Sphere covering by minimal number of caps and short closed sets

Abstract

A subset of the sphere is said short if it is contained in an open hemisphere. A short closed set which is geodesically convex is called a cap. The following theorem holds: 1. The minimal number of short closed sets covering the $n$-sphere is $n+2$. 2. If $n+2$ short closed sets cover the $n$-sphere then (i) their intersection is empty; (ii) the intersection of any proper subfamily of them is non-empty. In the case of caps (i) and (ii) are also sufficient for the family to be a covering of the sphere.