Questions tagged [convex-polytopes]
Convex polytopes are the convex hulls of a finite set of points in Euclidean spaces. They have rich combinatorial, arithmetic, and metrical theory, and are related to toric varieties and to linear programming
315
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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A Combinatorial Abstraction for The "Polynomial Hirsch Conjecture"
Consider $t$ disjoint families of subsets of {1,2,…,n}, ${\cal F}_1,{\cal F_2},\dots {\cal F_t}$ .
Suppose that
(*)
For every $i \lt j \lt k$
and every $R \in {\cal F}_i$, and $T \in {\cal F}_k$,
...
29
votes
0
answers
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Why do polytopes pop up in Lagrange inversion?
I'd be interested in hearing people's viewpoints on this. Looking for an intuitive perspective. See Wikipedia for descriptions of polytopes and the Lagrange inversion theorem/formula (LIF) for ...
19
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0
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553
views
"Japanese Theorem" on cyclic polygons: Higher-dimensional generalizations?
A beautiful theorem known as the Japanese Theorem (Wikipedia, MathWorld)
says that, no matter how one triangulates a cyclic (inscribed in a circle) polygon,
the sum of the radii of the incircles is ...
17
votes
0
answers
361
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Is the dodecahedron flexible (as a polytope with fixed edge-lengths)?
Consider the (regular) dodecahedron $D\subset\Bbb R^3$. I want to continuously deform it so that throughout the deformation
it stays a convex polytope,
it stays a combinatorial dodecahedron (i.e. its ...
16
votes
1
answer
705
views
Inequalities for marginals of distribution on hyperplane
Let $H = \{ (a,b,c) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 0}^3 : a+b+c=n \}$. If we have a probability distribution on $H$, we can take its marginals onto the $a$, $b$ and $c$ variables and obtain three probability ...
16
votes
0
answers
289
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Realization spaces of 3-dimensional polytopes with fixed face areas
It is a well-know result (Steinitz, 1922) that the realization space of 3-dimensional convex polytopes with fixed combinatorics is contractible.
A proof of this theorem can be found for instance in ...
14
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0
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201
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Have there been further developments on this scheme for polytope approximations to the unit ball of $\ell_p^n$?
A long time ago I happened to look at, and save (on a floppy disk!) for future reading, a copy of the following article:
W. T. Gowers, Polytope approximations of the unit ball of $l^n_p$.
In Convex ...
14
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0
answers
253
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Is combinatorial automorphism of symmetric convex polytope always antipodal?
The question is formulated in the title. More precisely, if $P$ is an origin-symmetric convex polytope in $\mathbb{R}^d$, and $f$ is a bijective transform of the set of the vertices of $P$, which ...
14
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0
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258
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Polytopes with few vertices and few facets
I recently realized that, for fixed $\alpha$ and $\beta$, the number of (combinatorial types of) $d$-polytopes with $\leq d+1+\alpha$ vertices and $\leq d+1+\beta$ facets is bounded by a constant that ...
14
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0
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477
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Does every convex polyhedron have a combinatorially isomorphic counterpart whose angles between edges are rational multiples of $\pi$?
After reading these very interesting questions, I came up with another one:
Does every convex polyhedron have a combinatorially isomorphic counterpart whose angles between all pairs of edges meeting ...
13
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0
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251
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Does there always exist a self dual polytope that contains a given polytope contained in its dual?
Suppose a polytope $P$ is contained in its dual polytope $\tilde{P}$. Does there always exist a polytope $Q$ that contains $P$ and is self dual $Q=\tilde{Q}$? Is there any bound on the minimal number ...
13
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Constructive aspects of Caratheodory's theorem in convex analysis
Let me paraphrase Caratheodory's theorem in a probabilistic setup:
Let $X$ be a real-valued random variable. For $k = 1, \ldots, m$, let $f_k: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ be a continuous function such ...
12
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0
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530
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Reciprocity (Ehrhart-style) for real polytopes?
Is there some sense in which the well-known Ehrhart reciprocity law for rational, convex, polytopes can be extended to any convex polytope with arbitrary real vertices?
In other words, given any ...
11
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0
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Is a convex polyhedron determined by its edge lengths and angular defects?
Let's consider 3-dimensional convex polyhedra $P\subset\Bbb R^3$.
The angular defect at a vertex $v$ is $2\pi$ minus the sum of the interior angles of the incident faces at $v$.
Question:
Is a ...
11
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0
answers
294
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How many ways to flatten a Tesseract onto a table?
A cube can be cut and flattened out onto a table in a way that the faces stay connected and none of them overlap. There are $384$ ways to make the cuts and $11$ distinct meshes emerge (see here). And ...
11
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0
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337
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Is my open set a ball?
Let $P$ be a polytope of dimension $n$, and let $\mathcal{C}$ be a polyhedral subdivision of $P$. That means that $\mathcal{C}$ is a finite collection of polytopes whose union is $P$, such that the ...
11
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344
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Right-angled polytopes
%This question is motivated by the little discussion here at the bottom.
