Combinatorial integral geometry, metrics, and zonoids (Q578589)

The paper is a good introduction to the methods and problems of the combinatorial integral geometry developed by the author [Combinatorial Integral Geometry (1982; Zbl 0492.53043)], with some new results, in particular the so called sin\({}^ 2\)-representation of breadth functions of convex bodies and the notion of k-zonoids in \({\mathbb{R}}^{2k}\) (Hausdorff limits of convex bodies which support function can be represented as a sum of support functions of tetrahedrons). Let \(\omega\) denote the spatial direction normal to the plane \(e_{\omega}\) in \({\mathbb{R}}^ 3\) and let \(\ell\) denote a segment whose direction is \(\ell^*\). If \(c=c(\omega,\ell^*,\phi)\) is the angle between \(\ell\) and the trace of \(e_{\omega}\) on the plane e(\(\phi)\) (plane through \(\ell\) determined by its rotation angle \(\phi\) around \(\ell)\), then the \(\sin^ 2\)-representation for polyhedrons D writes \(b(\phi)=(2\pi)^{- 1}\int \sin^ 2c m_ Dd(\omega,\phi)\) where b(\(\phi)\) is the breadth function of D and \(m_ D\) is a symmetrical measure on the space of pairs (\(\omega\),\(\phi)\). The representation generalizes to bounded smooth convex bodies in \({\mathbb{R}}^ 3\) and is applied to the characterization of zonoids in \({\mathbb{R}}^ 3\). An interesting translative version of the mean curvature integral for smooth convex bodies in \({\mathbb{R}}^ 3\) is also given.