10 Geometric Graph Theory

In the traditional areas of graph theory (Ramsey theory, extremal graph theory, random graphs, etc.), graphs are regarded as abstract binary relations. The relevant methods are often incapable of providing satisfactory answers to questions arising in geometric applications. Geometric graph theory focuses on combinatorial and geometric properties of graphs drawn in the plane by straight-line edges (or, more generally, by edges represented by simple Jordan arcs). It is a fairly new discipline abounding in open problems, but it has already yielded some striking results that have proved instrumental in the solution of several basic problems in combinatorial and computational geometry (including the k-set problem and metric questions discussed in Sections 1.1 and 1.2, respectively, of this Handbook). This chapter is partitioned into extremal problems (Section 10.1), crossing numbers (Section 10.2), and generalizations (Section 10.3).