Reconstructing simplicial polytopes from their graphs and affine 2-stresses (Q6165195): Difference between revisions

A \(d\)-dimensional polytope is simple when each of its vertices is incident to exactly \(d\) edges. \textit{R. Blind} and \textit{P. Mani-Levitska} have shown in the 1980s that the boundary complex of a simple polytope can be recovered from just its edge-graph [Aequationes Math. 34, 287--297 (1987; Zbl 0634.52005)]. A simple proof of this result was given shortly later by \textit{G. Kalai} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 49, No. 2, 381--383 (1988; Zbl 0673.05087)]. If the polytope is not required to be simple, its boundary complex can be reconstructed from its \((d-2)\)-skeleton [\textit{B. Grünbaum}, Convex polytopes. Prepared by Volker Kaibel, Victor Klee, and Günter M. Ziegler. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer (2003; Zbl 1024.52001)] but the knowledge of its \((\lfloor{d/2}\rfloor-1)\)-skeleton does not always suffice. This is shown for example by the \(\lfloor d/2\rfloor\)-neighborly \(d\)-dimensional polytopes with different combinatorial types that are constructed by \textit{I. Shemer} [Isr. J. Math. 43, 291--314 (1982; Zbl 0598.05010)]. The problem is investigated here in the case of simplicial polytopes -- polytopes whose all facets are simplices. It is a conjecture of \textit{G. Kalai} [NATO ASI Ser., Ser. C, Math. Phys. Sci. 440, 205--229 (1994; Zbl 0804.52006)] that knowing both the \(k\)-skeleton of a simplicial polytope \(P\) and the space of its affine \((k+1)\)-stresses, where \(0\leq{k}\leq\lfloor{d/2}\rfloor\) allows to recover the boundary complex of \(P\). This conjecture is proven here in the case when \(k\) is equal to \(1\) and for arbitrary \(k\) when \(P\) is further assumed \(k\)-neighborly.