The topology of the space of transversals through the space of configurations

Let F be a family of convex sets in Rn and let Tm(F) be the space of m-transversals to F as subspace of the Grassmannian manifold. The purpose of this paper is to study the topology of Tm(F) through the polyhedron of configurations of (r+1) points in Rn. This configuration space has a natural polyhedral structure with faces corresponding to what has been called order types. In particular, if r=m+1 and Tm−1(F) is nonempty, we prove that the homotopy type of Tm(F) is ruled by the set of all possible order types achieved by the m-transversals of F. We shall also prove that the set of all m-transversals that intersect F with a prescribed order type is a contractible space.