Points surrounding the origin (Q1046738)

A finite set \(P\subset \mathbb R^d\) \((d\geq 2)\) is said to be in general position resp.\ \(\mathbf 0\) iff no \(k\) \((2\leq k\leq d)\) elements of \(P\) are contained in a \((k-1)\)-dimensional linear subspace of \(\mathbb R^d\). It is shown that in case \(d>2\) each such set \(P\) with \(| P| >d+1\) contains a \(d\)-tuple \(Q\) such that \(\mathbf 0\notin \text{conv}(\{\mathbf x\}\cup Q)\) for any \(\mathbf x \in P\). A finite set \(P\subset \mathbb R^d\) is said to have property \(S(k)\) \((0\leq k\leq d+1)\) iff to each \(k\)-subset \(Q\) of \(P\) there exists a \((d+1-k)\)-subset \(R\) of \(P\) such that \(\mathbf 0\in \text{conv}\{Q\cup R\}\). Asking for the largest number \(k=k(d)\) such that there are arbitrarily large finite sets \(P\subset \mathbb R^d\) in general position resp.\ \(\mathbf 0\) having property \(S(k)\) the result mentioned above shows \(k(d)<d\) for \(d>2\). On the other hand the authors show using Gale transforms that \(k(d)\geq \lfloor \frac d2\rfloor+1\). Another result varies Barany's colored Caratheodory theorem as follows: Let \(A_1,\dots,A_{d+1}\) be nonempty finite sets in \(\mathbb R^d\) such that \(\mathbf 0\in \text{conv}(A_i\cup A_j)\) for each pair \(i\neq j\), then \(\mathbf 0\in \text{conv}S\) for some \((d+1)\)-set \(S\) with \(| S\cap A_i| =1\) for \(1\leq i\leq d+1\). The proof of this result uses spherical convexity, and a dual version can be interpreted as a colored version of the spherical Helly theorem.