Helly-Type Theorems for Splitting Point Sets

Abstract

Let $0 < α\leq 1/2$. We say that a finite point set $P$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ is $α$-split by a hyperplane $h$ if each of the closed half-spaces determined by $h$, contains at least $α|P|$ of the points of $P$. We further say $P$ is $α$-split by a $k$-dimensional flat $τ$ if $P$ is $α$-split by any hyperplane through $τ$. In the standard notation (which coincides with Tukey depth for $k= 0$), the $k$-flat $τ$ has depth $α$ with respect to $P$. We establish interesting Helly-type theorems for splitting families of finite point sets in $\mathbb{R}^d$. Unlike the classical sufficient Helly-type criteria for transversals to families of compact convex sets, which exist only for point and hyperplanes, our results extend to splitting families of point sets by collections of $k$-flats of arbitrary dimensionality $ 0 \leq k \leq d-1$.