This paper considers the question of how to succinctly approximate a multidimensional convex body by a polytope. Given a convex body K of unit diameter in Euclidean d -dimensional space (where d is a constant) and an error parameter ε > 0, the objective is to determine a convex polytope of low combinatorial complexity whose Hausdorff distance from K is at most ε. By combinatorial complexity we mean the total number of faces of all dimensions. Classical constructions by Dudley and Bronshteyn/Ivanov show that O (1/ε ( d − 1)/2 ) facets or vertices are possible, respectively, but neither achieves both bounds simultaneously. In this paper, we show that it is possible to construct a polytope with O (1/ε ( d − 1)/2 ) combinatorial complexity, which is optimal in the worst case. Our result is based on a new relationship between ε-width caps of a convex body and its polar body. Using this relationship, we are able to obtain a volume-sensitive bound on the number of approximating caps that are “essentially different.” We achieve our main result by combining this with a variant of the witness-collector method and a novel variable-thickness layered construction of the economical cap covering.
Convex bodies play a fundamental role in geometric computation, and approximating such bodies is often a key ingredient in the design of efficient algorithms. We consider the question of how to succinctly approximate a multidimensional convex body by a polytope. We are given a convex body K of unit diameter in Euclidean d-dimensional space (where d is a constant) along with an error parameter ε > 0. The objective is to determine a polytope of low combinatorial complexity whose Hausdorff distance from K is at most ε. By combinatorial complexity we mean the total number of faces of all dimensions of the polytope. In the mid-1970's, a result by Dudley showed that O(1/ε (d−1)/2 ) facets suffice, and Bronshteyn and Ivanov presented a similar bound on the number of vertices. While both results match known worst-case lower bounds, obtaining a similar upper bound on the total combinatorial complexity has been open for over 40 years. Recently, we made a first step forward towards this objective, obtaining a suboptimal bound. In this paper, we settle this problem with an asymptotically optimal bound of O(1/ε (d−1)/2 ).Our result is based on a new relationship between ε-width caps of a convex body and its polar. Using this relationship, we are able to obtain a volume-sensitive bound on the number of approximating caps that are "essentially different." We achieve our result by combining this with a variant of the witness-collector method and a novel variable-width layered construction.
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