The following thing are known about hyperbolic right-angled polytopes:
Compact hyperbolic right-angled polytopes do not exist ...
11
votes
0
answers
364
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Lower Bound on the Volume of Certain Polytopes
Given a partition $\rho\in\mathcal{P}(n)$ with $k$ blocks
$$
\rho=\{B_1,B_2,\ldots,B_{k}\}
$$
we can define the set of equations
$$
E_{i}:\sum_{j \in B_{i}}{x_{j-1}}=\sum_{j \in B_{i}}{x_j}\quad\text{...
10
votes
0
answers
329
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Bi-spherical polyhedra
Bicentric polygons have been studied: a polygon all of whose vertices lie on its
circumcirle, and whose incircle is tangent to every edge:
I have not been able to find a comparable literature ...
9
votes
0
answers
203
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Positivity of coefficients of Ehrhart polynomial of n-Tetrahedron
A set of positive integers $d_1, \dots, d_n$ describe two n-dimensional closed lattice tetrahedron:
$$ T = \left\{ (x_1, \dots, x_n) \in \mathbb{R}^n: \sum_{i=1}^n \frac{x_i}{d_i} \leq 1 \textrm{ and ...
9
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Is every planar point set the projection of vertices of a neighborly 4-polytope?
More exactly, written in coordinates, I'm curious to know if for every point set $(x_i,y_i)$ there are $(x_i,y_i,z_i,w_i)$ that are vertices of a neighborly polytope.
This problem comes from a simple ...
9
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0
answers
356
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An affine invariant of convex bodies
The following invariants of "pointed" convex bodies (i.e., pairs consisting of a convex body and a distinguished point in its interior) roughly measure how many of its linear images fit between the ...
9
votes
0
answers
736
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Counting Lattice Points in Real Polytopes
Suppose one did have an exact formula for the number of $\mathbb{Z}^n$-lattice points intersecting an arbitrary dilate of a (not necessarily rational) finite, closed and convex $n$-polytope. As a ...
8
votes
0
answers
270
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Integral representations of finite groups and lattice point geometry
See the edit at the bottom (April 2021)
This contains both a reference request, and a specific problem.
Let $K$ be a finite group, and let $\theta: K \to {\rm GL}(d,{\bf Z})$ be a (faithful) group ...
8
votes
0
answers
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intriguing Polytope
Define $E_{i,j} \in \mathbb{R}^{n \times n}$ to be the canonical basis (that is all elements set to zero except the entry $i,j$ )
let the bloc matrix $M \in \mathbb{R}^{n^2 \times n^2}$ defined by :
...
8
votes
0
answers
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Maximum volume cross-section of a hypercube
This is surely well known, but:
Q1. What is the $(d{-}1)$-dimensional polytope
that realizes the maximum volume cross-section of a unit hypercube
by a $(d{-}1)$-dimensional hyperplane?
...
8
votes
0
answers
178
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Can the GUE be thought of as a uniform point in a high-dimensional polytope
I have thought about this question for a long time and could only find partial answers.
The Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (or GUE) is the eigenvalues of a random Hermitian matrix with complex Gaussian ...
8
votes
0
answers
139
views
What does this number tell me about a convex lattice polygon?
EDIT: I realized I'd tricked myself by working with a too special case of $f$, the question is now updated (boundary lattice points replaced vertices).
Suppose I have a convex lattice polygon $P$, ...
8
votes
0
answers
144
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How many facets can $\{\|D^T x\|_1\leq 1\}$ have?
$\newcommand{\RR}{\mathbb{R}}$Consider $x\in\RR^n$ and $D\in \RR^{n\times p}$ with $p\geq n$ and full rank. My question is:
How many facets can the polytope $ \{x\in\RR^n\ :\ \|D^T x\|_1\leq 1\}$ ...
8
votes
0
answers
814
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Geometry of the metric cone
Let us say that two metrics $d$ and $d_0$ on a set $X$ are related if there exist positive constants $0 < \alpha \leq \beta$ such that
$$
\alpha \,\left(d_0(x,y) + d_0(y,z) - d_0(x,z)\right) \leq
...
8
votes
0
answers
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Convex hulls of compact sets
Let $A$ be a compact set in a separable Hilbert space $H$, and let $\bar A$ denote its convex hull. Is $\bar A$ compact?
7
votes
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answers
161
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Approximating any convex shape in $\mathbb{R}^d$ with a polytope having $\mathrm{poly}(d)$ facets
We denote by $V(A)$ the $d$-volume of any convex set $A$. Furthermore, given any two convex sets $A,B\in\mathbb{R}^d$, we denote by $V_{A,B}$ the $d$-volume of the symmetric difference $V\left(A \...
7
votes
0
answers
210
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Tiling space with supertile of hypercube unfoldings
Two students in my class
asked and answered what might be a novel question.
It is well known that the cube has exactly $11$ edge-unfoldings
(or "nets"), as shown below:
(Image from ...
