Cubical subdivisions and local \(h\)-vectors (Q1928577)

Simplicial subdivisions, or triangulations, of simplicial complexes were studied from an enumeration perspective by \textit{R. P. Stanley} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 5, No. 4, 805--851 (1992; Zbl 0768.05100)]. In particular, the \textit{(local) \(h\)-vector} of a simplicial complex, a useful way to represent the number of faces of the complex, is studied there extensively. The present paper develops an analog theory for \textit{cubical subdivisions} for cubical complexes, where the analog role of the \(h\)-vector is played by the (short and long) \textit{cubical \(h\)-vector} and its corresponding \textit{cubical \(h\)-polynomial}, a well behaved generating function introduced by \textit{R. M. Adin} [Discrete Math. 157, No. 1--3, 3--14 (1996; Zbl 0861.52007)] for cubical complexes. Roughly, a \textit{cubical complex} is a complex where each face is a hypercube, instead of the usual simplex as in a simplicial complex. The author shows that the role of the local \(h\)-vector of a triangulation of a simplex is played by both the short and long \textit{cubical local \(h\)-vector} of a cubical subdivision of a hypercube, something the author introduces in this paper. It is shown, among other things, that (i) for both the short and long type of cubical \(h\)-polynomials, similar formulas hold for cubical subdivisions of a \textit{pure cubical complex} as in the analogous case of the usual \(h\)-polynomial from [Zbl 0768.05100], (ii) also, the cubical local \(h\)-vectors are shown to have symmetric coefficients. It is shown that (iii) the coefficients of a short cubical local \(h\)-vector for \textit{locally quasi-geometric} cubical subdivisions are non-negative, and further (iv) that it has monotonicity property similar to the one described in [Zbl 0768.05100] in the simplicial case. The theory of cubical subdivisions of more general locally Eulerian posets are also discussed. All methods in the present paper are similar to those that are used in Stanley's [Zbl 0768.05100] with the appropriate variations and cubical analogues.