A functional analytic approach to intersection bodies (Q5930047)

The author continues his successful investigations, by means of Fourier transforms, of generalizations of the Busemann-Petty problem and the related theory of intersection bodies. A star-shaped set in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) is a star body if its Minkowski functional, defined by \(\|x\|_K= \min\{ a\geq 0:x\in aK\}\) for \(x\in\mathbb{R}^n\), is continuous and positive on the unit sphere \(S^{n-1}\). For \(1\leq k\leq n\), a symmetric star body \(K\) in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) is defined to be a \(k\)-intersection body if there is a measure \(\mu\) on \(S^{n-1}\) such that \[ \int_{\mathbb{R}^n} \|x\|^{-k}_K dx=\int_{S^{n-1}}d\mu (\xi) \int^\infty_0 t^{k-1}\widehat \varphi(t\xi)dt \] for every even test function \(\varphi\) (with Fourier transform \(\widehat\varphi)\) on \(\mathbb{R}^n\). This modifies the author's earlier definition of \(k\)-intersection bodies [in Isr. J. Math. 110, 75-91 (1999; Zbl 0938.52009)]. As a main result, it is proved that the following conditions are equivalent: (i) \(K\) is a \(k\)-intersection body; (ii) the function \(\|x\|_K^{-k}\) is a positive definite distribution on \(\mathbb{R}^n\); (iii) The space \((\mathbb{R}^n,\|\cdot\|_K)\) embeds in \(L_{-k}\) (in the sense defined earlier by the author [Can. Math. Bull. 42, No. 3, 344-353 (1999; Zbl 0948.60004)]). Further results concern the generalized \(k\)-intersection bodies of \textit{G. Zhang} [Am. J. Math. 118, No. 2, 319-340 (1996; Zbl 0854.52004)].