Convex sets with homothetic projections (Q846767): Difference between revisions

The author proves that two compact (closed) convex sets \(K_1,K_2\subset{\mathbb R}^n\) are homothetic if and only if their corresponding orthogonal projections on every \(m\)-dimensional plane of \({\mathbb R}^n\), with \(2\leq m\leq n-1\) (\(3\leq m\leq n-1\)), are homothetic. In general, the homothety factor depends on the projection plane. Here \(K_1,K_2\) are called \textit{homothetic} provided \(K_1=z+\lambda K_2\) for a suitable \(z\in{\mathbb R}^n\) and \(\lambda\neq 0\). This extends previous results by Süss and Hadwiger for positive homotheties, i.e., when \(\lambda>0\), to the general case of all homotheties in \({\mathbb R}^n\). The proof of the above theorem uses a nice result on exposed points of convex bodies, a new refined version of the classical Straszewicz theorem: any compact convex set \(K\) (not a singleton) is the closed convex hull of its antipodally exposed points. Here two points \(x_1,x_2\in K\) are called antipodally exposed if there are parallel supporting hyperplanes \(H_1,H_2\) of \(K\) at \(x_1\) and \(x_2\) respectively, such that \(K\cap H_i=\{x_i\}\), \(i=1,2\).