Gauge distances and median hyperplanes (Q5947268)

Given a finite set of points \(A\) with associated weights in a \(d\)-dimensional space a median hyperplane is a hyperplane \(H\) for which the sum of weighted distance from \(A\) to \(H\) is minimized. The authors first develop a simple formula to compute the distance from a point to a hyperplane, where the distance may be given by an arbitrary gauge. In the following section they prove that (even in the case where each point \(A\) is associated with a different gauge) a median hyperplane passes through at least one of the points of \(A\). When all gauges are the same a median hyperplane will pass through at least \(d-1\) points of \(A\). This number increases to \(d\) if the gauge is a norm. Some of the results presented are new in their generality. Others have been reproved using elegant arguments from convex analysis.