The polytope of degree sequences of hypergraphs

Let D_n(r) denote the convex hull of degree sequences of simple r-uniform hypergraphs on the vertex set {1,2,…,n}. The polytope D_n(2) is a well-studied object. Its extreme points are the threshold sequences (i.e., degree sequences of threshold graphs) and its facets are given by the Erdös–Gallai inequalities. In this paper we study the polytopes D_n(r) and obtain some partial information. Our approach also yields new, simple proofs of some basic results on D_n(2). Our main results concern the extreme points and facets of D_n(r). We characterize adjacency of extreme points of D_n(r) and, in the case r=2, determine the distance between two given vertices in the graph of D_n(2). We give a characterization of when a linear inequality determines a facet of D_n(r) and use it to bound the sizes of the coefficients appearing in the facet defining inequalities; give a new short proof for the facets of D_n(2); find an explicit family of Erdös–Gallai type facets of D_n(r); and describe a simple lifting procedure that produces a facet of D_n+1(r) from one of D_n(r).