Generalized convex sets and the problem of shadow (Q2412909)

Khudaiberganov's shadow problem asks: What is the minimum number of pairwise disjoint closed balls, centered on the sphere \(S^{n-1}\) and with radii smaller than one, that guarantees that any straight line passing through the center of the sphere crosses at least one of these balls? Khudaiberganov solved this problem for \(n=2\) (two balls are needed); his proposed solution for \(n>2\) was incorrect. The present paper gives a complete solution to the problem for arbitrary \(n>2\). The authors restate the problem in terms of \(m\)-convex sets. A set \(E \subset \mathbb{R}^n\) is \(m\)-convex with respect to a point \(x\in \mathbb{R}^n \setminus E\) if there exists an \(m\)-dimensional plane \(L\) containing \(x\) such that \(L \cap E=\emptyset\). The set \(E\) is \(m\)-convex if it is \(m\)-convex for every \(x\in \mathbb{R}^n \setminus E\). The smallest \(m\)-convex set containing \(E\) is called the \(m\)-hull of \(E\). The shadow problem can be stated as: What is the minimum number of disjoint closed balls, with centers on a given sphere \(S\) and radii smaller than the radius of \(S\) that guarantees that the center of \(S\) belongs to the 1-hull of the family of balls? The authors prove that \(n+1\) balls are necessary and sufficient (Theorem 2). Next, they generalize the problem to the case of \(m\)-semiconvex sets, and solve it in dimensions \(n=2,3\) (three disks are sufficient in dimension 2, and ten balls in dimension three). The semiconvex version of the shadow problem remains open for \(n>3\).