Curves, points, incidences and covering

Abstract

Given a point set, mostly a grid in our case, we seek upper and lower bounds on the number of curves that are needed to cover the point set. We say a curve covers a point if the curve passes through the point. We consider such coverings by monotonic curves, lines, orthoconvex curves, circles, etc. We also study a problem that is converse of the covering problem -- if a set of $n^2$ points in the plane is covered by $n$ lines then can we say something about the configuration of the points?