We present a number of new results on one of the most extensively studied topics in computational geometry, orthogonal range searching. All our results are in the standard word RAM model: 1. We present two data structures for 2-d orthogonal range emptiness. The first achieves O(n lg lg n) space and O(lg lg n) query time, assuming that the n given points are in rank space. This improves the previous results by Alstrup, Brodal, and Rauhe (FOCS’00), with O(n lg ε n) space and O(lg lg n) query time, or with O(n lg lg n) space and O(lg 2 lg n) query time. Our second data structure uses O(n) space and answers queries in O(lg ε n) time. The best previous O(n)-space data structure, due to Nekrich (WADS’07), answers queries in O(lg n / lg lg n) time. 2. We give a data structure for 3-d orthogonal range reporting with O(n lg 1+ε n) space and O(lg lg n+ k) query time for points in rank space, for any constant ε> 0. This improves the previous results by Afshani (ESA’08), Karpinski and Nekrich (COCOON’09), and Chan (SODA’11), with O(n lg 3 n) space and O(lg lg n + k) query time, or with O(n lg 1+ε n) space and O(lg 2 lg n + k) query time. Consequently, we obtain improved upper bounds for orthogonal range reporting in all constant dimensions above 3.

Range selection is the problem of preprocessing an input array A of n unique integers, such that given a query (i, j, k), one can report the k’th smallest integer in the subarray A[i], A[i + 1],..., A[j]. In this paper we consider static data structures in the word-RAM for range selection and several natural special cases thereof. The first special case is known as range median, which arises when k is fixed to ⌊(j − i + 1)/2⌋. The second case, denoted prefix selection, arises when i is fixed to 0. Finally, we also consider the bounded rank prefix selection problem and the fixed rank range selection problem. In the former, data structures must support prefix selection queries under the assumption that k ≤ κ for some value κ ≤ n given at construction time, while in the latter, data structures must support range selection queries where k is fixed beforehand for all queries. We prove cell probe lower bounds for range selection, prefix selection and range median, stating that any data structure that uses S words of space needs Ω(log n / log(Sw/n)) time to answer a query. In particular, any data structure that uses n log O(1) n space needs Ω(log n / log log n) time to answer a query, and any data structure that supports queries in constant time, needs n 1+Ω(1) space. For data structures that uses n log O(1) n space this matches the best known upper bound. Additionally, we present a linear space data structure that supports range selection queries in O(log k / log log n + log log n) time. Finally, we prove that any data structure that uses S space, needs Ω(log κ / log(Sw/n)) time to answer a bounded rank prefix selection query and Ω(log k / log(Sw/n)) time to answer a fixed rank range selection query. This shows that our data structure is optimal except for small values of k. 1

We present three results related to dynamic convex hulls: • A fully dynamic data structure for maintaining a set of n points in the plane so that we can find the edges of the convex hull intersecting a query line, with expected query and amortized update time O(log 1+ε n) for an arbitrarily small constant ε> 0. This improves the previous bound of O(log 3/2 n). • A fully dynamic data structure for maintaining a set of n points in the plane to support halfplane range reporting queries in O(log n+k) time with O(polylog n) expected amortized update time. A similar result holds for 3-dimensional orthogonal range reporting. For 3-dimensional halfspace range reporting, the query time increases to O(log 2 n / log log n+k). • A semi-online dynamic data structure for maintaining a set of n line segments in the plane, so that we can decide whether a query line segment lies completely above the lower envelope, with query time O(log n) and amortized update time O(n ε). As a corollary, we can solve the following problem in O(n 1+ε) time: given a triangulated terrain in 3-d of size n, identify all faces that are partially visible from a fixed viewpoint. 1