Projective and Inversive Geometry

Preet Patel
8 December 2022

1 Introduction
“Once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny.
Consume you, it will.” – Yoda

Synthetic Euclidean geometry is host to a number of intricate and potent the-

orems and lemmas, which you have no doubt studied tirelessly over your years
in olympiad maths. The power of these results is eclipsed only by their beauty,
making synthetic geometry one of the most enjoyable areas of mathematics.
However, a dark cloud hangs over the realm of Euclidean Geometry, threatening
its existence. Masters of Dark Geometry have been popularised by fictional au-
thors, under pseudonyms such as the Dark Arts, or the Dark Side. Techniques in
this category include computational methods such as coordinate bashing, com-
plex bashing, barycentric bashing, vector bashing and trig bashing, as well as
transformational methods such as projective/harmonic and inversive geometry.
As we study transformational geometry, keep an eye out for invariants. A trans-
formation will change things, but some underlying properties should remain the
same; without this the transformation is unlikely to be useful.

2 Projective Geometry
Let’s jump straight into a projection, to get a feel for the process.

D
C
B
A
l

l′ A′ B′ C′ D′

Figure 1: Projecting from a line to a line.

1
In the above figure, we have projected the points A, B, C, D on line l, to
A′ , B ′ , C ′ , D′ on line l′ , with projection centre P . One way to notate this is
P
(A, B, C, D) = (A′ , B ′ , C ′ , D′ ).
∧

We can define a cross-ratio of four distinct, collinear points (using directed

lengths) as
AB
AD
(A, C; B, D) = CB
. (1)
CD
Take note of the semicolon, which distinguishes this from a tuple. The cross-
ratio is invariant under a projection, so we have

(A, C; B, D) = (A′ , C ′ ; B ′ , D′ ). (2)

If we would like to highlight that these lists of points are related by a projection,
we could instead write
P
(A, C; B, D) = (A′ , C ′ ; B ′ , D′ ),
∧

which functions as both an equation and a description of a mapping. The lines

(P A, P B, P C, P D) are called a pencil of lines (through P ), and we can similarly
define a cross-ratio of lines as
sin(∡AP B)
sin(∡AP D)
(P A, P C; P B, P D) = sin(∡CP B)
. (3)
sin(∡CP D)

It is worth noting that the structure of (1) and (3) is the same, and that we are
using directed angles. Moreover, we can prove that these cross-ratios are equal
(regardless of the choice of P ), that is

(A, C; B, D) = (P A, P C; P B, P D).

Note how equation (2) is simply a corollary of the above.

There is one value of the cross-ratio we are extremely interested in, which arises
in many situations and is therefore highly versatile. A set of four points on a
line is harmonic if their cross ratio is −1, and we denote this by prefixing with
a H. Lets look at some situations where harmonic points arise.

2
1. Overlapping the Ceva and Menalaus diagrams yields the following.

F
P

D′ B D C
Figure 2: Ceva-Menalaus superdiagram.

• Prove that H(D, D′ ; B, C) are indeed harmonic.

2. Consider this situation arising from tangents to a circle.

A
C
B

D
Y

Figure 3: Harmonic points with symmedians.

Recall that DA is the D-symmedian of △DXY .

• Prove that H(A, B; C, D) are indeed harmonic.
• (After completing example 4) Prove that H(X, Y ; C, D) is harmonic.

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3. Now we will explore Apollonian Circle of a pair of points.

A C B D

Figure 4: Apollonian Circle.

A,B are antipodal on ω and C, D lie on AB. P is any point on the circle.
An Apollonian Circle of two points C, D is the locus of points P such that
PC
P D is fixed.

• Prove that ∡CP B = ∡BP D iff (A, B; C, D) is harmonic.

• Prove that ω is an Apollonian Circle of C, D.
4. Harmonic points and cross-ratios need not be constrained to a line. The
following diagram highlights defining cross-ratio for a cyclic quadrilateral.

P
ω

A′ D′

C′
B′

l A C B D
Figure 5: Projecting from a line to a circle.

For a point P on the circumcircle and any line l not through P , let
P
(A′ , B ′ , C ′ , D′ ) = (A, B, C, D).
∧

We define the cross ratio of (A′ , B ′ , C ′ , D′ ) as

(A′ , B ′ ; C ′ , D′ ) = (A, B; C, D).

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 A′ C ′ B ′ D′
• Prove that |(A′ , B ′ ; C ′ , D′ )| = A′ D ′ · B′ C ′ .

