On a spherical integral transformation and sections of star bodies (Q1265691)

The main result in this paper is a generalization to any finite dimension of a known result that sufficiently smooth functions on the unit sphere are not determined by their Radon transforms (i.e. integrals over great circles), but Backus showed that they are uniquely determined by integrals over great semicircles. The author shows that for any \(n \geq 2\), two continuous functions on \(S^{(n-1)}\) having equal integrals over every \((d-2)\)-dimensional hemisphere are equal. Moreover he proves a stability version of this result for twice continuously differentiable functions satisfying some additional regularity assumptions. The theorem is proved by using known results on the Radon transform and the so called ``hemispherical transformation''. Interesting geometric consequences are also given: for example the author shows that two star bodies having intersections of same volume with half-planes containing the origin on the boundary, are equal as well.