Vertex Numbers of Weighted Faces in Poisson Hyperplane Mosaics

In the random mosaic generated by a stationary Poisson hyperplane process in ℝ ^d , we consider the typical k-face weighted by the j-dimensional volume of the j-skeleton (0≤j≤k≤d). We prove sharp lower and upper bounds for the expected number of its vertices.     

Rate of Approximation of Regular Convex Bodies by?Convex Algebraic Level Surfaces

We consider the problem of the approximation of regular convex bodies in ℝ ^d by level surfaces of convex algebraic polynomials. Hammer (in Mathematika 10, 67–71, 1963) verified that any convex body in ℝ ^d can be approximated by a level surface of a convex algebraic polynomial. In Jaen J. Approx. 1, 97–109, 2009 and subsequently in J. Approx. Theory 162, 628–637, 2010 a quantitative version of Hammer’s approximation theorem was given by showing that the order of approximation of convex bodies by convex algebraic level surfaces of degree n is \frac1n\frac{1}{n}. Moreover, it was also shown that whenever the convex body is not regular (that is, there exists a point on its boundary at which the convex body possesses two distinct supporting hyperplanes), then \frac1n\frac{1}{n} is essentially the sharp rate of approximation. This leads to the natural question whether this rate of approximation can be improved further when the convex body is regular. In this paper we shall give an affirmative answer to this question. It turns out that for regular convex bodies a o(1/n) rate of convergence holds. In addition, if the body satisfies the condition of C ²-smoothness the rate of approximation is O(\frac1n²)O(\frac{1}{n^{2}}).     

Higher dimensional extensions of substitutions and their dual maps

Given a substitution σ ond letters, we define itsk-dimensional extension,E _k (σ), for 0≤k≤d. Thek-dimensional extension acts on the set ofk-dimensional faces of unit cubes inR ^d with integer vertices. The extensions of a substitution satisfy a commutation relation with the natural boundary operator: the boundary of the image is the image of the boundary. We say that a substitution is unimodular (resp. hyperbolic) if the matrix associated to the substitution by abelianization is unimodular (resp. hyperbolic). In the case where the substitution is unimodular, we also define dual substitutions which satisfy a similar coboundary condition. We use these constructions to build self-similar sets on the expanding and contracting space for an hyperbolic substitution.     

On the kernel and shortest face complexes in the unit cube

Studying the extreme kernel face complexes of a given dimension, we obtain some lower estimates of the number of shortest face complexes in the n-dimensional unit cube. The number of shortest complexes of k-dimensional faces is shown to be of the same logarithm order as the number of complexes consisting of at most 2 ⁿ⁻¹ different k-dimensional faces if 1 ≤ k ≤ c · n and c < 0.5. This implies similar lower bounds for the maximum length of the kernel DNFs and the number of the shortest DNFs of Boolean functions.     

On lattice points in polyhedral cross-sections

(a) We prove that the convex hull of anyk ^d +1 points of ad-dimensional lattice containsk+1 collinear lattice points. (b) For a convex polyhedron we consider the numbers of its lattice points in consecutive parallel lattice hyperplanes (levels). We prove that if a polyhedron spans no more than 2 ^d−1 levels, then this string of numbers may be arbitrary. On the other hand, we give an example of a string of 2 ^d−1+1 numbers to which no convex polyhedron corresponds inR ^d .     

Distributions of Points in <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> Dimensions and Large <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Point Simplices

We consider a variant of Heilbronn’s triangle problem by investigating for a fixed dimension d≥2 and for integers k≥2 with k≤d distributions of n points in the d-dimensional unit cube [0,1] ^d , such that the minimum volume of the simplices, which are determined by (k+1) of these n points is as large as possible. Denoting by Δ _k,d (n), the supremum of this minimum volume over all distributions of n points in [0,1] ^d , we show that c _k,d ⋅(log n)^1/(d−k+1)/n ^k/(d−k+1)≤Δ _k,d (n)≤c _k,d ′/n ^k/d for fixed 2≤k≤d, and, moreover, for odd integers k≥1, we show the upper bound Δ _k,d (n)≤c _k,d ″/n ^{k/d+(k−1)/(2d(d−1))}, where c _k,d ,c _k,d ′,c _k,d ″>0 are constants. A preliminary version of this paper appeared in COCOON ’05.     

Analogues of Horn’s theorem for finite unions of starshaped sets in ℝ<Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis></Superscript>

Fix k, d, 1 ≤ k ≤ d + 1. Let $ \mathcal{F} $ \mathcal{F} be a nonempty, finite family of closed sets in ℝ ^d , and let L be a (d − k + 1)-dimensional flat in ℝ ^d . The following results hold for the set T ≡ ∪{F: F in $ \mathcal{F} $ \mathcal{F} }. Assume that, for every k (not necessarily distinct) members F ₁, …, F _k of $ \mathcal{F} $ \mathcal{F} ,∪{F _i : 1 ≤ i ≤ k} is starshaped and the corresponding kernel contains a translate of L. Then T is starshaped, and its kernel also contains a translate of L.     

