Excursions into combinatorial geometry

Authors Horst Martini, V. G. Boltyanski, Petru Soltan

Publication date 16 January 1997

Published in Universitext (Search for Journal in Brave)

\(d\)-convexity \(H\)-convexity Belt bodies Borsuk's partition combinatorial geometry convexity covering illumination

Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to convex and discrete geometry (52-01) Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to convex and discrete geometry (52-02) Variants of convex sets (star-shaped, ((m, n))-convex, etc.) (52A30) Helly-type theorems and geometric transversal theory (52A35) Other problems of combinatorial convexity (52A37) Packing and covering in (n) dimensions (aspects of discrete geometry) (52C17)

Review text

The authors' book is a comprehensive introduction to combinatorial geometry combined with a few topics beyond the introductory level. It can be compared with the classical book ``The theory of convex bodies (1987; Zbl 0628.52001) by \textit{T. Bonnesen} and \textit{W. Fenchel} published originally in (1934; Zbl 0008.07701) (in German) and, since then, serving generations of convex geometers as a handbook. Another excellent recent book of such encyclopedic nature can be mentioned in this connection. This is ``Handbook of convex geometry, Vol. A and B (1993; Zbl 0777.52001 and Zbl 0777.52002) edited by \textit{P. M. Gruber} and \textit{J. M. Wills} and published in 1993. However, the latter book and the book under review do not duplicate each other. The Gruber and Wills book has a wider scope, but majority of the articles collected there do not include proofs. In contrast, the reviewed book contains almost all the proofs and thus discloses the methods involved. An exception is some simple statements like Theorems 1.1 through 1.8. Their proofs certainly can be left to the reader (though a clear indication of such reader's involvement would be helpful). Of course, the book goes far beyond the point where Bonessen and Fenchel had to stop in 1934 and gives a state-of-the-art description of each topic under consideration. The first chapter deals with the basic concepts related to convex sets in \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean space such as supporting planes, extreme points, convex hull, polar body, etc. This chapter is probably most valuable for ``advanced undergraduate students who are regarded as a part of the readers' pool. Two other chapters, the fifth and sixth, deal with traditional topics such as Borsuk's partition problem, constant width, homothetic covering, and illumination. They contain the most comprehensive account of the state of affairs in these areas, an exhaustive bibliography, and very useful exercises. Not all classical topics are covered by the book. For example, Minkowski addition is introduced (without mentioning this term) only briefly, in a few exercises on pp. 5 and 6. Accordingly, there are neither mixed volumes, nor other related topics. The rest of the book is dedicated to \(d\)-convexity, \(H\)-convexity, the Szökefalvi-Nagy Problem and belt bodies. These topics are evidently of special interest to the authors or some of them along with a growing number of convex geometers. Belt bodies are a new class of convex bodies introduced very recently. They are a generalization of zonoids, and many results for zonoids can be extended to belt bodies. An important feature of the book is that it presents results scattered over many articles, with their own definitions and notations, in a uniform way, with a common system of definitions. Sometimes, a reference to other definitions in use would be of help. For instance, the authors introduce on p. 282 the conic hull of a boundary point \(x\) of a compact convex body \(K\) and denote it by \(\text{con} (K,x)\). If \(C\) is the union of all the rays emanating from \(x\) and meeting interior points of \(K\), then, by definition, \(\text{con} (K,x)= C\backslash \{x\}\). It would be appropriate to mention here the concept of tangent cone as defined, say, in [\textit{Yu. D. Burago} and \textit{V. A. Zalgaller}, Russ. Math. Surv. 32, No. 3, 1-57 (1977); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 32, No. 3(195), 3-55 (1977; Zbl 0397.53031) Section 4.3]. This tangent cone is just the set \(C\) above. The last chapter contains an extensive list of open problems in Combinatorial Geometry. The list is certainly useful for those contemplating to work in this area. Another convenience is a detailed diagram of interdependence of chapters and sections of the book which allows the reader to choose a proper path to the point of his interest. The book also includes a subject index, an author index, and a list of symbols which makes the book ``reader-friendly. The presentation is vivid and clear. There are, however, some linguistic inaccuracies. Thus, on p. 269, in line 16 from the bottom, the authors use ``soonly instead ``soon. But such inaccuracies cause no confusion. The figures in the book are also clear (though could be of a higher quality.) In summary, this is a very useful book for every convex geometer.

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