Steiner symmetrization \((n-1)\) times is sufficient to transform an ellipsoid to a ball in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) (Q2022917): Difference between revisions

\(K\) is supposed to be a compact convex subset of \(\mathbb{R}^n\) and \(u\in K\) is a unit vector. \(K\) is supposed to be represented as a family of line segments parallel to \(u\). If \(K\) is rearranged by sliding these segments along \(u\) so that each is symmetrically balanced around the hyperplane \(u^{\bot}\), then the volume of \(K\) stays invariant to this rearrangement. The new set is called the Steiner symmetrization of \(K\) in the direction \(u\) and is denoted by \(S_{u}K\). The Steiner symmetrization \(S_{u}K\) also preserves the convexity of \(K\), and \(S_{u}K \subseteq S_{u}L\) whenever \(K \subseteq L\). It was proved that by iterating Steiner symmetrizations of \(K\) through a suitable sequence of unit directions, the successive Steiner symmetrals of \(K\) tend to a Euclidean ball in the Hausdorff topology on compact convex subsets of \(\mathbb{R}^n\). In this paper, \(K\) is supposed to be an ellipsoid. The authors prove that the number of iterations that are necessary to transform an ellipsoid into a ball in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) is finite and equal to \((n-1)\). The proof is constructive, identifying the directions of the \(n-1\) successive Steiner symmetrizations that transform the ellipsoid into a ball. An algorithm for performing this transformation in exact \(n-1\) iterations is described.