The cross covariogram of a pair of polygons determines both polygons, with a few exceptions

The cross covariogram g_{K,L} of two convex sets K and L in R^n is the function which associates to each x in R^n the volume of the intersection of K and L+x. Very recently Averkov and Bianchi [AB] have confirmed Matheron's conjecture on the covariogram problem, that asserts that any planar convex body K is determined by the knowledge of g_{K,K}. The problem of determining the sets from their covariogram is relevant in probability, in statistical shape recognition and in the determination of the atomic structure of a quasicrystal from X-ray diffraction images. We prove that when K and L are convex polygons (and also when K and L are planar convex cones) g_{K,L} determines both K and L, up to a described family of exceptions. These results imply that, when K and L are in these classes, the information provided by the cross covariogram is so rich as to determine not only one unknown body, as required by Matheron's conjecture, but two bodies, with a few classified exceptions. These results are also used by Bianchi [Bia] to prove that any convex polytope P in R^3 is determined by g_{P,P}.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

The Orlicz version of the LpL_p Minkowski problem on Sn−1S^{n-1} for −n<p<0-n<p<0

An Orlicz version of the $L_p$-Minkowski problem on $S^{n-1}$ is discussed corresponding to the case $-n<p<0$

Phase retrieval for characteristic functions of convex bodies and reconstruction from covariograms

We propose strongly consistent algorithms for reconstructing the characteristic function 1_K of an unknown convex body K in R^n from possibly noisy measurements of the modulus of its Fourier transform \hat{1_K}. This represents a complete theoretical solution to the Phase Retrieval Problem for characteristic functions of convex bodies. The approach is via the closely related problem of reconstructing K from noisy measurements of its covariogram, the function giving the volume of the intersection of K with its translates. In the many known situations in which the covariogram determines a convex body, up to reflection in the origin and when the position of the body is fixed, our algorithms use O(k^n) noisy covariogram measurements to construct a convex polytope P_k that approximates K or its reflection -K in the origin. (By recent uniqueness results, this applies to all planar convex bodies, all three-dimensional convex polytopes, and all symmetric and most (in the sense of Baire category) arbitrary convex bodies in all dimensions.) Two methods are provided, and both are shown to be strongly consistent, in the sense that, almost surely, the minimum of the Hausdorff distance between P_k and K or -K tends to zero as k tends to infinity.Comment: Version accepted on the Journal of the American Mathematical Society. With respect to version 1 the noise model has been greatly extended and an appendix has been added, with a discussion of rates of convergence and implementation issues. 56 pages, 4 figure

The covariogram and Fourier-Laplace transform in Cn\mathbb{C}^n

The covariogram $g_{K}$ of a convex body $K$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$ is the function which associates to each $x\in\mathbb{R}^n$ the volume of the intersection of $K$ with $K+x$. Determining $K$ from the knowledge of $g_K$ is known as the Covariogram Problem. It is equivalent to determining the characteristic function $1_K$ of $K$ from the modulus of its Fourier transform $\hat{1_K}$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$, a particular instance of the Phase Retrieval Problem. We connect the Covariogram Problem to two aspects of the Fourier transform $\hat{1_K}$ seen as a function in $\mathbb{C}^n$. The first connection is with the problem of determining $K$ from the knowledge of the zero set of $\hat{1_K}$ in $\mathbb{C}^n$. To attack this problem T. Kobayashi studied the asymptotic behavior at infinity of this zero set. We obtain this asymptotic behavior assuming less regularity on $K$ and we use this result as an essential ingredient for proving that when $K$ is sufficiently smooth and in any dimension $n$, $K$ is determined by $g_K$ in the class of sufficiently smooth bodies. The second connection is with the irreducibility of the entire function $\hat{1_K}$. This connection also shows a link between the Covariogram Problem and the Pompeiu Problem in integral geometry.Comment: Version accepted on Proc. London Math. Soc. With respect to version 1 some parts of the proof of the asymptotic behavior have been clarified and new details have been adde

Convergence in shape of Steiner symmetrizations

There are sequences of directions such that, given any compact set K in R^n, the sequence of iterated Steiner symmetrals of K in these directions converges to a ball. However examples show that Steiner symmetrization along a sequence of directions whose differences are square summable does not generally converge. (Note that this may happen even with sequences of directions which are dense in S^{n-1}.) Here we show that such sequences converge in shape. The limit need not be an ellipsoid or even a convex set. We also deal with uniformly distributed sequences of directions, and with a recent result of Klain on Steiner symmetrization along sequences chosen from a finite set of directions.Comment: 11 page

Covariogram of non-convex sets

The covariogram of a compact set A contained in R^n is the function that to each x in R^n associates the volume of A intersected with (A+x). Recently it has been proved that the covariogram determines any planar convex body, in the class of all convex bodies. We extend the class of sets in which a planar convex body is determined by its covariogram. Moreover, we prove that there is no pair of non-congruent planar polyominoes consisting of less than 9 points that have equal discrete covariogram.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on Mathematik