Polyhedral \(K_{2}\) (Q1865591)

By using elementary graded automorphisms of polytopal algebras (essentially the coordinate rings of projective toric varieties), the authors of this paper define polyhedral versions of the group of elementary matrices and the Steinberg and Milnor groups. When the polytope is a unit simplex, the polytopal algebra is a polynomial ring and the polyhedral \(K\)-groups coincide with the usual \(K\)-groups. Hence, polyhedral \(K\)-theory contains ordinary \(K\)-theory as a special case. However, for more general polytopes, many new aspects have to be taken into account and new \(K\)-groups appear. The authors describe these groups explicitly when the underlying polytope is 2-dimensional. This provides some interesting classes of groups.