Distance k-sectors exist

The bisector of two nonempty sets P and Q in Rd is the set of all points with equal distance to P and to Q. A distance k-sector of P and Q, where k⩾2 is an integer, is a (k−1)-tuple (C1,C2,…,Ck−1) such that Ci is the bisector of Ci−1 and Ci+1 for every i=1,2,…,k−1, where C0=P and Ck=Q. This notion, for the case where P and Q are points in R2, was introduced by Asano, Matoušek, and Tokuyama, motivated by a question of Murata in VLSI design. They established the existence and uniqueness of the distance 3-sector in this special case. We prove the existence of a distance k-sector for all k and for every two disjoint, nonempty, closed sets P and Q in Euclidean spaces of any (finite) dimension (uniqueness remains open), or more generally, in proper geodesic spaces. The core of the proof is a new notion of k-gradation for P and Q, whose existence (even in an arbitrary metric space) is proved using the Knaster–Tarski fixed point theorem, by a method introduced by Reem and Reich for a slightly different purpose.