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Delone Set


A Delone set is a subset S of Euclidean space R^n that is both relatively dense and, with Euclidean distance, a uniformly discrete metric space. Thus there are constants r,R>0 such that distinct points of S are at least r apart, while every point of R^n is within distance R of a point of S (Moody 2000).

The first condition prevents arbitrarily close pairs of points; the second prevents arbitrarily large empty balls. An n-dimensional point lattice in R^n is a Delone set. The definition does not require translation symmetry, making these sets useful in the study of quasicrystals.

Being a Delone set does not ensure bi-Lipschitz equivalence to a point lattice. Haynes (2026) constructed a regular planar cut-and-project set with uniform asymptotic density and this failure of equivalence.


See also

Meyer Set, Point Lattice, Quasicrystal, Relatively Dense Set, Uniformly Discrete Metric Space

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References

Haynes, A. "A Cut-and-Project Set Which Is Not Bi-Lipschitz Equivalent to a Lattice." 20 Oct 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.27640.Moody, R. V. "Model Sets: A Survey." In From Quasicrystals to More Complex Systems (Ed. F. Axel, F. Dénoyer, and J.-P. Gazeau). Les Ulis, France: EDP Sciences and Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, pp. 145-166, 2000. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0002020.

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Delone Set." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DeloneSet.html

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