With what probability does an inscribed triangle contain a given point?

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Authors: Abdulamin Ismailov
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Three points uniformly selected on the unit circle form a triangle containing a point $X$ at distance $r \in [0; 1]$ from its center with probability $P(r) = \frac{1}{4} - \frac{3}{2 π^2}\textrm{Li}_2(r^2)$, where $\textrm{Li}_2$ is the dilogarithm function (Jeremy Tan Jie Rui, 2018). In this paper we present an alternative proof of this fact. We also discuss a couple of other geometric probability problems where the dilogarithm function arises.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Mathematics and Applications Point processes and geometric inequalities Mathematical Approximation and Integration

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
6 January 2026
Document type
Preprint