Smooth convex bodies with proportional projection functions

Abstract

For a convex body K ⊂ ℝⁿ and i ∈ {1, …, n − 1}, the function assigning to any i-dimensional subspace L of ℝⁿ, the i-dimensional volume of the orthogonal projection of K to L, is called the i-th projection function of K. Let K, K ₀ ⊂ ℝⁿ be smooth convex bodies with boundaries of class C ² and positive Gauss-Kronecker curvature and assume K ₀ is centrally symmetric. Excluding two exceptional cases, (i, j) = (1, n − 1) and (i, j) = (n − 2, n − 1), we prove that K and K ₀ are homothetic if their i-th and j-th projection functions are proportional. When K ₀ is a Euclidean ball this shows that a convex body with C ² boundary and positive Gauss-Kronecker with constant i-th and j-th projection functions is a Euclidean ball.