Intersection bodies and generalized cosine transforms (Q2427567)

A compact set \(K\) in \(\mathbb R^n\), \(n\geq2\), is called an origin symmetric star body if the interior is non-empty, \(tK\subset K\) for all \(t\in[0,1]\), \(K=-K\) and \(\rho_K(\theta)=\sup\{\lambda\geq0\mid \lambda\theta\in K\}\) is continuous on \(S^{n-1}\). Let \(\| x\| _K=\min\{a\geq0\mid x\in aK\}\), which coincides with \(\rho_K^{-1}\) on \(S^{n-1}\). Then a body \(K\) is said to be \(k\)-intersection body, \(k\in I=\{1,2,\dots,n-1\}\), if the Fourier transform of \(\| \cdot\| _K^{-k}\) is a positive tempered distribution on \(\mathbb R^n\). The author investigates a \(\lambda\)-intersection body by replacing \(k\) by a real number \(\lambda\). To justify this natural extension and to characterize \(\lambda\)-intersection bodies, he establishes new relations between analytic families of the generalized cosine transform \(R_i^\alpha\), \(\alpha\in{\mathbb C}\), \(i\in I\), and the Minkowski-Funk transform \(M^\alpha\), and especially, obtains a trace theorem for a function of the form \(f=M^{1-\lambda}g\). These relations yield the desired definition of \(\lambda\)-intersection bodies, which gives an alternative definition of \(k\)-intersection bodies in terms of Radon transforms. Some examples of \(\lambda\)-intersection bodies are given. He also gives a new and short proof of the fact that the affirmative answer to the generalized Busemann-Petty problem implies that every smooth origin symmetric convex body with positive curvature in \(\mathbb R^n\) is an \((n-i)\)-intersection body.