0 to Z0 . With this in mind, dene inductively the Lemoine sequence of Z0 as the sequence (Z0 , Z1 , Z2 , . . .), where Zn , for n 1, is the centroid of the pedal triangle of Zn1 . Writing the centroid of the pedal triangle of Z0 as Z1 = (x1 , y1 ), we obtain 3(x1 x0 ) = 1 x0 and 1 1 1 y1 = 1 y0 . x1 = (3 1 )x0 = 2 x0 ; 3 3 3 Accordingly, the Lemoine sequence is given with respect to the principal axes by Zn = x0 2 3
n

, y0

1 3

(8)

1 Since 1 3 1 and 3 2 are between 0 and 1, the points Zn approach (0, 0) as n . That is, the Lemoine sequence of every point converges to the Lemoine point. Representation (8) shows that Zn lies on the curve (x, y ) = (x0 ut , y0 v t ), where 1 u= 1 3 2 and v = 3 1 . We call this curve the centroidal orbit of Z0 . See Figure 3. Reversing the directions of axes if necessary, we may assume that x0 > 0 and y0 > 0, so that elimination of t gives

x k ln v y . (9) = , k= y0 x0 ln u Equation (9) expresses the centroidal orbit of Z0 = (x0 , y0 ). Note that if 1 = 2 , then v = u, and the orbit is a line. Now let XZ and YZ be the points in which line ZGZ meets the principal axes. By (8), 2 |ZGZ | = , |GZ XZ | 1 1 |ZGZ | = . |GZ YZ | 2 (10)

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Figure 3

These equations imply that if ABC is equilateral with center O, then the centroid GZ is the midpoint of segment OGZ . As another consequence of (10), suppose ABC is a right triangle; let H be the line parallel to the hypotenuse and passing through the midpoint of the altitude H to the hypotenuse. Let X and Y be the points in which line ZGZ meets H and H , respectively. Then |ZGZ | : |XGZ | = |Y GZ | : |ZGZ | = 2 : 1. 6. The principal axes of the Lemoine eld Physically, the principal axes may be described as the locus of points in the plane of ABC along which the direction of the Lemoine sequence remains constant. That is, if Z0 lies on one of the principal axes, then all the points Z1 , Z2 , . . . lie on that axis also. In this section, we turn to the geometry of the principal axes. Relative to the coordinate system adopted in 5, the principal axes have equations x = 0 and y = 0. Equation (8) therefore shows that if Z0 lies on one of these two perpendicular lines, then Zn lies on that line also, for all n 1. Let A1 , A2 denote the isodynamic points, and F1 , F2 the isogonic centers, of ABC . Call lines A1 A2 and F1 F2 the isodynamic axis and the isogonic axis respectively. 1 Lemma 1. Suppose Z and Z are a pair of isogonal conjugate points. Let O and O be the circumcircles of the pedal triangles of Z and Z . Then O = O , and the center of O is the midpoint between Z and Z .
1The points F , F , A , A are indexed as X , X , X , X and discussed in [2]. 1 2 1 2 13 14 15 16

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Alexei Myakishev

A1 F1 O

Figure 4

A proof is given in Johnson [1, pp.155156]. See Figure 4. Now suppose that Z = A1 . Then Z = F1 , and, according to Lemma 1, the pedal triangles of Z and Z have the same circumcircle, whose center O is the midpoint between A1 and F1 . Since the pedal triangle of A1 is equilateral, the point O is the centroid of the pedal triangle of A1 . Next, suppose L is a line not identical to either of the principal axes. Let L be the reection of L about one of the principal axes. Then L is also the reection of L about the other principal axis. We call L and L a symmetric pair of lines. Lemma 2. Suppose that GP is the centroid of the pedal triangle of a point P , and that Q is the reection of P in GP . Then there exists a symmetric pair of lines, one passing through P and the other passing through Q. Proof. With respect to the principal axes, write P = (xP , yP ) and Q = (xQ , yQ ). 1 2 Then GP = ( 1 3 2 xP , 3 1 yP ), and 3 2 xP = xP + xQ , so that xQ = 1 1 2 2 1 xP = (22 (1 + 2 ))xP = (2 1 )xP . 3 3 3
xP yP
Q = yQ . This equation shows

Likewise, yQ = 1 3 yP (1 2 ). It follows that

yP x passing through P and the line y = xQ x passing through that the line y = x P Q Q are symmetric about the principal axes y = 0 and x = 0. See Figure 5.

Theorem. The principal axes of the Lemoine eld are the bisectors of the angles formed at the intersection of the isodynamic and isogonic axes in the Lemoine point. Proof. In Lemma 2, take P = A1 and Q = F1 . The symmetric pair of lines are then the isodynamic and isogonic axes. Their symmetry about the principal axes is equivalent to the statement that these axes are the asserted bisectors.

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Z2

A Z1

F2

G1

G2

K F1 A1

Figure 5

References
[1] R.A. Johnson, Advanced Euclidean Geometry, Dover reprint, 1960. [2] C. Kimberling, Encyclopedia of Triangle Centers, 2000, http://cedar.evansville.edu/ck6/encyclopedia/. Alexei Myakishev: Smolnaia 61-2, 138, Moscow, Russia, 125445. E-mail address: alex geom@mtu-net.ru