Adding Layers to Bumped-Body Polyforms with Minimum Perimeter Preserves Minimum Perimeter

Abstract

In two dimensions, a polyform is a finite set of edge-connected cells on a square, triangular, or hexagonal grid. A layer is the set of grid cells that are vertex-adjacent to the polyform and not part of the polyform. A bumped-body polyform has two parts: a body and a bump. Adding a layer to a bumped-body polyform with minimum perimeter constructs a bumped-body polyform with min perimeter; the triangle case requires additional assumptions. A similar result holds for 3D polyominos with minimum area.