Solving the quartic by conics

Two conic sections C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2} in the Euclidean plane that pass through two given points can generally have two further points of intersection. It is shown how these can be constructed using compass and ruler. The idea is to construct the degenerate conics in the pencil of the two conics...

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Main Authors: Halbeisen Lorenz, Hungerbühler Norbert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2025-04-01
Series:Open Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/math-2025-0132
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author Halbeisen Lorenz
Hungerbühler Norbert
author_facet Halbeisen Lorenz
Hungerbühler Norbert
author_sort Halbeisen Lorenz
collection DOAJ
description Two conic sections C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2} in the Euclidean plane that pass through two given points can generally have two further points of intersection. It is shown how these can be constructed using compass and ruler. The idea is to construct the degenerate conics in the pencil of the two conics C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2}. Their intersections are then the four intersection points of C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2}. The same idea is then used to reduce a general quartic equation to a cubic equation and to solve it. This is performed by interpreting the solutions of the quartic as intersections of two complex conic sections. The degenerate complex conics in their pencil can then be found through a cubic equation.
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spelling doaj-art-2c20daedcb5047bd80ce779a033fd9d72025-08-20T02:28:49ZengDe GruyterOpen Mathematics2391-54552025-04-0123115916610.1515/math-2025-0132Solving the quartic by conicsHalbeisen Lorenz0Hungerbühler Norbert1Department of Mathematics, ETH Zentrum, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Mathematics, ETH Zentrum, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandTwo conic sections C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2} in the Euclidean plane that pass through two given points can generally have two further points of intersection. It is shown how these can be constructed using compass and ruler. The idea is to construct the degenerate conics in the pencil of the two conics C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2}. Their intersections are then the four intersection points of C1{C}_{1} and C2{C}_{2}. The same idea is then used to reduce a general quartic equation to a cubic equation and to solve it. This is performed by interpreting the solutions of the quartic as intersections of two complex conic sections. The degenerate complex conics in their pencil can then be found through a cubic equation.https://doi.org/10.1515/math-2025-0132intersection of conicspencils of conicsquartic equationscubic equationsruler and compass constructions51m0551m1512d10
spellingShingle Halbeisen Lorenz
Hungerbühler Norbert
Solving the quartic by conics
Open Mathematics
intersection of conics
pencils of conics
quartic equations
cubic equations
ruler and compass constructions
51m05
51m15
12d10
title Solving the quartic by conics
title_full Solving the quartic by conics
title_fullStr Solving the quartic by conics
title_full_unstemmed Solving the quartic by conics
title_short Solving the quartic by conics
title_sort solving the quartic by conics
topic intersection of conics
pencils of conics
quartic equations
cubic equations
ruler and compass constructions
51m05
51m15
12d10
url https://doi.org/10.1515/math-2025-0132
work_keys_str_mv AT halbeisenlorenz solvingthequarticbyconics
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