On transfer inequalities in Diophantine approximation, II

Let Θ be a point in R ⁿ . We are concerned with the approximation to Θ by rational linear subvarieties of dimension d for 0 ≤ d ≤ n−1. To that purpose, we introduce various convex bodies in the Grassmann algebra Λ(R ⁿ⁺¹). It turns out that our convex bodies in degree d are the dth compound, in the sense of Mahler, of convex bodies in degree one. A dual formulation is also given. This approach enables us both to split and to refine the classical Khintchine transference principle.     

Hitting Simplices with Points in ℝ3

The so-called first selection lemma states the following: given any set P of n points in ℝ ^d , there exists a point in ℝ ^d contained in at least c _d n ^d+1−O(n ^d ) simplices spanned by P, where the constant c _d depends on d. We present improved bounds on the first selection lemma in ℝ³. In particular, we prove that c ₃≥0.00227, improving the previous best result of c ₃≥0.00162 by Wagner (On k-sets and applications. Ph.D. thesis, ETH Zurich, 2003). This makes progress, for the three-dimensional case, on the open problems of Bukh et al. (Stabbing simplices by points and flats. Discrete Comput. Geom., 2010) (where it is proven that c ₃≤1/4⁴≈0.00390) and Boros and Füredi (The number of triangles covering the center of an n-set. Geom. Dedic. 17(1):69–77, 1984) (where the two-dimensional case was settled).     

Equipartition of mass distributions by hyperplanes

We consider the problem of determining the smallest dimensiond=Δ(j, k) such that, for anyj mass distributions inR ^d , there arek hyperplanes so that each orthant contains a fraction 1/2 ^k of each of the masses. The case Δ(1,2)=2 is very well known. The casek=1 is answered by the ham-sandwich theorem with Δ(j, 1)=j. By using mass distributions on the moment curve the lower bound Δ(j, k)≥j(2 ^k −1)/k is obtained. We believe this is a tight bound. However, the only general upper bound that we know is Δ(j, k)≤j2 ^k−1. We are able to prove that Δ(j, k)=⌈j(^2k−1/k⌉ for a few pairs (j, k) ((j, 2) forj=3 andj=2 ⁿ withn≥0, and (2, 3)), and obtain some nontrivial bounds in other cases. As an intermediate result of independent interest we prove a Borsuk-Ulam-type theorem on a product of balls. The motivation for this work was to determine Δ(1, 4) (the only case forj=1 in which it is not known whether Δ(1,k)=k); unfortunately the approach fails to give an answer in this case (but we can show Δ(1, 4)≤5). This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CCR-9118874.     

On the Perfect Matchings of Near Regular Graphs

Let k, h be positive integers with k ≤ h. A graph G is called a [k, h]-graph if k ≤ d(v) ≤ h for any v ? V(G){v \in V(G)}. Let G be a [k, h]-graph of order 2n such that k ≥ n. Hilton (J. Graph Theory 9:193–196, 1985) proved that G contains at least ?k/3?{\lfloor k/3\rfloor} disjoint perfect matchings if h = k. Hilton’s result had been improved by Zhang and Zhu (J. Combin. Theory, Series B, 56:74–89, 1992), they proved that G contains at least ?k/2?{\lfloor k/2\rfloor} disjoint perfect matchings if k = h. In this paper, we improve Hilton’s result from another direction, we prove that Hilton’s result is true for [k, k + 1]-graphs. Specifically, we prove that G contains at least ?\fracn3?+1+(k-n){\lfloor\frac{n}3\rfloor+1+(k-n)} disjoint perfect matchings if h = k + 1.     

Multi-secant lemma

We present a new generalization of the classical trisecant lemma. Our approach is quite different from previous generalizations [8, 10, 1, 2, 4, 7]. Let X be an equidimensional projective variety of dimension d. For a given k ≤ d + 1, we are interested in the study of the variety of k-secants. The classical trisecant lemma just considers the case where k = 3 while in [10] the case k = d + 2 is considered. Secants of order from 4 to d + 1 provide service for our main result. In this paper, we prove that if the variety of k-secants (k ≤ d +1) satisfies the following three conditions: (i) through every point in X, there passes at least one k-secant, (ii) the variety of k-secants satisfies a strong connectivity property that we define in the sequel, (iii) every k-secant is also a (k +1)-secant; then the variety X can be embedded into ℙ ^d+1. The new assumption, introduced here, that we call strong connectivity, is essential because a naive generalization that does not incorporate this assumption fails, as we show in an example. The paper concludes with some conjectures concerning the essence of the strong connectivity assumption.     