7
votes
0
answers
137
views
Probability of landing inside the convex hull of previously sampled points
Let $\{X_i\}_{0\leq i\leq\infty}$ be i.i.d. random vectors in $\mathbb{R^d}$.
I would like to show that the probability of one point being in the convex hull of the others goes to one with the number ...
7
votes
0
answers
360
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A question about a blue fan and a red fan and their common refinement
Is the following conjecture true?
Conjecture: Let $M_1$ be a red map and let $M_2$ be a blue map drawn in general position on $S^n$, and let $M$ be their common refinement. There is a vertex $w$ of $...
7
votes
0
answers
634
views
When should a moment polytope have "smooth" faces?
A codimension $d$ face of a polytope is called rationally smooth if it lies on only $d$ facets, because this is exactly the condition for the corresponding toric variety to have only orbifold ...
6
votes
0
answers
187
views
Zero-one pairings between sets of vectors
Let
$A\subseteq V$ and
$B\subseteq V^\star$
be spanning sets in
a finite-dimensional real vector space $V$ and
its dual $V^\star$.
Suppose that
$$
\langle b,a\rangle\in\lbrace0,1\rbrace
$$
for all
$a\...
6
votes
0
answers
70
views
Roundest polyhedra: how well can we bound the edge count of their faces?
By "roundest" I mean having the lowest surface area for the highest volume, given a fixed number of faces $n$. There've been a few questions about them on here (including from me), but I'm ...
6
votes
0
answers
316
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An inequality related to the numbers of faces of polytopes with d+2 facets
I would like to prove an inequality related to the number of $k$-faces of two $d$-polytopes with $d+2$ facets; see (1) below.
Let $r>0$, $s>0$, $t\ge 0$, and $d\ge 2$ be such that $d=r+s+t$. We ...
6
votes
0
answers
232
views
Complexity of scissors congruence?
Where is the complexity of the problem 'Given two bounded compact convex integral polyhedra in $\mathbb R^n$ presented by $O(poly(n))$ integer valued halfspaces given by linear inequalities with ...
6
votes
0
answers
92
views
Tiling with Horn's polytopes
Let $n\ge2$ be an integer. Consider the hyperplane $H_n$ of ${\mathbb R}^n$ defined by the equation $x_1+\cdots+x_n=0$ and then the sector $P_n\subset H_n$ defined by the inequalities $x_1\le\cdots\le ...
6
votes
0
answers
188
views
Cut locus on a hypercube
Inspired by the question, "Shortest path connecting two opposite points on a cube":
Q. What does the cut locus with respect to one corner of a hypercube
in $\mathbb{R}^d$ look like?
"The cut ...
6
votes
0
answers
113
views
Rational $d$-simplices
Define a rational $d$-simplex as a simplex in $\mathbb{R}^d$
such that the measure of all its $k$-dimensional faces, $k \ge 1$, is rational.
So a rational triangle has rational edge lengths and ...
6
votes
0
answers
112
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Convex hull of the orbit of a matrix under permutations
Let $P$ be a generic permutation matrix on $\mathbb{R}^n$. For any vector $x \in \mathbb{R}^n$, the convex hull of the set $\{ Px : \; \text{$P$ is a permutation matrix}\}$ is the set of vectors ...
6
votes
0
answers
186
views
Measure-minimizing simplex with fixed inradius
Let $\Delta^n$ be an $n$-simplex in $\mathbb{R}^n$. Let $V$ be the volume and $r$ the inradius (radius of the inscribed sphere) of $\Delta^n$. There is a well-known result that
$$
V \geq \frac{n^{n/2}(...
6
votes
0
answers
181
views
Looking for the correct version of a wrong statement from Barvinok's book on convex polyhedra
The book I'm concerned with is "Integer Points in Polyhedra" by A. Barvinok, which, I must say, is turning out to be highly fascinating.
A real finite-dimensional vector space $V$ defines the ...
6
votes
0
answers
253
views
Sampling from a Convex Body with Many Extremal Points
Let $p_{1}, \ldots, p_{N}$ be a collection of points in $\mathbb{R}^{n}$. I would like to sample uniformly from the convex hull of these $N$ points in an `efficienct' way. In my setting, I have $n$ ...
6
votes
0
answers
482
views
Minimum solid angle and aspect ratio of an $n$-simplex
In computational geometry and other fields, it is of interest to have degeneracy measures for shapes of simplices, which quantitatively seperate the regular simplex from degenerate simplices.
In two ...
6
votes
1
answer
246
views
Triangulations of convex surfaces
Let $M$ be a smooth closed positively curved surface in Euclidean 3-space, $T$ be a geodesic triangulation of $M$, and $E$ be the edge graph of the convex hull of vertices of $T$.
It is easy to see ...
5
votes
0
answers
150
views
Maximal number of vertices of the intersection of a flat and a hypercube
Consider the intersection of an $n$-dimensional hybercube and an $m$-dimensional flat (affine subspace) which contains the diagonal of the hypercube. This is a convex polytope. What is the maximal ...