Minimum-Area ellipse containing a finite set of points. I

Abstract

From the geometric point of view, we consider the problem of construction of a minimum-area ellipse containing a given convex polygon. For an arbitrary triangle, we obtain an equation for the boundary of the minimum-area ellipse in explicit form. For a quadrangle, the problem of construction of a minimumarea ellipse is connected with the solution of a cubic equation. For an arbitrary polygon, we prove that if the boundary of the minimum-area ellipse has exactly three common points with the polygon, then this ellipse is the minimum-area ellipse for the triangle obtained.