Infinitesimal Rigidity of Convex Polytopes

Aleksandrov [1] proved that a simple convex d -dimensional polytope, d ≥ 3 , is infinitesimally rigid if the volumes of its facets satisfy a certain assumption of stationarity. We extend this result by proving that this assumption can be replaced by a stationarity assumption on the k -dimensional volumes of the polytope's k -dimensional faces, where k ∈{1,. . .,d-1} . Received November 20, 1997.     

Counterexamples of the Conjecture on Roots of Ehrhart Polynomials

On roots of Ehrhart polynomials, Beck et al. conjecture that all roots α of the Ehrhart polynomial of an integral convex polytope of dimension d satisfy −d≤ℜ(α)≤d−1. In this paper, we provide counterexamples for this conjecture.     

Orders on Multisets and Discrete Cones

We study additive representability of orders on multisets (of size k drawn from a set of size n) which satisfy the condition of independence of equal submultisets (IES) introduced by Sertel and Slinko (Ranking committees, words or multisets. Nota di Laboro 50.2002. Center of Operation Research and Economics. The Fundazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Milan, 2002, Econ. Theory 30(2):265–287, 2007). Here we take a geometric view of those orders, and relate them to certain combinatorial objects which we call discrete cones. Following Fishburn (J. Math. Psychol., 40:64–77, 1996) and Conder and Slinko (J. Math. Psychol., 48(6):425–431, 2004), we define functions f(n,k) and g(n,k) which measure the maximal possible deviation of an arbitrary order satisfying the IES and an arbitrary almost representable order satisfying the IES, respectively, from a representable order. We prove that g(n,k) = n − 1 whenever n ≥ 3 and (n, k) ≠ (5, 2). In the exceptional case, g(5,2) = 3. We also prove that g(n,k) ≤ f(n,k) ≤ n and establish that for small n and k the functions g(n,k) and f(n,k) coincide.      

On the Graph Connectivity of Skeleta of Convex Polytopes

Given a d-dimensional convex polytope P and nonnegative integer k not exceeding d−1, let denote the simple graph on the node set of k-dimensional faces of P in which two such faces are adjacent if there exists a (k+1)-dimensional face of P which contains them both. The graph is isomorphic to the dual graph of the (d−k)-dimensional skeleton of the normal fan of P. For fixed values of k and d, the largest integer m such that is m-vertex-connected for all d-dimensional polytopes P is determined. This result generalizes Balinski’s theorem on the one-dimensional skeleton of a d-dimensional convex polytope. Supported by the 70/4/8755 ELKE Research Fund of the University of Athens.     

Convex subdivisions with low stabbing numbers

It is shown that for every subdivision of the d-dimensional Euclidean space, d ≥ 2, into n convex cells, there is a straight line that stabs at least Ω((log n/log log n)^1/(d−1)) cells. In other words, if a convex subdivision of d-space has the property that any line stabs at most k cells, then the subdivision has at most exp(O(k ^d−1 log k)) cells. This bound is best possible apart from a constant factor. It was previously known only in the case d = 2. Supported in part by NSERC grant RGPIN 35586.     

A Centrally Symmetric Version of the Cyclic Polytope

We define a centrally symmetric analogue of the cyclic polytope and study its facial structure. We conjecture that our polytopes provide asymptotically the largest number of faces in all dimensions among all centrally symmetric polytopes with n vertices of a given even dimension d=2k when d is fixed and n grows. For a fixed even dimension d=2k and an integer 1≤j<k we prove that the maximum possible number of j-dimensional faces of a centrally symmetric d-dimensional polytope with n vertices is at least for some c _j (d)>0 and at most as n grows. We show that c ₁(d)≥1−(d−1)⁻¹ and conjecture that the bound is best possible. Research of A. Barvinok partially supported by NSF grant DMS 0400617. Research of I. Novik partially supported by Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and NSF grant DMS-0500748.     

A Generalisation of Tverberg’s Theorem

We will prove the following generalisation of Tverberg’s Theorem: given a set S⊂ℝ ^d of (r+1)(k−1)(d+1)+1 points, there is a partition of S in k sets A ₁,A ₂,…,A _k such that for any C⊂S of at most r points, the convex hulls of A ₁\C,A ₂\C,…,A _k \C are intersecting. This was conjectured first by Natalia García-Colín (Ph.D. thesis, University College of London, 2007).     

The Generalized <Emphasis Type="Italic">τ</Emphasis>-Bases of Primitive Non-Powerful Signed Digraphs with d Loops

Let n, k, τ, d be positive integers with 1 ≤ k, τ, d ≤ n. As natural extensions of the bases, the kth local bases, the kth upper bases and the kth lower bases of primitive non-powerful signed digraphs, we introduce a number of new, though, intimately related parameters called the generalized τ-bases of primitive non-powerful signed digraphs. Moreover, some sharp bounds for the generalized τ-bases of primitive non-powerful signed digraphs with n vertices and d loops are obtained, respectively.