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Minkowski Plane


A Minkowski plane is a two-dimensional real normed space. Its distance is d(x,y)=||x-y||, and its closed unit ball is a centrally symmetric convex set with the origin as its center and in its interior. Conversely, every such compact set P defines a norm by

 ||x||_P=inf{t>0:x in tP}.

This meaning is distinct from the indefinite metric of Minkowski space.

The chromatic number of a Minkowski plane is the least number of colors needed so that points at distance one have different colors. A circular unit ball gives the Hadwiger-Nelson problem. Exoo et al. (2021) proved lower bounds of five for regular octagonal, decagonal, and dodecagonal unit balls and asked whether five is a lower bound for every regular 2n-gon with n>=4. Gehér (2023) gave an upper bound of six for the regular polygons with at most 22 sides.

MathIsEvenEasier (2026) reported the lower bound five for the regular fourteen-gon. The construction has 1,540 labeled vertices and 13,755 edges of norm-distance one, and admits no four-coloring. Combined with Gehér's bound (Gehér 2023), it gives 5<=chi<=6. GPT-6 Astra developed the geometric Lean argument and connected it to a kernel-checked coloring refutation. As of Oct. 8, 2026, the public Lean build covered both the geometry and the finite obstruction, but independent mathematical review and a definitive priority check had not been reported. The exact value remains unknown.


See also

Chromatic Number, Hadwiger-Nelson Problem, Norm, Normed Space, Unit Ball

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References

Exoo, G.; Fisher, D.; and Ismailescu, D. "The Chromatic Number of the Minkowski Plane-The Regular Polygon Case." 29 Aug 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.12861.Gehér, P. "Note on the Chromatic Number of Minkowski Planes: The Regular Polygon Case." Studia Sci. Math. Hungar. 60, 27-42, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1556/012.2023.01536.MathIsEvenEasier. "A Unit-Distance Obstruction in the Regular Fourteen-Gon Norm." Oct. 6, 2026. https://github.com/MathIsEvenEasier/minkowski14/blob/main/RESULT.rst.

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Minkowski Plane." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/MinkowskiPlane.html

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