Convex polytopes, Coxeter orbifolds and torus actions (Q809362)

This is a comprehensive survey with remarkable new results on the topic indicated in the title. The authors start with a convex \(n\)-polytope \(P^n\) that is called simple, if the number of codimension-one faces meeting at each vertex is \(n\). They consider two types of group actions \(Z^n_ 2\) resp. \(T^n\) (torus action) on \(n\)-manifold \(M^n\) resp. \(2n\)-manifold \(M^{2n}\), such that the orbit space is just \(P^n\cong M^n/Z^n_ 2\) resp. \(\cong M^{2n}/T^n\). Up to an automorphism, the group action is required to be locally isomorphic to the standard representation of \(Z^n_ 2\) on \({\mathbb{R}}^2\) resp. \(T^n\) on \({\mathbb{C}}^n\). In the first case \(M^n\) is called a ``small cover'' of \(P^n\), in the second \(M^{2n}\) is a ``toric manifold'' over \(P^n\). If \(m\) is the number of codimension-one faces of \(P^n\), then a homomorphism \(\lambda: Z^m_ 2\to Z^n_ 2\) resp. \(Z^m\to Z^n\) specifies an isotropy subgroup for each codimension-one face. \(\lambda\) is called ``characteristic function'' for \(M^n\) resp. \(M^{2n}\). Let \(f_ i\) denote the number of \(i\)-faces of \(P^n\), and let \(h_ j\) denote the coefficient of \(t^{n-j}\) in \(\sum f_ i(t- 1)^i\). Then the f-vector \((f_ 0,\dots,f_ n)\) and the \(h\)-vector \((h_ 0,\dots,h_ n)\) determine one another. P. McMullen proved the inequality \(h_ i\leq \binom{m-n+i-1}{i}\) and conjectured simple combinatorial conditions on a sequence of integers to be the \(h\)-vector of a simple convex \(n\)-polytope. The sufficiency of these conditions was proved by Billera and Lee and necessity by Stanley [see \textit{A. Brøndsted}, An introduction to convex polytopes. New York - Heidelberg - Berlin: Springer-Verlag (1983; Zbl 0509.52001)]. Such problems, particularly that of \textit{R. Stanley} [Stud. Appl. Math. 54, 135--142 (1975; Zbl 0308.52009)] have led to injections of research aspects as follows \begin{itemize} \item[(A)] The choice of a generic vector (never tangent to a proper face of \(P^n)\) allows to attach an integer-valued index to each vertex so that the number of vertices of index \(i\) is \(h_ i\). This can be used to define here a cell structure which is perfect in the sense of Morse theory [see also \textit{A. G. Khovanskii}, Funct. Anal. Appl. 20, 41--50 (1986); translation from Funkts. Anal. Prilozh. 20, No. 1, 50--61 (1986; Zbl 0597.51014)]. \item[(B)] The ``face ring`` of the simplicial complex \(K\), dual to the boundary complex of \(P^n\), is characterized as a ``Cohen-Macaulay complex'' in [\textit{G. Reisner}, Adv. Math. 21, 30--49 (1976; Zbl 0345.13017)]. This topic is extensively studied in Sections 4 and 5 of the paper. \item[(C)] Stanley established the necessity of McMullen's condition by studying a certain quasi-smooth projective variety associated to \(P^n\), called a ``toric variety''. Then the existence of a Kähler class yields the result. Nonsingular toric varieties are toric manifolds in the sense of this paper, however, the converse does not hold. In Section 6 the authors consider the tangent bundle of small covers and of toric manifolds. It is stably isomorphic to a sum of real resp. complex line bundles, and this leads to formulae for its characteristic classes. \end{itemize}