https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01905-4
Regular Article
Points, lines, and surfaces of light
1
INPHYNI, Institut de Physique de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur and CNRS, 17 Julien Lauprêtre, 06200, Nice, France
2
, 9 Av. Georges V, 06000, Nice, France
a
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received:
1
September
2025
Accepted:
3
September
2025
Published online:
2
February
2026
Abstract
“Points, Lines, and Surfaces of Light” refers to an exhibition held from June 2024 to January 2025 at the Albers–Honegger Foundation in Mouans-Sartoux, a major contemporary art venue on the French Riviera. The “Points” represent light sources, the “Lines” correspond to light rays, and the “Surfaces” the envelopes formed by these rays. The exhibition was designed with educational, scientific, and artistic objectives in mind. Geometrical optics can essentially be reduced to the study of two-parameter families of lines in space, known as congruences of lines, which we revisit in detail. This work is dedicated to the memory of Étienne Guyon, a man of the museum, an untiring popularizer of science, an exceptional scientist, and a dear friend. We wish to honor his legacy by exploring the profound interplay between mathematics and optics, an area of research that fascinated him.
Espace de l’Art Concret: https://www.espacedelartconcret.fr.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
