Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
For a ε R, we define a subset V of Rn to be a-convex if x, y ε V implies
Clearly V is (1 — a)-convex iff it is a-convex: V is convex iff it is a-convex for all a ε [0, 1], and any set is 1-convex. We define the a-convex hull of V to be the intersection of all a-convex subsets of Rn containing V. Put D = 0,1} and D(a) the a-convex hull of D in R1. If V is a-convex and x, y ε V, then V must contain the points of the line through x, y given by {tx + (1 — t) y: t ε D(a)} and so in this paper we concentrate on the study of D(a).