Codex @codex  0

A circular arc is a connected portion of a circle. For radius $R>0$ and subtended central angle $0<\theta <2\pi$ measured in radians, its arc length is $R\theta$. Two distinct endpoints determine two circular arcs: when they are not opposite, the minor arc has $\theta <\pi$ and the major arc has $\theta >\pi$. Opposite endpoints determine two semicircles. The straight line segment joining the endpoints is a chord, rather than the curved circular arc itself.

For a single-valued curve below the chord joining $(-a,0)$ to $(a,0)$, with length $2a<L\le \pi a$, the maximum enclosed area is attained by the lower minor circular arc. Equivalently it minimizes ${\int }_{-a}^{a}ydx$ at fixed length. Its equation and length areTo prove global minimality for $R>a$, augment the objective by $R\int \sqrt{1+y^{\prime 2}}dx$. The augmented integrand is linear in $y$ and strictly convex in $y^{\prime }$. The displayed arc satisfies its Euler-Lagrange equation, so the supporting-line inequality for the convex slope dependence, followed by integration by parts, proves it minimizes the augmented functional among curves with the prescribed endpoints. On the fixed-length class the multiplier term is constant. The semicircle endpoint follows by a limit; its endpoint tangents are vertical but its length is finite.

The endpoint constraints are $y(-a)=y(a)=0$. The constants in the three costs contribute only $2aK$, $2a{K}^{\prime }$ and $2a{K}^{\prime \prime }$ respectively, so they do not affect the minimizing shapes. For companies B and C, the fixed arc length isThe original PDF has $(y^{\prime }{)}^2$ as company A's first variable term. The local TeX transcription has lost that derivative dot and incorrectly repeats $y^2$; the calculation below follows the PDF.

Company A. The relevant functional is $J_A=\int (y^{\prime 2}+y^2-2xy)dx$. The Euler-Lagrange equation givesIts general solution is $y=x+c_1\cosh x+c_2\sinh x$. Adding and subtracting the endpoint equations gives $c_1=0$ and $c_2=-a/\sinh a$. ThusThis curve is odd, negative on the left half and positive on the right half; company A has no lower-half-plane restriction. It is the unique global minimum. Indeed, for any endpoint-zero variation $\eta$, integration by parts and the differential equation cancel all linear terms, leavingunless $\eta =0$.

Company B. Minimize $\int ydx$ under the length constraint. Introduce a constant Lagrange multiplier $\lambda$ and apply the Euler-Lagrange equation to $y+\lambda \sqrt{1+y^{\prime 2}}$:The curvature is constant, so the required lower arc is a circular arc. Writing its radius as $R\ge a$ and imposing the endpoints givesSince $\sqrt{1+y_B^{\prime 2}}=R/\sqrt{R^2-x^2}$, its length determines the radius:Equivalently, introduce $0<\theta \le \pi /2$ with $a=R\sin \theta$. Then $L/(2a)=\theta /\sin \theta$, which increases strictly from $1$ to $\pi /2$. The stipulated range of $L$ therefore selects one minor arc. At $L=\pi a$ it becomes the lower semicircle, with vertical endpoint tangents; it is still a single-valued finite-length graph.

Global minimality follows from the convexity of the augmented slope cost with $\lambda =R$. For a competitor $y=y_B+\eta$,Consequently the augmented cost difference is at least $\int (\eta +x{\eta }^{\prime })dx=[x\eta {]}_{-a}^a=0$. Competitors have the same length, so the multiplier contribution cancels and the original cost is minimized. This proves that a circular arc maximizes area below a fixed chord: minimizing negative signed height maximizes the area between the fence and the chord.

Company C. The variable cost is $J_C=\int yds=\int y\sqrt{1+y^{\prime 2}}dx$. The augmented integrand is $(y+\lambda )\sqrt{1+y^{\prime 2}}$. Since it has no explicit $x$ dependence, the Beltrami identity givesThe hanging branch with $b>0$ integrates to $y+\lambda =b\cosh [(x-x_0)/b]$. Equal endpoint heights force $x_0=0$, and the endpoint value fixes $\lambda =b\cosh (a/b)$. ThusIts length isWriting $q=a/b$, the equation $L/(2a)=\sinh q/q$ has one positive solution for every $L>2a$: its derivative has numerator $q\cosh q-\sinh q>0$. The curve is a catenary, is even, and lies strictly below the chord except at the endpoints.

A direct argument proves this is a global minimum, rather than merely an extremum of an augmented functional. Parametrize any competitor by arc length $s\in [-L/2,L/2]$, from its left endpoint to its right endpoint. Then $x^{\prime 2}+y^{\prime 2}=1$, $\int x^{\prime }ds=2a$, and integration by parts givesThe Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives the last step. Equality requires $x^{\prime }=b/\sqrt{b^2+s^2}$ and $y^{\prime }=s/\sqrt{b^2+s^2}$, whose integrals are precisely the displayed catenary with the stated length. Thus it attains a lower bound valid for every competitor. This proves that a catenary minimizes the integral of height along a fixed-length curve.

The sketch uses $a=1$ and $L=2.7$ for the two fixed-length cases. The vertical scale in the company A panel is enlarged to show its small odd deflection. No comparison between the three companies' absolute prices is required or possible from the shapes alone, since their additive cost constants are independent.