A Helly-Type Theorem for two-component convex sets

Abstract

In any fixed dimension, consider a finite collection of sets, each consisting of exactly two disjoint, closed, convex pieces. We show that to guarantee the intersection of the whole collection also consists of exactly two such convex pieces, it suffices to verify the same two-piece structure for all intersections of some subfamilies of intermediate size, thus answering a question of Gil Kalai.