Descartes' theorem in \(n\) dimensions (Q1179587)

The authors generalize Descartes' Theorem to ``elementary'' polyhedra of arbitrary dimension and Euler characteristic and giving a new and much simpler proof: For ``elementary'', not necessarily convex, polytopes let \(\chi\) denote the Euler characteristic, \(s_ m\) the sum of the inner angles at the \(m\)-faces, the full angle normalized to 1, and \(\delta_ m=1-s_ m\) the sum of the deficiencies. Descartes' theorem in \(n\) dimensions is \[ \delta_ 0-\delta_ 1+\dots+(-1)^{n-3}\delta_{n- 3}=\chi. \] The main tool in the proof is Gram's theorem \[ s_ 0-s_ 1+\dots+(-1)^{n-2}s_{n-2}=(-1)^ n. \]