Random approximation of convex bodies in Hausdorff metric

Abstract

While there is extensive literature on approximation, deterministic as well as random, of general convex bodies $K$ in the symmetric difference metric, or other metrics arising from intrinsic volumes, very little is known for corresponding random results in the Hausdorff distance when the approximant $K_n$ is given by the convex hull of $n$ independent random points chosen uniformly on the boundary or in the interior of $K$. When $K$ is a polygon and the points are chosen on its boundary, we determine the exact limiting behavior of the expected Hausdorff distance between a polygon as $n\to\infty$. From this we derive the behavior of the asymptotic constant for a regular polygon in the number of vertices.