A cyclic quadrilateral A′ C ′ B ′ D′ is harmonic iff H(A, B; C, D) is harmonic

for any choice of P . It is worth noting that directed lengths would now
need to be resolved by using complex distances, but we can usually just
consider the magnitudes and be alright. The extended sine rule is a great
way to see why this cross ratio is independent of our choice of P .
So we can project (whilst preserving cross-ratio) points from lines to lines,
lines to circles and circles to lines! If you have a few lines and circles, you
could project between them for hours. This is an excellent way to pass
time if you are bored. But there is something missing; what about circles
to circles? This is allowed too, as long as our projection centre is not on
the circle.
5. The following demonstrates what a circle to circle projection looks like.

B′

P C′
C

D′
A′

Figure 6: Projecting from a circle to a circle.

• Prove that (A, C; B, D) = (A′ , C ′ ; B ′ , D′ ).

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3 Inversions
The projections in the previous section were examples of transformations from
a 2D object to another 2D object - lines and circles. Inversions are a mapping
of the plane (plus infinity, that is, R2 ∪ {∞}), and are always defined relative
to a circle. The inversion with centre O and radius r maps the point A to the
−→
unique point A′ on the ray OA which satisfies OA · OA′ = 1. We have already
seen a diagram where inverse points arise: in Figure 4, which pair of points are
inverses? The next diagram illustrates how things change under an inversion

Figure 7: The devastating impacts of an inversion.

We have inverted with respect to the circle with centre O. The object is the
happy smiling face on the left, while the image is the slightly disfigured face in
the middle. An inversion will often leave your diagram a lot more upsetting than
it previously was. We want to minimise unnecessary inversions, and instead try
inverting about important points. Prove that upon inversion,

• circles not passing through O are transformed to circles not passing O,

• circles passing O are transformed to lines not passing O (and vice versa),
• lines passing O are transformed to lines passing O.

Good points to invert about (loosely speaking) are therefore points where lots
of lines and circles pass through.

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3.1 Poles and Polars
Poles and polars are closely linked to inversions, and are also defined with respect
to a circle. Given a point X, first let X ′ be the image of X under an inversion.
Then the polar of X is the unique line through X ′ which is perpendicular to
OX ′ , where O is the centre of the circle of inversion. Note, it is best to be
careful when thinking about the polar of O itself, but it is usually taken as the
line at infinity. We have some famous results:
• (Duality of pole/polars) X lies on the polar of Y iff Y lies on the polar of
X.

• (Brokard’s Theorem) Let ABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral and define P =

AB ∩CD, Q = BC ∩AD, R = AC ∩BD. Then O, P, Q, R are orthocentric.
Also, the line joining any two points in {P, Q, R} is the polar of the third.
• In figure 3, prove that XY is the polar of A.

• In figure 4, prove that D lies on the polar of C.

• (Useful lemma) Consider two points A, B on a circle, and two points P, Q
on line AB. Prove that (A, B; P, Q) are harmonic iff Q lies on the polar
of P .

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4 Problems
Proving the lemmas and results in the previous sections is certainly an important
prerequisite before attempting these problems.
1. Let ABC be a triangle, and D, E points on AB, AC respectively. Let I, J
be midpoints of AD, AE respectively. K is the intersection of IJ and the
parallel to BC passing through A; L is the intersection of BC and DE.
If the line KL cuts AB at S, prove that (A, D; S, B) = −1.
2. The incircle of △ABC touches BC at E. AD is an altitude in △ABC and
M is the midpoint of AD. Let Ia be the centre of the excircle opposite to
A of △ABC. Prove that M, E, Ia are collinear.
3. Let △ABC be a triangle and let its incircle touch CA, AB at E, F respec-
tively, and let I be its incentre. Let X be the point on line CI such that
BX is perpendicular to CI. Prove that X lies in EF .
4. (Italy TST 2005) The circle Γ and the line ℓ have no common points. Let
AB be the diameter of Γ perpendicular to ℓ, with B closer to ℓ than A.
An arbitrary point C, distinct from A and B, is chosen on Γ. The line
AC intersects ℓ at D. A point E lies on Γ so that the line DE is tangent
to Γ at E, with B and E on the same side of AC. Let BE intersect ℓ at
F , and let AF intersect Γ at G, distinct from A. Let H be the reflection
of G in AB. Show that F, C, and H are collinear.
5. (USA TSTST 2019) Let ABC be a triangle with incenter I. Points K and
L are chosen on segment BC such that the incircles of △ABK and △ABL
are tangent at P , and the incircles of △ACK and △ACL are tangent at
Q. Prove that IP = IQ.
6. (Butterfly Theorem) Let ABCDEF be a cyclic hexagon with vertices in
that order, so that chords AD, BE, CF are concurrent at a point P (inside
the circle). Chord CF intersects chords AE and BD at points X and Y
respectively. Prove that P is the midpoint of CF if and only if P is the
midpoint of XY .