Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 December 2009
A line that intersects every member of a finite family F of convex sets in the plane is called a common transversal to F. In this paper we study some basic properties of T(k)-families: finite families of convex sets in the plane in which every subfamily of size at most k admits a common transversal. It is known that a T(k)-family admits a partial transversal of size α∣F∣ for some constant α(k) which is independent of F. Here it will be shown that (2/(k(k−1)))1/(k−2)≤α(k)≤((k−2)/(k−1)), which are the best bounds to date.